Emerging

Comments

Knowing your community- equality mapping

1.2 Local people's needs and equality issues are mapped out across the organisation

1.3 It is developing systems corporately and at service/unit level to collect data and intelligence about the community and their needs and aspirations.

1.4 It analyses data to ensure appropriate and relevant objectives will be set.

Place shaping, leadership, partnership and organisational commitment

1.5 Leader, Chief Executive and partners commit themselves publicly to improve equality outcomes for the community

1.6 A corporate prioritised programme of EIAs is in place.

1.7 It has corporate equality schemes in place

1.8 It is carrying out EIAs across the authority in a consistent way.

1.9 It has allocated resources to deliver this agenda

1.10 Corporate and service level structures are in place to ensure delivery and review of the equalities agenda

1.11 It integrates equalities issues into its internal and external communications strategy

1.12 Authority and its partners are committed to promote equality through contracts, commissioning, and grant aid

Community engagement and satisfaction

1.13 It consults before equalities priorities are agreed. Feedback is given to those consulted both on the results of the consultation and the actions that will be taken.

1.14 Sustainable Community and other partnership strategies and working arrangements, including the LSP, LAA, and MAA have been reviewed with the third sector and the community to deliver equality outcomes

1.15 Inclusive community engagement structures are being developed

1.16 Partners work together to balance diverse but sometimes conflicting interests in the locality

Responsive services and customer care

1.17 Local communities are consulted and engaged on all aspects of service planning and delivery

1.18 Impact assessments are being carried out in each department. They involve designated community and stakeholder groups and are made public.

1.19 All procurement and commissioning processes take account of equality issues. Contracts include a requirement top deliver an effective and appropriate service fairly and without unlawful discrimination

1.20 Structures are in place to ensure effective delivery, monitoring, and review of service equality outcomes.

1.21 Harassment, hate crimes, and ASB is dealt with effectively

A modern, diverse and reflective workforce

1.22 As part of its workforce strategy it develops and adopts a fair employment and equal pay policy

1.23 The authority has made a commitment to equal pay and started work on its equal pay review

1.24 It carries out EIAs on major and new employment policies. These are made public.

1.25 It carries out an assessment of the competencies and development required to deliver equality outcomes

1.26 It is developing an understanding of its local labour market, the barriers equality groups face and the impact this has on achieveing a diverse workforce

1.27 It monitors and publishes employment data to fulfil its statutory duties

1.28 It ensures that all employment procedures comply with equality legislation and employment codes of practice

1.29 Harassment and bullying at work are dealt with effectively

Achieving

Comments

Knowing your community - equality mapping

2.1 Relevant and appropriate information is gathered using a range of techniques, across all equality target groups, to inform policy and strategy and to prioritise.

2.2 Information and data is shared appropriately and as necessary across the authority and with partners in order to achieve equality outcomes.

2.3 Relevant and appropriate information and data is mapped, disaggregated and used to assess equality objectives

2.4 It is able to identify how their communities are changing and the impact this may have on service priorities

2.5 Clear organisational and partnership equality priorities have been set and are owned and understood by all key stakeholders, including the third sector.

2.6 Equality Objectives and actions can be found in corporate and strategic plans.

2.7 Equality and cohesion priorities are monitored regularly by the political leadership and senior management team

2.8 It has allocated appropriate resources to achieve objectives.

2.9 It publishes the outcomes of EIAs on a regular basis

2.10 Overview and Scrutiny processes address equality issues.

2.11 Work is being undertaken to promote equality of opportunity in terms of participation as elected representatives

Community engagement and satisfaction

2.12 Local public service priorities have been set alongside national ones which involve local people and their identified needs.

2.13 Consultation with stakeholders and the third sector is systematically built into EIAs, the self assessment and planning processes

Responsive services and customer care

2.14 A set of equality outcomes/objectives/goals has been produced at service/unit level to meet the needs of identified equality target groups.

