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ITEM EX10

EXECUTIVE – 28 OCTOBER 2003

SOCIAL INCLUSION AND EQUALITIES

Report by the Head of Democratic Services

Background

  1. The Executive considered a framework report on social inclusion and equalities issues by the Deputy Leader of the Council on 19 March 2002. This report now provides an update on progress made by the Council and makes proposals for more effective corporate co-ordination of social inclusion and equalities issues in light of additional pressures. In particular the report proposes formal adoption of the Equality Standard for Local Government.

  2. At present, the Head of Democratic Services has corporate responsibility for managing social inclusion and equalities work. Officers in the Directorates, both with social inclusion and equalities responsibilities and without specific responsibilities, look for corporate specialist expertise, guidance and benchmarking on these issues. The additional pressures and the legislative and audit requirements set out below make the availability of sufficient corporate capacity to deliver vital to the County Council’s objective of becoming an outstanding authority by 2005. The Council’s performance in this area has slipped markedly at a time when the profile and importance of the social inclusion and equalities dimensions continues to increase.

    3. External Monitoring and Auditing of Performance

  3. The corporate health of the County Council is increasingly being judged by social inclusion, equalities and community cohesion measures, for example through a range of Best Value Performance Indicators. It is therefore essential that corporate performance is significantly improved in these areas.

  4. The Head of Diversity at the Audit Commission has publicly stated that race equality will be a major element in future Comprehensive Performance Assessments. This is demonstrated in recent Corporate Governance Re-Inspections and has been re-enforced by the Head of Diversity at the local government Employers Organisation.

  5. In 2002, the Audit Commission produced a report, "Equality and Diversity", based on performance indicator outturns. Their report concludes:

    6. "Equality and diversity considerations should be integrated into all aspects of delivering, monitoring and inspecting services. Councils need to address equalities issues in all their best value reviews and planning processes ... we will ensure that equality and diversity are addressed in our core functions of audit and inspection, and we will continue to conduct and publicise research in this area."

    The equality dimensions of the CPA are being enhanced to ensure that the lack of progress by councils nationally, noted in the Audit Commission report, is addressed.

  6. Equalities legislation has been broadened and strengthened in recent years, as have enforcement arrangements. For example, under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) has enforcement powers which it can use against public authorities that do not comply with the general and specific duties imposed upon them. The CRE has the power to inspect and audit the Council and to apply for a judicial review of the County Council’s actions. The CRE can also serve a compliance notice on the Council if needed and subsequently apply for a court order to enforce compliance.

  7. The CRE has stated that the extent to which public authorities are complying with their duties will be taken up through other inspection agencies, such as the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate.

    8. Progress on Corporate Co-ordination of Social Inclusion Issues

  8. The Social Inclusion Group has continued to meet as a Member/Officer Working Group, chaired by the Deputy Leader of the Council. The group has been successful in identifying and drawing together good practice within the Council and externally, providing some degree of co-ordination between officers and identifying issues requiring increased awareness or strategic consideration.

  9. The Group has, however, recognised that a more consistent and strategic approach to social inclusion will be required if this work is to be effectively mainstreamed across the Council and the maximum impact achieved. The Council does not currently have a formal social inclusion strategy. Ideally, any strategy developed should include a vision for tackling social exclusion; a prioritised corporate action plan with measurable outcomes; service area implementation plans; and corporate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

  10. Although the Council has agreed that social inclusion should be a "Golden Thread" running through all priorities and strategic objectives, there does not appear to be explicit inclusion of social inclusion issues in all the Directorates’ initial evaluation reports against the service and budget priority framework, for example, or a mechanism for ensuring that this happens.

  11. There is an urgent need for corporate support, monitoring and evaluation of the operation of the "Golden Thread" approach, as it is unlikely to happen effectively otherwise and without a coherent strategy. Additional corporate support will be necessary to ensure that social inclusion genuinely cascades through the County Council in a consistent manner.

  12. A coherent strategy for social inclusion work should extend beyond a cultural approach that raises awareness. This would more directly change services through an implementation strategy and performance and review processes, with measurable impacts.

    13. Progress on the Equality Standard for Local Government

  13. The Equality Standard for Local Government was launched in October 2001 and replaced the CRE Standard for Race Equality as a statutory Best Value Performance Indicator in 2002/03. The remit of the new standard is much broader than the old one, covering three dimensions (race, gender and disability) rather than just one dimension.

  14. The County Council formally adopted the CRE Standard in 1996, before it became a performance indicator, and developed a system of annual reporting of progress and targets by Directors to the former Equal Opportunities Working Party and by the Assistant Chief Executive to the former Strategy & Resources Committee. The County Council was one of very few counties to achieve Level 3 in 2001/02.

  15. However, the County Council has not formally adopted the Equality Standard for Local Government. Considerable ground now needs to be made up in driving, monitoring and reviewing progress corporately, across three equality areas initially (race, gender and disability) and three additional equality areas in the medium and longer term (religion and belief, sexual orientation and age), which this standard is designed to be expanded to include.

