Race and Diversity Action Team - Business Plan 2006-07

3-Year

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Diversity Strategy
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2007 – 2010
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
CONTENTS

Page

Foreword – Sir David Normington
3

Home Office Objectives, Values and Ambition
5

3-Year Diversity Strategy
7

Strategic Aim 1
10

Strategic Aim 2
12

Strategic Aim 3
14

Strategic Aim 4
16

Strategic Aim 5
19

Marketing Strategy
21

Appendix A – Diversity Self Assessment Questionnaire
25

Appendix B – TOR - Diversity Strategy Programme Board
32

Appendix C – TOR - Heads of Equality & Diversity Forum
34

Appendix D – TOR - Diversity Experts Group
35

Appendix E – Internal Diversity Champion Role Description
36

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy

Foreword from the Permanent Secretary

I am delighted to be launching the Home Office’s 3-Year Diversity Strategy. It sets out
our commitment to delivering diversity in all areas of our business and our plans for
doing so by 2010. We are determined to ensure that diversity is an integral part of our
policies and services and the way we manage the Home Office

We do not start from scratch. We will build on previous strategies, like our

5-Year Race and Diversity Programme, and continue the progress we have made
towards meeting our targets for diversity in the Senior Civil Service and the Home
Secretary’s Race Equality Employment Targets. But the advantage of this strategy is
that it brings all those commitments together in one place alongside the Home Office’s
Race, Disability and Gender Equality scheme, which meets our legislative obligations. I
think this will give us new coherence and an impetus to build on the progress we have
made so far and go further

Our commitment to delivering equal opportunities for all our staff and for those affected
by our policies and services is absolute and unequivocal. We will not discriminate on the
grounds of gender, gender identity, ethnic or national origin, disability, sexual orientation,
religion or belief or any other factor irrelevant to a person’s work. Assessment for
recruitment, selection, appraisal, training and career progression purposes must be
based entirely on the individual’s ability and suitability for the work. We are committed to
providing staff of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to maximise their skills
and achieve their potential, offering flexible working arrangements wherever possible

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
We will put in place an effective framework which ensures that there is a consistent
approach across the Home Office in delivering to the following five aims:

1.  Managers at all levels demonstrate effective leadership on equality and diversity

2. Potential of under-represented groups developed to create a representative
workforce at all levels

3. A working environment where staff respect and value each other’s diversity

4.  Effective Home Office implementation of statutory obligations on equality and
diversity

5.  Services delivered in a way that promotes equality and respects diversity

I and my senior colleagues in the Home Office have agreed this strategy and will play
our part in ensuring it is implemented. We want a diverse workforce and aim to provide a
working environment where all staff at all levels are valued and respected and where
discrimination, bullying and harassment are not tolerated. We look to all our staff to play
their part in supporting this aim

Sir David Normington

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Home Office Objectives

Diversity must be mainstreamed into all of the Department’s work, particularly in its role
in protecting the public as set out in our strategic objectives to:

1.  Help people feel safer in their homes and local communities
2.  Protect the public from terrorist attack
3. Cut crime, especially violent, drug and alcohol related crime
4.  Support visible, responsive and accountable policing
5. Strengthen our borders, fast-track asylum decisions, ensure and enforce
compliance with our immigration laws and boost Britain’s economy
6.  Safeguard people’s identity and the privileges of citizenship
7.  Work with our partners to build an efficient, effective and proportionate Criminal
Justice System

Values

The values we developed in consultation with our staff and stakeholders underpin how
we will achieve our objectives and guide our everyday behaviour to ensure that:

•  we deliver for the public
•  we are professional and innovative
•  we work openly and collaboratively
•  we treat everyone with respect

These values will be underpinned by a set of behaviours to be modelled by Home Office
Board members and the rest of the SCS

Ambition

Our ambition is to create a Home Office which is trusted to protect the public and where
people are proud to work

Our priorities to reach our ambition are:

•  People at all levels who are skilled, involved, take responsibility and are
deteremined to make a difference
•  A Home Office organised to support effective frontline delivery and high
performance
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
• Resources matched to priorites
• Systems which work and make delivery easier

