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Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Interfaith Glasgow project was funded to support Interfaith Glasgow to improve community cohesion, reduce the ignorance and prejudice that leads to discrimination and hate crime, and increase civic participation. This would be done by organising activities and events that promote friendship, encourage cooperation and provide opportunities for dialogue to occur between people of all faith and belief traditions. Interfaith Glasgow would also continue to build relationships with different faith communities and wider civic society to make Glasgow a safer, more harmonious city for all.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Glasgow’s religious diversity is valued and there is increased social interaction, communication, and friendship between people of different religions and beliefs
• People of different religions and beliefs have developed greater mutual understanding and respect through focused dialogue activities challenging ignorance, prejudice, and misconceptions
• People of different religions and beliefs are working cooperatively with each other and engaging in civic society to address inequalities

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Scottish Government does not support the manufacture of munitions - nor do our public agencies. The support provided is focused on helping firms to diversify and develop civilian applications for their technology and ensure Scotland continues to benefit from the thousands of jobs in the defence, aerospace and shipbuilding sectors.

Our Guidance on Due Diligence: Human Rights sets out recommendations on how the Scottish Government, our executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies should undertake appropriate due diligence on companies, including their human rights record, before entering into an investment relationship with them. In operationalising our guidance, Scottish Enterprise’s Customer Due Diligence Procedure sets out the process that it follows to undertake human rights due diligence checks on companies it works with.

In line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, general grants are discretionary and intended only for the delivery of policy aims/objectives and/or national outcomes.

The Scottish Government does not provide full funding for the provision of affordable homes. Homes are funded through a mixture of Scottish Government grant through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) as well as borrowing or other investment by grant applicants.

Through the AHSP, we deliver a range of housing including new build, off the shelf purchases and rehabilitation projects. The Scottish Government publishes quarterly figures on all homes delivered through the programme by tenure and build form, which can be found online here: Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot

Details on the number of homes that have been approved, started or completed that have received funding through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) each year since 2007 by local authority are also published here: Affordable Housing Supply Programme - More homes - gov.scot. This includes information on grant levels which are also published in our annual out-turn reports.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Mentoring and Training in Edinburgh and the Lothians project was funded to support LINKnet to take forward work to eliminate/ reduce inequality and disadvantage of minority ethnic people, to foster integration and understanding between communities, to tackle disadvantages and to promote equality. The project was designed to increase representation of minority ethnic people in employment, education and civic engagements in Scotland. In addition, it aimed to address isolation and loneliness among minority ethnic people, particularly recent migrants, which prevents them from achieving personal development goals related to education and employment.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Minority Ethnic (ME) participants of the ‘Mentoring and Training’ project will have improved knowledge, confidence and ability on job searching, CV writing, application-form filling, interviews and making presentations. As a result, clients furthest from the labour market will improve their options and increased numbers of those excluded from mainstream provision will move along the 'pipeline' into volunteering, education, training and employment
• Minority ethnic service users will have improved English language skills, self confidence, self esteem and the improved ability to seek employment, education opportunities or to take part in the activities of British society and benefit from those activities and will have new social contacts and wider community cohesion.
• Minority Ethnic people will have improved work experience, developed work related skills and enhanced employability

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Govan Community Project (GCP) Groups project was funded to support GCP in seeking to further develop, enhance and consolidate the work of its existing groups; weekly women’s group, twice-weekly homework club and weekly men’s group, running out of a community flat.

All groups would provide community and support for people currently seeking asylum in the UK and for those who are refugees and immigrants. The groups would promote integration and solidarity, community connections and safety. The groups would provide opportunities and information about services, provide informal learning and supporting people to take an active role in public life overcoming cultural and language barriers. The groups seek to instil a sense of community and belonging, decreasing social isolation and improving mental health.

In addition to providing gender specific groups, the homework club would offer help and support to children and young in their schoolwork with the assistance of volunteer tutors. The club seeks to enable children to improve their English language skills, numeracy and literacy and provides a space of peer education, safety and support. The club further aims to improve parents understanding of the Scottish curriculum as well as encouraging parent’s involvement in their children’s education.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Homework Club - Children & young people from an asylum seeking, refugee and migrant background experience reduced discrimination and reduction of barriers in engaging with schools and the wider community
• Women’s Group - Women particularly from an asylum seeking, refugee or migrant / BME background have increased access to services, feeling less isolated, safer & more included in society
• Men’s Group - Men particularly from an asylum seeking, refugee, or migrant / BME background have increased access to services and feel less isolated in the community

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The 4Corners project was funded to support work with children aged 8-16 and their families through one-to-one, group work and parent support. The project aimed to promote vulnerable and disadvantaged Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) children’s participation and engagement in the life of their school and community. The majority of the children would be new migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The group would work in primary schools will include both BME and White Scottish children and would focus on integration and social cohesion.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Refugees living in Scotland are active advocates for mental health and wellbeing both locally and nationally
• Local and national health and civic society agencies are engaged in refugee led prevention and support approaches to service planning and provision
• Statements and dialogues on mental health and wellbeing are being initiated and led by refugees in places and spaces across Scotland

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The ‘Tackling Contemporary Racism v.2’ project was funded to enable Show Racism the Red Card to deliver four education workshops in schools and facilitate young people then attending their local football club for a ‘Challenging Racism’ and a Hate Crime Workshop delivered by Police Scotland. The organisation would also hold an Equalities Creative Competition encouraging young people to champion the Equalities strand of their choice. In addition the organisation would also hold an Annual Fortnight of Action to send a clear message that ‘we are united in our diversity’.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Young people in the educational programme will have an increased awareness of the implications of different types of racism which will result in a decrease in discriminatory behaviour exhibited toward ethnic minority communities.
• An increased awareness of racism amongst communities to challenge racist behaviour
• Decrease in use of racist language and behaviour by young people taking part in the anti-racism 'Scotland for All' Creative Competition.

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The ‘Safety Net’ project was funded to increase the capacity of the community to identify and address issues around radicalisation. The next steps and proposed project were to deliver a range of workshops to adults and young learners to raise awareness of online safety issues and in particular cover extremism in all its forms. In addition the plan was to deliver a suite of knowledge transfer events to relevant agencies in Scotland to widen the awareness and impact of Safety Net.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Women will have improved understanding how extremist groups target young people and what to do if they have concerns.
• Other organisations are equipped and have the skills and knowledge to support their client groups

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The "Promoting community support and rights for older people facing additional challenges" project was funded to support work with older people who live with disabilities and/or face other challenges and who want more services that give them real choices and enable them to live as independently as possible. The project would work alongside those older people to improve the number, range and quality of community services and to raise public and professional awareness and change attitudes to this group of older people. The project would bring people together, share good practice and publicise positive examples.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Older people with disabilities are better able to shape the services they use and so get support that reflects their circumstances and gives them a good quality of life.
• Public and professional awareness about older people and the contribution they make is increased and older people with disabilities have more opportunities to participate

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Minority Communities Service Development in Dumfries and Galloway project was funded to take forward work on:

• providing advice, information and practical assistance tailored to the individual needs of people from minority communities

• raising awareness and increasing uptake from minority communities

• promoting volunteering opportunities and recruiting, training and supporting individuals to become volunteer advisers/administrative workers.

• working with local employers to improve their knowledge and understanding of their employment responsibilities

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Minority communities will have increased access to advice and knowledge of their rights which in turn will empower individuals to make positive choices to improve their longer term health and well-being.
• People from minority communities will gain the skills and confidence needed to improve their long term prospects of securing employment.

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf