Background
This Equality and Diversity Framework for 2021-25 sets out the Council’s ambitions to advance equality and promote diversity. It sits within the wider strategic framework of:
- Edinburgh’s 2050 Vision
- Council Business Plan 2021-2025, which is structured around three themes: poverty, sustainability, and wellbeing and equality
- the three priorities of the Edinburgh Partnership’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan: enough money to live on, access to work, training and learning opportunities, and a good place to live.
This framework responds to the ‘Public Sector Equality Duty’, which forms part of the Equality Act 2010 and has the following components:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation
- advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic
- foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
There are new legislative requirements and policy changes since the Equality Act 2010, including The Fairer Scotland Duty, introduced in 2018, Child Poverty (Scotland) Act (2017) and others directly related to human rights. These have been built into the planning and implementation of actions to deliver the equalities outcomes.
A brief overview of Edinburgh’s population
Edinburgh has a population of around 525,000 people of whom:
- 51% are female
- 17% are aged under 18 years
- 15% are aged 65 years or over
- 84% are white Scottish
- 79% were born in the UK
- 5% are lesbian, gay or bisexual
- 1% are transgender
- 32% have a disability
- 45% have no stated religion.
Sources: GRO(S) Mid-Year Population Estimates, 2019; 2011 Census equalityevidence.scot
Edinburgh is the wealthiest city in Scotland. However, we estimate that almost 78,000 people are living in relative poverty, representing some 15% of the population and as many as 1 in 5 children. Lone parents, nine in ten of them women, disabled people, carers, and Black, Asian and minority ethnic families are more likely to be in poverty than others in the city.
‘End Poverty in Edinburgh: Delivery Plan 2020-30’ details how the Council is responding to poverty over the next ten years.