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy

3-Year Diversity Strategy

In July 2004, the Home Office launched a 5-Year Race and Diversity Programme. At the
time, the department had lead responsibility for Race, Faith and Community Cohesion.
In May 2006 the responsibilities held by the Department moved across to the newly
formed department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) following a
machinery of government change. A review of both existing and emerging demands,
particularly across other equality strands, led to a review of the 5-Year Programme and
the development of this 3-year Diversity Strategy. The Strategy will help drive the
Department’s commitment to mainstream diversity and ensure that it has a
representative and skilled workforce to help deliver its ambition across all four priority
areas

Our Vision

To create a working environment within the Home Office Group where:-

•  Our staff feel empowered, valued and respected for their contributions
•  We are truly diverse in our workforce
•  We nurture the potential of all our people to perform at their best
•  We are recognised for our commitment to tackling inequality and championing
justice and fairness

Purpose

This Strategy will act as a strategic driver to help secure an integrated and systematic
approach to equality and diversity across all business areas within the Home Office
Group

Aims

We will put in place an effective framework which ensures that there is a consistent
approach across the Home Office in delivering to the following five aims:

1.  Managers at all levels demonstrate effective leadership on equality and diversity
2.  Potential of under-represented groups is developed to create a representative
workforce at all levels
3.  A working environment where staff respect and value each other’s diversity
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
4.  Effective Home Office implementation of statutory obligations on equality and
diversity
5.  Services delivered in a way that promote equality and respect diversity

Key Objectives

The Department’s diversity imperatives can be summed up in three broad key
objectives. These objectives are further broken down within each strategic aim. The key
objectives are as follows:

a)  Ensure that the implementation and delivery of the 3-Year Diversity Strategy is
integrated and consistent across the department

b)  Compliance with equalities legislation and duties across the group which include
the publication and review of equality schemes

c) To make use of balancing measures within the law to create training and
development opportunities for staff from under represented groups

Achieving Objectives

The Strategic Diversity Action Team (SDAT) will work with all areas of the Department
and its agencies in ensuring consistency in the delivery of the Strategy. In addition, the
following capabilities have been put in place to support the delivery of the Strategy:

•  The Diversity Programme Board will meet quarterly to discuss progress towards
achieving the five outcomes using a self assessment report (Appendix ‘A’). Each
Board area will be asked to complete the self assessment on a quarterly basis.
Completed reports will be circulated in advance of meetings and be validated by
SDAT prior to board meetings. The board will be chaired by the Diversity
Champions Network (DCN)1 representative on the Home Office Board. Each HO
board area will be represented by someone at Director Level who is the identified
Diversity Lead/Champion. (Terms of reference of the Board can be found at
Appendix ‘B’)



1 When the Cabinet Office launched its diversity 10-point plan, it also established a Diversity Champions
Network forum made up of board level representatives from each government department.
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
•  Heads of Equality & Diversity or those with equivalent responsibilities will meet
quarterly to ensure consistency in approach across the Department (Terms of
reference of the group can be found at Appendix ‘C’)

•  Diversity Experts Group - Diversity practitioners will meet bi-monthly to discuss
ongoing work (Terms of reference of this group can be found at Appendix ‘D’)

•  The Home Office Board Diversity Champion appointed by the Permanent
Secretary will meet with board colleagues to discuss progress on a quarterly
basis

•  Each Home Office Board equality strand champion will attend key departmental
events relating to their respective equality area (a description of their role can be
found at Appendix ‘E’)

•  Quarterly workforce diversity data reports with key messages will be provided to
all Home Office Board members and key internal stakeholders

•  Allocation of dedicated internal consultancy support to enable the department to
meet its aims

•  Provide Home Office Board members who lead on equality strands, as
champions, with a quarterly newsletter updating them on their respective strands
and forthcoming events
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy

Strategic Aim 1

Managers at all levels demonstrate effective leadership on equality and diversity

Introduction

If we are to embed diversity as part of the fabric of the Home Office, everyone in the
organisation has a particular responsibility to take actions that will support the Home
Office’s commitment to Diversity and equality. The actions staff need to take will vary
dependent upon where they are in the organisation but these are the key areas where
we expect staff at all levels to be accountable:

