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Race Equality Scheme |
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Introduction 1.1 The Race Relations (Amendment) Act places a responsibility on the local authority to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and promote good race relations. It also requires the publication of a Race Equality Scheme which outlines how these duties will be met. 2. Background 2.1 The absence of a corporate equalities strategy in Barking and Dagenham was identified as a major deficit by a number of inspection and funding regimes and was highlighted in the ID&eA review in March 2000 as a major organizational weakness. The authority has since developed a corporate strategy and framework on equalities which was included as a major commitment in the 2000/01 Best Value Performance Plan. 2.2 The authority drafted a vision statement and formulated a new community priority: 'Promoting Equal Opportunities and Celebrating Diversity'. The Executive then agreed a strategy which included Race Equality as a vital, central plank of a broad-based approach with specific objectives in response to the Lawrence Inquiry recommendations. 2.3 The authority commissioned a full report “Beyond Lawrence” that used the checklist, produced by the Local Government Association. Officers have undertaken initial consultation with local communities and drafted an action plan, which forms the basis of this Race Equality Scheme. 2.4 Many significant achievements were highlighted in thereport. These often resulted from the authority’s commitment to mainstreaming equalities and diversity - building improvement through a corporate approach which lays responsibility on staff at all levels. In response to local need, Barking and Dagenham has opted for a strategy which links to existing initiatives for example Best Value and the Balanced Scorecard. 3. Our Statement of Intent 3.1 From now on, we will mainstream race equality by working on four fronts: Forging Partnerships Developing Shared Vision Providing Leadership Shifting Public Perceptions 3.2 To achieve our strategic aims we will focus on three aspects of our work over the next three years: - Year One 2002/3 - Human Resource Management and Development - Year Two 2003/4 - Community Involvement - Year Three 2004/5 - Service Delivery 3.3 Year One Our priority for Year One will be to ensure that the right people are working within the organisation and that they are properly equipped to meet the needs of all the local communities. If we can demonstrate to local people our commitment to “putting our own house in order” we will be able to build partnerships and support future work on race. A great deal of preparation work on community involvement will take place in Year One together with research that will inform Year Three’s work on improving service delivery. 3.4 Year Two We will take a new creative approach to consulting the community, focusing on meeting people where they are and on their terms. We want to involve local people so that they can make a difference. 3.5 Year Three Having demonstrated our ability to assure Quality and Equality in some of our work, we will try to bring all our services up to the same high standards so that they meet the needs of all the local communities. 4. Meeting our Duties 4.1 We have now completed an audit of the authority’s functions, using an assessment grid based on that recommended by the CRE in its Good Practice Guide. At the same time, public consultation around the report “Beyond Lawrence” has started to give a clear indication of the concerns of local black and minority ethnic communities. 4.2 In order to meet the general duty of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, it is necessary to consider the results of this audit and the initial response of the local communities. A preliminary consultation exercise has been undertaken through the Ethnic Minority Partnership Agency and the Race Equality Council and the views expressed have assisted with the prioritisation of action. 4.3 Those functions which are the most relevant to tackling discrimination and promoting equal opportunities will be prioritised in the impact assessments to be conducted in preparation for Years Two and Three. 4.4 Policies and procedures are being overhauled but some local people continue to question the commitment of those implementing the policies. It is unlikely that authority will succeed in its attempts to challenge all forms of discrimination until it ensures that all staff understand the barriers to equality which result in discriminatory practice - and are equipped to support all local people in challenging these. 4.5 Our immediate priority, therefore, will be to spell out the way in which the authority is demonstrating commitment in a very practical way. We will highlight proposed improvements in the development and management of Human Resources - including induction, performance management, training, promotion and retention. 4.6 Those functions which have been identified as ‘Priority One” for action will be targeted within the action plan for Human Resource Management and Development in Year One. In addition, managers of these services will be required to produce supplements to their annual service plans which indicate how they propose to start assessing and addressing the needs of the communities which they are currently failing. This will start the process of preparing for Years Two and Three. 4.7 The specific duties of the Act relate to employment and staff development, monitoring, access and community consultation and our Race Equality Scheme describes how we will meet these. 4.8 The Council will establish a Corporate Race Co-ordination Group to monitor the implementation of the Race Equality Scheme. The monitoring process will involve the use of the Balanced Scorecard and Heads of Service will be required to address detailed questions which ensure that work on race equality is integrated into the mainstream planning and evaluation process rather than being subject to specific regimes. Our message will clearly indicate a commitment to maintaining equalities issues at the core of the authority’s work in continuous improvement and assuring Best Value. 4.9 The Council has recently appointed a Corporate Equalities and Diversity Adviser and Equalities and Diversity Officers in each of the five service departments. Key areas of their responsibilities are consultation and service delivery and they are developing a programme of bridge building with local communities which will underpin the community consultation needed to identify areas which are failing to assure equal access to information and services. 4.10 Officers have made detailed plans for communicating with staff and local people on the content, proposals, and progress of the Race Equality Scheme. 5. Key Actions from Year One Plan |
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