scotPHO introduction:
  Ethnic Minorities
  Key points
  Introduction
Policy context
  Data
  Key data sources
  Key references
  Useful links
  Defining ethnicity and race
  Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual (LGB) People
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Ethnic minorities: policy context

The enquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence and the subsequent Macpherson report describing institutional racism challenged public bodies to demonstrate that they were actively addressing racial equality. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000) placed a legal duty on public bodies to "eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial groups".

In Scotland, the response to these developments included the Scottish Executive Health Department Letter 2002/51PDF Button(111Kb), which required Scottish NHS organisations to:

  • make a clear commitment to address the challenge of ethnic minority health,
  • develop a local demographic profile,
  • ensure equitable access to services by all ethnic groups,
  • include ethnicity in human resource strategies,
  • involve ethnic minority communities in service development.

All Scottish NHS boards have Fair for All and Race Equality schemes, which are constantly evolving to ensure that they are delivering culturally competent services. Requirements for the NHS in Scotland to provide appropriate religious and spiritual care for minority ethnic groups are set out in the Scottish Executive Health Department Letter 2002/76PDF Button(97Kb).

The Scottish Executive set up the Equalities and Planning Directorate in 2008 as a unit of NHS Health Scotland as a centre of expert advice and support to NHS Scotland on delivering equality and diversity, eliminating discrimination and reducing health inequalities.  

To support policy implementation, NHSScotland launched an Equality and Diversity Impact Assessment Toolkit in 2005. Information Services Division has set up an Equality and Diversity Information Programme to improve the collection and use of data by ethnicity in Scotland.

Addressing the needs of ethnic minorities is increasingly being set in the context of a broader equality and diversity agenda. This examines six "diversity strands": in addition to ethnicity these include age, gender, disability, religion and sexual orientation. These wider issues are summarised in a leaflet entitled Fair for all - The wider challengePDF Button(100Kb) and are supported by a Scottish Executive campaign called One Scotland which is designed to tackle racism in Scotland.

In July 2008 the Scottish Government announced a new ethnicity classification which is recommended for Scotland's 2011 Census and for use in all relevant Scottish Official Statistics.