Senior Leaders
1.  Create a positive culture: set standards, challenge behaviour
2.  Be a Diversity Champion for your part of the Office
3. Value the diversity of your staff by creating a diversity-friendly working
environment
4.  Institutionalise diversity into the way you manage your business

Line Managers
5.  Demonstrate clear leadership on diversity issues
6.  Manage your staff to promote a positive working environment where staff are
treated fairly and diversity is valued
7.  Integrate diversity into policy making, business plans and service delivery

Staff
8.  Set a positive example to others in your team
9.  Value the diversity of your colleagues
10. Think about the impact of diversity in every aspect of your work

Objectives

1.  To promote the importance of integrating diversity into PDR objectives for all staff
and line managers

2. To promote the importance of resolving staff grievances and complaints
expeditiously

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
3.  To promote the importance of keeping staff up to date on diversity and equality
through training and development

4.  To ensure that all submissions show consideration of equality and diversity

5.  To ensure that diversity objectives are built into all unit and directorate business
plans

Key Targets and Milestones

1.  Diversity objectives specific to an individual’s working environment are in place
for all staff within their PDR by 2010

2.  All grievances and complaints are acted upon and resolved within the agreed
policy timescales by 2010

3.  All staff to have undergone diversity training within the 3-years preceding 2010

4. All submissions include a section on the equal treatment implications under a
heading of ‘Equality & Diversity ‘ by end 2007
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy

Strategic Aim 2

Potential of under-represented groups developed to create a representative workforce at
all levels

Introduction

Recruiting, retaining and developing a diverse workforce has tangible organisational
benefits. Having a workforce that reflects the UK population helps us to ensure that our
policies and services take account of all perspectives in meeting the needs of diverse
communities. A truly diverse workforce needs to have a balanced mix of men and
women of all ages from different sexual orientations, ethnic and religious backgrounds,
disabled and non disabled. The diversity of our workforce is further enriched by valuing
and supporting other differences such as educational backgrounds, values, skills and life
experiences

In July 2004, the Home Office launched its 5-year Race and Diversity Programme. Now,
half-way through this initiative, we have one of the highest proportions of ethnic minority
staff in any government department. Over one quarter of staff who have declared their
ethnicity are from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. Furthermore, the Department
is now the leading central government department on the Stonewall Workplace Equality
Index as an LGB friendly employer following a benchmarking exercise

Progress has been made but more needs to be done to ensure fair progression for all.
For example, the existing SCS is yet to represent the full diversity of our workforce,
particularly at Director level

To underline our commitment to diversity, the Home Office has introduced tougher
targets than those recommended by the Cabinet Office 10 point plan.
Our targets are:

•  40% of SCS to be women by 2008 – as at April 2007, 31.8%
•  30% of top management posts to be filled by women by 2008 as at April 2007,
35.3%%
•  8% of SCS to be from a minority ethnic background by 2008 as at April 2007,
3.9%
•  3.2% of SCS to be disabled people by 2008 – as at April 2007, 2%

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Objectives

1.  To meet the targets set out in the Cabinet Office Diversity 10-Point plan by 2008

2.  To review and promote all balancing measures like development plus targeted at
under represented groups who are both seeking and show potential for promotion
within the next 18 months

3.  To improve the representation of under-represented staff on mainstream training
and development courses and programmes

4.  To promote opportunities for staff from under-represented groups to apply for
SCS posts

Key Targets and Milestones

1.  Percentage/Women – total/SCS – target 40% of SCS by 2008

2.  Percentage/Minority Ethnic staff – total/SCS – target 8% of SCS by 2008

3. Percentage/Disabled staff – total/SCS – target 3.2% of SCS by 2008

4. Percentage/Women in feeder grades (G6/7) – target of 45% by 2008

5.  Percentage/Minority Ethnic staff in feeder grades (G6/7) – target of 10% by 2008

6. Percentage/Disabled staff in feeder grades (G6/7) – target of 3.2% by 2008

7.  The roll-out of a revised balancing measures programme available to all staff from
under-represented groups by end 2007

8.  Ensure proportional representation of under-represented staff on MDP, IDP and
feeder grade development programmes by 2010

