Equality Framework for Local Government

D Bird made this Freedom of Information request to Oxford City Council

The request was partially successful.

From: D Bird

5 January 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to
request that you disclose any response made your authority to
IDeA's draft Equality Framework for Local
Government (EFLG). Specifically, I would like to know the
following:

* Did the authority make any response to IDeA's draft EFLG?

* If so, which officers and / or members of the authority were
responsible for making a response?

* What was the authority's response to the draft EFLG?

* Has the authority made any preparations for completing the
self-assessment which forms part of this draft EFLG, and if so what
preparations have been made?

* Have any discussions been held within the authority about how
such a self-assessment might feed in to this year's CPA or next
year's CAA scores (with specific reference to the CAA Equalities
Impact Assessment published in July 2008 at Appendix Three to to
the Audit Commission's CAA Framework Consultation).

Yours faithfully,

D Bird

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From: HUGHES Martin
Oxford City Council

7 January 2009

Dear Mr/Ms Bird ,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information enquiry dated
January 6th. I shall provide a response within 20 working days as
required under the Act.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Hughes
Project manager & Acting Freedom of Information Officer
Oxford City Council
St. Aldate's Chambers
St. Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1DS

Tel: 01865-252669

Cheers,

Martin

Martin Hughes
Project manager
Oxford City Council
St. Aldate's Chambers
St. Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1DS

Tel: 01865-252669

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From: HUGHES Martin
Oxford City Council

9 January 2009

Attachment Corporate Equality Scheme 2008 11.pdf
1.1M Download View as HTML

Dear Mr/Ms Bird,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information enquiry dated
January 5th. I have set out the answers to your questions below:

* Did the authority make any response to IDeA's draft EFLG?

No

* If so, which officers and / or members of the authority were
responsible for making a response?

N/A

* What was the authority's response to the draft EFLG?

N/A

* Has the authority made any preparations for completing the
self-assessment which forms part of this draft EFLG, and if so what
preparations have been made?

Not specifically. The Council has used the Audit Commission's Key
Lines of Enquiry (KLOE) self-assessment. Once the new EFLG is released,
the Council will consider whether the means of self-assessment needs to
change.

* Have any discussions been held within the authority about how
such a self-assessment might feed in to this year's CPA or next year's
CAA scores (with specific reference to the CAA Equalities Impact
Assessment published in July 2008 at Appendix Three to to the Audit
Commission's CAA Framework Consultation).

Not specifically. The Council's Corporate Equality Scheme 2008-11
(copy attached) already provides detailed information on the Council's
approach to Equalities Impact Assessments, and was prepared in the
knowledge of the proposals contained in the draft EFLG. Any changes can
be considered once the new EFLG is released.

I hope this assists, but if you disagree with any part of this
response you are entitled to ask Oxford City Council for an internal
review of the decision(s) made. You may do this by writing to The
Monitoring Officer, Oxford City Council, The Town Hall, Blue Boar
Street, Oxford, OX1 4EY. If, after the result of an internal review, you
are still not satisfied, you may ask the Information Commissioner to
intervene on your behalf. You may do this by writing to The Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Hughes

Project Manager & Acting Freedom of Information Officer
Oxford City Council
St. Aldate's Chambers
St. Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1DS

Tel: 01865-252669

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From: D Bird

9 January 2009

Dear Mr Hughes,

Many thanks for your quick response to my query. It is most useful,
though I would like to follow up on points raised in the fourth
bullet point regarding EFLG self-assessment. I think there seems to
be some confusion about the self-assessment tool to which I refer.

It seems that you make reference to the self-assessment which the
council undertakes to judge its own performance on use of
resources, and which will feed into the Audit Commission's Value
for Money conclusion which is issued with the external auditor's
opinion on the final accounts. I'm sure you will agree, if you take
the time to read both the Audit Commission's UoR guidance and the
IDeA's draft EFLG guidance, that these two diagnostic tools are
very different in character. Would you not agree that these
differences are made only greater by the introduction of new KLOEs
which the Audit Commission will be using for Use of Resources in
08/09?

So to clarify matters, I would further request the following
information:

* Will the council be submitting its EFLG self-assessment as a
piece of evidence as part of the Audit Commission's Use of
Resources work in 2008/09 to feed into the VfM conclusion?