2.15 Equality objectives have been developed within each department/ service area based on completed impact assessments and other equality data.

2.16 Structures have been established at service/unit level to progress and monitor performance. Equality and cohesion objectives are monitored regularly by portfolio holders and departmental management teams

2.17 Appropriate resources have been allocated to achieve objectives

2.18 Mechanisms are in place to ensure that equality objectives are delivered by contractors through contract management and that they are monitored properly.

2.19 The Authority ensures that contractors, commissioned services and grant receivers regularly review their services and access to them to ensure that they continue to be appropriate and accessible.

Modern, diverse and reflective workforce

2.20 Workforce strategies address equality issues

Some confusion between policy, process strategy - explain terminology - is this higher level strategies? What is a process? - what is a service?

2.21 The authority has made significant progress on the equal pay review and reaching agreement with the unions.

This is not a good indicator. It will be out of date soon. Change to

All employees are paid equally for doing a job of equal value.

2.22 It delivers a range of learning and development interventions to support members and officers to deliver equality outcomes

Include staff outcomes i.e. how have staff made a difference for their customers. Attitudinal, cultural change.

2.23 Employment objectives have been set based on internal monitoring information, the assessment of the local labour market and barriers.

2.24 Adverse trends resulting from the monitoring of employment data is acted upon.

This is also a public sector duty and should be orange.

2.25 Equality implications of objectives in management and individual appraisals have been considered.

2.26 All employment procedures have been impact assessed.

Change to

All employment policies have been impact assessed.

Excellent

Comments

Knowing your community - equality mapping

3.1 It has good quality evidence, which is regularly updated, of the equalities profile of its communities and their changing needs

3.2 It has developed information and monitoring systems that allow it to disaggregate data on a range of performance indicators

Place shaping, leadership, partnership and organisational commitment

3.3 Members and officers are comfortable with equality issues and able to deal with its complexity

“are comfortable” - what does this mean?

Change to

Members and officers are informed about

3.4 Working with partners authorities can demonstrate real outcomes that have improved equality in services and employment.

3.5 It can demonstrate success in meeting a range of objectives across the authority and is reviewing them on a regular basis.

3.6 It benchmarks its achievements against comparable others and shares its experience in developing good practice across the public sector.

3.7 It can show that the corporate and inter-service self evaluation process is working effectively

3.8 The local authority has gained a reputation within local government and its strategic and third sector partners for championing and achieving equality outcomes

This indicator is too woolly. A LA can be well thought of with nothing to back up this perception.

Community engagement and satisfaction

3.9 It undertakes high quality engagement with all local communities on a regular basis, including taking account of newer communities.

3.10 There is increased satisfaction amongst key stakeholders and the community with services and progress in meeting equality and cohesion targets

3.11 Effective systems are put in place to obtain improved outcomes

3.12 Effective forums are in place to enable all equality stakeholders to challenge, scrutinise and evaluate the authority's progress.

Responsive services and customer care

3.13 It has achieved progress across all departments/service areas against the equality objectives it sets across all the equality strands

3.14 Accurate service user profiles are being used to inform service changes and improvements.

3.15 It has improving satisfaction and perceptions indicators from all sections of the community

3.16 Equality impact assessments are built into all aspects of decision making and policy and service reviews

Modern, diverse and reflective workforce

3.17 Managers have been appraised against service equality objectives

3.18 It can demonstrate movement towards greater equality in the workforce profile and in employment

This should measure all equality areas, eg senior women by age etc.

3.19 It has high satisfaction and perception indicators from all staff across a range of employment processes

3.20 It ensures that services are provided by knowledgeable and well-trained staff, who are equipped to cater for particular needs of groups where necessary

3.21 Its staff are confident with equality issues

This is not a good indicator and needs rethinking

How do we measure?

Number of tools available

3.22 Action has been taken to ensure equal pay is fully implemented.

Change to

Action has been taken to ensure employees are paid fairly