9.  Identify and implement measures to increase the number of staff from under-
represented groups in the SCS by end 2007
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Strategic Aim 3

A working environment where staff respect and value each other’s diversity

Introduction

There is a lot more to diversity than just visible demographics like the colour of one’s
skin, gender or age. The diversity agenda seems to emphasise some differences more
than others. In fact, a hierarchy of diversity with race, gender and disability has
dominated at times to the exclusion of other equality strands. But it should be
remembered that diversity is a broad concept and is equally about celebrating other
more subtle differences, such as transferable skills, educational backgrounds and values
It is important to ensure that selection is based on experience, knowledge, expertise and
personality, in addition to demographics. Such an approach can help dismantle shallow
arguments that individuals were recruited because they were black, a woman, or
disabled
In short, diversity must be about the recognition of and respect for the infinite variety of
human types and experiences. We need to manage diversity with greater creativity and
change assumptions about what it means. The challenge is to do this in a large and
complex department where affairs of state and pressures of work can too easily take
priority over equality and diversity issues. The Home Office has long recognised that
diversity is at the heart of its business and it is essential that it engages a workforce that
mirrors the diverse society it serves. This ethos serves as a driver for the work we are
doing in this area
The Home Office works closely with staff support networks which, in turn, play an
important role in fine-tuning communication with management. The organisation
provides full financial support for three networks: The NETWORK for minority ethnic
staff; HODS (Home Office Disability Support Network) for disabled staff and Spectrum
for LGBT staff. The Home Office also provides financial support for a:gender, a civil
service wide support network for transsexual and transgender staff. There are also a
number of informal staff networks that receive ad hoc financial support including HOW, a
women’s network and some faith-based networks

Objectives

1. To promote and fund Home Office Staff Support Groups, HODS, Spectrum and
The Network, particularly around staff support, educational programmes and
stakeholder engagement
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy

2.  To support other informal staff support groups like Home Office Women, the
Christian Fellowship and the Home Office Islamic Network in marking significant
national or cultural events

3.  To promote Home Office Board member attendance at key equality and diversity
events across the Department

Key Targets and Milestones

1.  Percentage of staff of yes responses to: “In the past year whilst working for the
Home Office I have been treated in a way which I would describe as bullying,
harassment and discrimination” to fall year on year

2.  Percentage of staff of yes responses to: “I believe the Home Office is committed
to being an Equal Opportunities Employer” – should increase year on year

3.  Percentage of staff of yes responses to: “Senior Management where I work value
diversity and are committed to creating a diverse organisation” – should increase
year on year

4.  Funded staff support groups produce annual business plans together with annual
reports on progress

5.  Attendance of Home Office Board Diversity Strand Champions at 80% of events
run by staff support groups and diversity teams

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Strategic Aim 4

Effective Home Office implementation of statutory obligations on equality and diversity

Introduction

Disability, Gender and Race Equality Scheme

The Strategic Diversity Action Team (SDAT) co-ordinated work regarding the Home
Office’s Race, Disability, and Gender Equality Scheme. The scheme incorporates the
existing Race and Disability Equality Schemes and the new Gender Equality Scheme.
The progress of the 3-year action plans within the equality scheme will be reported on
quarterly at the Diversity Programme Board

• The Disability Equality Duty came into force on 4 December 2006.
This legal duty requires all public bodies to actively look at ways of ensuring that
disabled people are treated equally. All of those covered by the specific duties must
also have produced a Disability Equality Scheme, which Home Office published in
December 2006

•  In 2001, the Race Relations Act was amended to give public authorities a new
statutory duty to promote race equality. The aim of the duty is to help public
authorities to provide fair and accessible services and to improve equal opportunities
in employment. Following the introduction of the race duties, the Home Office
produced a Race Equality Scheme in 2002. We revised and updated our Race
Equality Scheme in 2005

•  The Equality Act 2006 introduced a new duty on 6 April 2007 which requires public
authorities, including Ministers and civil servants, to have due regard to the need to
promote equality of opportunity for men and women (the Gender Equality Duty).
Similar to the public sector equality duties on race and disability, the onus of
responsibility will be shifted from the individual towards public authorities responsible
for designing policies, practices and services

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Why a 3 strand scheme?