* Does the council feel that the EFLG self-assessment, when and if
completed, will feed into this year's CPA or next year's CAA
scores, which are distinctly different from the UoR judgement?

* Have any members or officers of the council met with the Audit
Commission's CAA Lead to discuss how the EFLG self-assessment, when
and if completed, will feed into its CAA score?

* What score does the council expect to get in its first CAA
report?

Perhaps you would be kind enough to supply the name and job title
of the relevant officers in the council who deal with such issues
in order that I can identify the source of the information with
which I am being provided.

Yours sincerely,

D Bird

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From: HUGHES Martin
Oxford City Council

13 January 2009

Dear Mr/Ms Bird,
Thank you for your further Freedom of Information
enquiry dated January 9th. In view of the number of additional questions
you ask, I am treating this as a new enquiry, and I shall provide a
response within 20 working days as required under the Act.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Hughes

Project manager & Acting Freedom of Information Officer
Oxford City Council
St. Aldate's Chambers
St. Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1DS

Tel: 01865-252669

Cheers,

Martin

Martin Hughes
Project manager
Oxford City Council
St. Aldate's Chambers
St. Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1DS

Tel: 01865-252669

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From: HUGHES Martin
Oxford City Council

4 February 2009

Dear Mr/Ms Bird ,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information enquiry dated
January 6th; please accept my apologies for the delay in replying. I
have set out the answers to your questions below:

* Will the council be submitting its EFLG self-assessment as a
piece of evidence as part of the Audit Commission's Use of
Resources work in 2008/09 to feed into the VfM conclusion?

Yes

* Does the council feel that the EFLG self-assessment, when and if
completed, will feed into this year's CPA or next year's CAA
scores, which are distinctly different from the UoR judgement?

Yes

* Have any members or officers of the council met with the Audit
Commission's CAA Lead to discuss how the EFLG self-assessment, when
and if completed, will feed into its CAA score?

Not yet

* What score does the council expect to get in its first CAA
report?

Not known at this time

Perhaps you would be kind enough to supply the name and job title
of the relevant officers in the council who deal with such issues
in order that I can identify the source of the information with
which I am being provided.

Peter McQuitty - Policy, Performance and Communications Manager

I hope this assists, but if you disagree with any part of this response
you are entitled to ask Oxford City Council for an internal review of
the decision(s) made. You may do this by writing to The Monitoring
Officer, Oxford City Council, The Town Hall, Blue Boar Street, Oxford,
OX1 4EY. If, after the result of an internal review, you are still not
satisfied, you may ask the Information Commissioner to intervene on your
behalf. You may do this by writing to The Information Commissioner's
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Hughes

Project Manager & Acting Freedom of Information Officer

Oxford City Council
St. Aldate's Chambers
St. Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1DS

Tel: 01865-252669

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From: D Bird

4 February 2009

Dear Mr Hughes,

I wonder if you could release a copy of the council's EFLG
self-assessment for me please? And, given that members / officers
have 'not yet' met with the Audit Commission's CAA Lead, perhaps
you could give me information about when this meeting will take
place and who will attend.

Yours sincerely,

D Bird

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From: HUGHES Martin
Oxford City Council

9 March 2009

Dear Mr. Bird,
Thank you for your further enquiry on this subject, and
please accept my apologies for the delay in replying.

I can advise you that that, as yet, the Council has not
completed the EFLG self-assessment. When the document has been completed
and submitted, a meeting will be arranged, but I am not able to say at
this point when that will be, or who will attend.

I am sorry I cannot be more helpful at this time, but
please feel free to enquire again later in the year.

If you disagree with any part of this response, you are
entitled to ask Oxford City Council for an internal review of the
decision(s) made. You may do this by writing to The Monitoring Officer,
Oxford City Council, The Town Hall, Blue Boar Street, Oxford, OX1 4EY.
If, after the result of an internal review, you are still not satisfied,
you may ask the Information Commissioner to intervene on your behalf.
You may do this by writing to The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Hughes

Project Manager & Acting Freedom of Information Officer

Oxford City Council
St. Aldate's Chambers
St. Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1DS

Tel: 01865-252669

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