  16. To achieve Level 1 of the Standard, the County Council will need to develop a Corporate Equality Plan (CEP) with a clear implementation plan. This should include allocating staff and resources, addressing multiple discrimination, identifying meaningful outcomes, equality action planning and target setting in all Directorates, ensuring a consistent approach to all equality areas, and demonstrating a commitment to carrying out equality impact and needs/requirements assessments across all services. Fuller details of the requirements are set out in Annex 1.

    17. Progress on Consultation with Ethnic Minority Communities

  17. Consultation is an integral part of the preparation and delivery of the Council’s Race Equality Scheme. The main route for consultation by the Council on race relations issues is through the county’s two Racial Equality Councils, which the County Council supports financially. Other routes have included the Oxfordshire Citizens’ Panel and specific service area initiatives.

  18. The Race Equality Scheme refers to the development of a consultative Reference Group, to be in place by May 2003. This has not proved possible due to a lack of corporate resources to undertake the development work required. However, the County Council is now on track to have a Race Equality Reference Group in place by the end of the year.

  19. The aims of Reference Group will be to ensure effective delivery of the Race Equality Scheme; to establish an independent community-based grouping that can operate as a ‘critical friend’ in supporting implementation of the scheme through monitoring and reviewing the scheme action plans; to develop a genuine two-way dialogue with ethnic minority communities; to move away from the traditional ‘top down’ approach to consultation; and to reach-out to a wider range of ethnic minority groups and individuals.

  20. The Reference Group will be established on the basis of proper demographical representation based on the 2001 census. This will ensure an equal balance of individuals living within and outside of Oxford City; an equal balance of women and men; fair representation by age; and fair representation by ethnic group.

  21. It is likely that there will be continued pressures to improve performance in social inclusion and equalities due to rising community expectations.

    22. Progress on the Race Equality Scheme

  22. Progress in implementing the statutory Race Equality Scheme has been patchy, unfocused and inconsistent. Scheme implementation is not sufficiently robust and there is a lack of clear audit trails. A progress summary is provided in Annex 2.

  23. The County Council has a specific duty under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 as an employer, to monitor by racial group the number of: staff in post; applicants for employment, training and promotion; staff who receive training; results of performance assessments; grievance procedures; disciplinary procedures; and leavers. The results of this monitoring must be published annually. The Human Resources Unit has compiled this report, but the statistical validity of the data is unreliable at present and it would be misleading to base conclusions on it. Urgent action to make significant improvements in this area will need to be taken this year so that the Council can be fully compliant and be in a position to act on the monitoring data where necessary.

  24. The County Council currently pays grants under service agreements to the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and two Racial Equality Councils from a Central Services to the Public budget. These grants are included within the Race Equality Scheme and it would be sensible for future 3-year service agreements to be coterminous with the 3-year life of the Race Equality Scheme.

    25. Legislative Developments Since 19 March 2002

  25. Legislative developments are a key driver, particularly given their bearing on future Comprehensive Performance Assessments. These include major developments in equalities legislation and the corresponding introduction of additional statutory Best Value Performance Indicators. Further details are provided in Annex 3.

    26. Proposals to Improve Corporate Capacity for Managing Social Inclusion and Equalities

  26. On 1 April 2003, the County Council re-structured into five strategic directorates and the Chief Executive’s Office. The disbanding of the former Strategy Directorate and the location of the Partnerships Unit within the Environment & Economy Directorate without their former corporate social inclusion remit necessitates a revision of the previously proposed officer structure.

  27. Corporate responsibility for managing social inclusion, equalities issues and community cohesion has now fallen to the Head of Democratic Services. Progress in these areas will only be achieved if the work is adequately resourced and supported at a corporate level.

  28. Currently, there is a short term Strategic Projects Officer post, which has been put in place to undertake urgent priorities and has provided temporary corporate support for social inclusion and equalities work. Corporate support and strategic co-ordination of social inclusion and equalities work, together with the steering of implementation of the Race Equality Scheme and the Equality Standard for Local Government, cannot be fulfilled by one post. The focus will inevitably tend to fall on legislative requirements and statutory best value performance indicators, to the detriment of the wider field of priorities.

  29. The need for additional corporate support to achieve the required changes highlighted in this report has been identified and a budget bid has been submitted for £50k to fund an additional full-time post for 2004/05.

    30. RECOMMENDATIONS

  30. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. formally adopt the Equality Standard for Local Government, noting the operational and resource requirements in order to achieve Level 1;

          2. support the development of a corporate social inclusion strategy to provide a strategic driver and clear framework for this key theme running through the Oxfordshire Plan priorities;

          3. note that the need for enhanced corporate support for social inclusion and equalities work is reflected in a budget bid of £50k for 2004/05.

DEREK BISHIP
Head of Democratic Services

Background papers: Nil

Contact Officer: Adrian Harper-Smith Tel: (01865) 810179

October 2003

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