•  House the three separate schemes in the same publication
•  Synchronise all schemes to a single anniversary
•  Ability to review all three schemes at the same time
•  Opportunity to identify cross strand discrimination issues
• Integrated and consistent approach across the group

Objectives

1.  All new policies and functions together with existing ones which are deemed to be
highly relevant to the Equality Duties undergo an Equality Impact Assessment
and to facilitate this, all policy leads from HEO to Grade 6 undergo equality
impact assessment training

2.  Equality schemes together with action plans are published and reviewed within
the statutory timescales and those actions contained within the plans are
implemented and reported on regularly

3.  To promote the importance of ensuring appropriate measures are in place in our
delivery and policy areas demonstrating due regard to our general equality duties

4.  To publish employment monitoring data as set out in our specific equality duties
on an annual basis and encourage its use across the department

5. To take account of changes in equality legislation resulting from the
Discrimination Law Review and put in place measures to implement new
requirements across the Home Office

Key Targets and Milestones

1.  All HEO to Grade 6 staff with policy responsibility trained in Equality Impact
Assessing by 2010

2.  All new policies and bills between 2007 and 2010 have been equality impact
assessed

3.  3-strand Equality Scheme Published end April 2007 and reviewed annually with a
commitment to produce a single integrated equality scheme by the end of 2008

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
4.  Progress on action plans reported quarterly at the Diversity Programme Board

5.  Agreed minimum data sets are in place for all policy areas to help assess due
regard to equality duties by 2010

6.  The Home Office and its agencies publish annual employment monitoring reports
in compliance with employment duties

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Strategic Aim 5

Services delivered in a way that promote equality and respect diversity

Introduction

The delivery and improvement of our services requires an ongoing understanding and
consideration of internal and external customer groups to ensure both high standards in
service delivery and the minimisation or mitigation of adverse equality impact

The Home Office’s ongoing initiatives are a clear demonstration of the strong focus that
we as an organisation have developed to ensure we proactively promote equality within
business activities

Our aim is to create a working environment where diversity is recognised, valued and
celebrated. In delivering our business through our functions we, on a daily basis, engage
with our increasingly diverse society. In order to respond to this dynamic environment
and the ever new and exciting challenges it presents, we recognise that services must
be relevant, responsive and sensitive and that the organisation must develop its skills
and experience to bring about high quality public services

We similarly expect that our providers take equality into account in service delivery, and
they monitor their services in accordance with public sector equality duties. In doing so
they must ensure their analysis uses qualitative and quantitive data to monitor the needs
of different groups. Our commissioning guidance must therefore ensure that the
monitoring of the take-up of services by different population groups is done to good
effect and as a result, will enable providers to give recognition to the fact that diversity is
important to business success in today’s increasingly diverse society

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Objectives

1.  To ensure all contractual arrangements with suppliers explicitly require them to
monitor their services in accordance with public sector equality duties

2.  To undertake external benchmarking of equality and diversity with organisations
like Opportunity Now, Stonewall, Disability Standard and Race for Opportunity

3.  To promote the importance of customer satisfaction surveys that assess our
performance on accessibility of our services to diverse communities

4.  Business areas to identify external key stakeholders, or stakeholder groups, for
strategic business issues and ensure their engagement and involvement in
developing and delivering our key services

Key Targets and Milestones

1.  All guidance and standard contractual arrangements explicitly outline supplier’s
responsibilities to monitor services in accordance with the general equality duties
by end 2008

2.  To demonstrate progress year on year on departmental performance on equality
and diversity as compared to other government departments

3. Customer satisfaction surveys to show that people from under-represented
population groups demonstrate similar satisfaction rates to the majority population
group

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Marketing Strategy

Background

Marketing is a key tool in the integration of diversity throughout the Home Office. A clear
vision for the marketing strategy will maintain focus, clarity and consistency to ensure
that everything that we do feeds into our wider objectives

Objectives

The key outcomes for marketing are:

•  Diversity is mainstreamed - Diversity is not seen as a discrete subject/optional extra
but is genuinely embedded into the work of the department

•  To raise the profile of diversity issues across the Home Office Group, Whitehall and
beyond

