In light of reports of many unresolved equal pay cases in the Scottish public sector, what plans it has to reform the equal pay statement d…

The Scottish Government is aware of the ongoing concerns regarding unresolved equal pay cases within the Scottish public sector. We recognise that transparency and accountability are essential to ensuring equal pay for equal work for everyone across all public bodies in Scotland.As part of our phased approach to improving the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty in Scotland (PSED), we continue to review the operation of the Scottish Specific Duties. This includes considering reforms to the equal pay statement duty, where necessary and proportionate, and seeking to ensure that regulations are used to reinforce each other for maximum effect in enabling better performance of the general duty.In line with Scottish Ministers’ statutory duty under Regulation 12 of the Scottish Specific Duties, the Scottish Government will publish our new proposals to enable better performance of the PSED in Scotland for 2025-29 in December 2025. These proposals and the accompanying report will set out our considerations and next steps to improve the effectiveness of PSED in Scotland. We are carefully considering a wide range of evidence including the effectiveness of equal pay regulations as we develop these proposals.