•  To be regarded by employers in the public, private and third sector as leaders on
diversity

•  Managers recognise that promoting diversity is critical to improving performance

Delivery

To deliver these objectives, marketing has a number of work-streams which link to the
outcomes of the 3-year Diversity Strategy

•  Communication Strategy and plan

o  A robust strategy in order to maintain focus on outcomes and avoid an ad-hoc
approach

o  Calendar for the year of our events as well as others where board members
could have a presence

o  Use mainstream communications vehicles to ensure that diversity is not
marginalised

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
•  Producing a number of communications events throughout the year

o  High profile bi-monthly subject-specific events

o  Events to promote specific diversity activities e.g. Development Plus, EIA
training

o  Production of ‘Diversity Delivers’ Newsletter twice yearly

•  Effective use of Diversity website that

o  provides easy access to diversity toolkit

o projects
the
professional image of the department

o  reflects the way the department works

o  is accurate and relevant and up to date

o  uses technology to ensure that key messages are accessible to all

•  Effective use of diversity messages

o  Explore ways in which SDAT and the staff support networks can promote our
work (e.g. attendance at directorate away days/team briefs, use of DVDs and
CD ROMs etc)

o  Explore ways in which SDAT can mainstream diversity messages e.g. by
using mainstream stories with a diversity angle

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
o  Effective use of all internal communications systems
- Inside
Track
- HOT
- HOT
TV
- Illuminated
poster
displays
in Marsham Street
-  Use of Atrium
- HR
Newsletter
- HR
Bulletin
-  Network Newsletters
-  Civil Service diversity awards

•  Making effective use of diversity champions to promote policies and tools

o  Use website to promote Champions
o  Maintain contact with Champions through regular e-mail updates on their area
o  Ensure Champions are invited to events which relate to their area
o  Define role of Champions

Measuring the effectiveness of the marketing strategy

o  Using evaluation forms after events
o Annual
customer
research
using sample of customers
o  Staff survey questions on valuing diversity

Key Stakeholders

Audience
Home Office Board
Senior Managers
Staff from under-represented groups
Staff in policy areas
Unions
Staff Support Networks
HR
Cabinet Office
Internal
HR Comms advisers – bi-weekly meetings to discuss plans
contacts
and explore links to other media

Website – CD

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
HOT stories – Home Office Today

External
Opportunity Now – magazine/benchmarking
Contacts
Race for Opportunity – Benchmarking/annual dinner
Employers Forum on Disability
Stonewall Benchmarking
Commission for Equality and Human Rights
Wider stakeholders identified by the Home Office
Stakeholder database

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Appendix A

Home Office Diversity Assessment Template

The Quarterly Diversity Assessment Template can be found
on Horizon at the following location:

http://horizon/race_diversity/index.asp

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy

Appendix B
Terms of Reference – Diversity Strategy Programme Board
Purpose

The programme board will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of the 3- Year
Diversity Strategy and will meet quarterly to review the performance against the
following five outcomes:

1.  Managers at all levels demonstrate effective leadership on equality and diversity
2. Potential of under-represented groups developed to create a representative
workforce at all levels
3. A working environment where staff respect and value each other’s diversity
4.  Effective Home Office implementation of statutory obligations on equality and
diversity
5.  Services delivered in a way that promote equality and respect diversity

The programme board will be chaired by the Diversity Champions Network
Representative

Terms of Reference

•  To review the performance against the 5 outcomes of the Diversity Strategy of each
reporting area each quarter using the self assessment framework
•  To agree the objectives and business benefits of the Programme and ensure they
are achieved, including ensuring the Home Office complies with its statutory
equalities duties
•  To ensure the availability of required resources; adherence to the Programme budget
and value for money
•  To authorise changes to the Programme and advise on developing practices and
standards that should be incorporated
•  To ensure all areas of the Home Office Board are represented at Programme Board
meetings and at least a director level representative attends
•  To meet as a programme board on a quarterly basis

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Key Objectives

a) Ensure that the implementation and delivery of the 3-Year Diversity Strategy is
integrated and consistent across the department

b) Compliance with equalities legislation and duties across the group which include
the publication and review of equality schemes

c) To make use of balancing measures within the law to create training and
development opportunities for staff from under represented groups

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Appendix C

Heads of Equality & Diversity Forum

Purpose

A strategic forum consisting of Heads of Equality, Diversity or equivalent that will ensure
that the Home Office Group secures an integrated and systematic approach to delivering
the 3-Year Diversity Strategy

It will cover the following areas:

1.  Legal Compliance issues and general and specific public duties
a) Equality Schemes
b)  Employment Monitoring Duty
c)  Equality Impact Assessment
2.  Progress against 3-Year Diversity Strategy
3.  Sharing of good practice

Terms of Reference

• Work towards securing an integrated and systematic approach to equality and
diversity across the Home Office Group
•  Sharing and promoting good practice across the Group
•  Promote the importance of achieving a representative workforce
• Raise profile of Home Group on its commitment to tackling inequality and
championing justice and fairness
•  Influence corporate policy on equality and diversity
•  Where appropriate discuss and advise on external service delivery equality and
diversity policy issues

Key Objectives

•  Delivery of the 3-Year Diversity Strategy

•  Ensure compliance with equalities legislation and duties across the group

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy
Appendix D

Diversity Experts Group

Purpose

A bi-monthly forum, where diversity practitioners share best practice and discuss
ongoing work to deliver the aims of the 3-Year Diversity Strategy

1.  Managers at all levels demonstrate effective leadership on equality and diversity
2. Potential of under-represented groups developed to create a representative
workforce at all levels
3. A working environment where staff respect and value each other’s diversity
4.  Effective Home Office implementation of statutory obligations on equality and
diversity
5.  Services delivered in a way that promote equality and respect diversity

Terms of Reference

•  Supporting the Heads of Equality in securing an integrated and systematic
approach to equality and diversity across the Home Office Group
•  Working collectively to deliver the Strategy’s key objectives, targets and
milestones
•  Sharing and promoting good practice across the Group
•  Keeping abreast of developments in equality legislation
• Aiding
the
identification of risks and opportunities for equality and diversity within
the department

Key Objectives

•  Delivery of the 3-Year Diversity Strategy

•  Ensure compliance with equalities legislation and duties across the group

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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy

Appendix E
Home Office Internal Diversity Champions

The internal Diversity Champions act as change agents, responsible for reiterating
Home Office commitment to becoming one of the leading departments in promoting
good practice on diversity in employment policy delivery. The Diversity Champions will
fulfil an advocacy role and exemplify taking personal responsibility for valuing diversity

Role of a Diversity Champion:

•  To report to the HOB on all aspects of their diversity strand and to ensure that
implications of Home Office policies for that strand are considered
•  To work to ensure that systems and processes are aligned with the organisation’s
diversity goals and the 3-Year Diversity Strategy
•  To ensure that they are aware of any recent departmental and legislative changes
in respect of their diversity strand
•  To support the work of the staff network/s associated with their diversity strand
(where applicable)
•  To actively support the diversity strand within the department by:
o
regularly communicating the benefits of diversity
o
attending events, such as conferences, workshops, internal and external
meetings which link into the strand
o
role-modelling appropriate behaviours
o
encouraging a climate where staff can challenge inappropriate behaviour
and reinforce the principles of dignity and respect
o
reinforcing leadership commitment at meetings by mainstreaming diversity
into all policy areas
o
mentoring one or more staff members from within appropriate diversity
strand

SDAT support to Diversity Champions

•  Provide quarterly updates to HOB Champions on diversity strands

•  Assist Champions to promote policies and tools developed by the team

•  Quarterly meetings to discuss business performance
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Home Office 3-Year Diversity Strategy

• Promote role of champions through the SDAT intranet site and other media

Strand
HO Board Member
Associated Staff

responsible
Network

Race
Sir David Normington
The Network

Gender
Helen Kilpatrick
Home Office Women

Gender Identity
James Hall
Spectrum/ a:gender

Disability
Lin Homer
HODS

Sexual Orientation
Peter Makeham
Spectrum

Age
Ursula Brennan
None

Religion or belief
Moira Wallace
Informal faith networks

include Home Office

Islamic Network/Christian

Fellowship

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