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Appendix 1

Cabinet - Equality and Diversity Performance report - May 2007

The Hampshire Business Case for Equality and Diversity

1 Introduction

1.1 Historically local authorities have been seen as leading the way on equality issues and that this approach was based on moral or political doctrines. principles i.e. that it was a `good thing to do'. There is now acceptance both within the business and public sector that equality and diversity are key contributors to business success. Especially for organisations who are trying to attract and retain the most talented staff and serve a broad customer or community population. HSBC and B&Q are amongst the leading companies who have placed diversity at the heart of the organisation because they realised that responding to the diversity of their customer base had a direct impact on increased sales.

1.2 Amongst the plethora of Government advice the IDEA offers this guidance

"The council tax system does not discriminate between citizens on the grounds of race, gender, creed or anything else. Neither should the services it pays for. A council that appreciates diversity in local communities also recognises that one size does not fit all when it comes to developing services. All groups in the community must participate in the design and delivery of services. This commitment must lie at the heart of councils' work. If some sections of the community are receiving a poor service from their council, that council is not meeting its central and simple objective - the efficient delivery of public services to all citizens. It's a question of good business - not politics. "

1.3 We see this view reflected in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) where Councils will be expected to show how they are taking account of the diverse views of the community under the `user focus and diversity' element. This theme is then developed in detail under each key line of enquiry. Diversity consists of visible and non visible difference, which include factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, personality and work style. It is founded on the premise that harnessing these differences will create a productive environment in which everybody feels valued, where their talents are being fully utilised in order to meet organisational goals.

2 The Hampshire Context

The County Council employs around 35,000 staff, serves a population of about 1.3 million and is seen as a successful public sector body. It might therefore, lead to the conclusion that little or no action is needed in what is seen as a fringe issue by some. The Council has agreed new priorities as the focus for the Corporate Strategy and in order to deliver these priorities effectively each department will need to have considered a range of information about the community. The following provides examples of issues that are pertinent to the Corporate priorities.

2.1 Hampshire Safer and More Secure For all

· The recent White Paper `Strong & Prosperous Communities' expects local authorities to take a lead in promoting community cohesion. Hampshire has a BME community profile of about 2.3% and also a similar number of people from `white other' background. Since the 2001 census there has been a significant increase in numbers of migrant workers from the EU. The mosque in Basingstoke was recently the victim of graffiti and arson attacks.

· Research carried out in Devon showed that people from ethnic minority groups living in areas with a low ethnic minority density were subject to more racial harassment than those who lived in areas with higher concentrations (Fitzgerald and Hale 1996).

· One in four women experience domestic violence at some time in their lives. Two women are killed each week by violent partners or by former partners.

· Lesbian and gay adults reported that over four in five (82%) had been subjected to name-calling at school, over half (60%) reported being hit or kicked. Over half (53%) had contemplated self-harm as a result of bullying, and two in five (40%) had attempted suicide on at least one occasion

2.2 Maximising Well Being

· The level of disability increases with age: some 10% of those aged 16-24 years have a current long-term disability compared with 34% of those aged 50 to state pension age.

· Disabled people are nearly five times as likely as non-disabled people to be out of work and claiming benefits e.g. 2.8 million disabled people; over a million of them would like to work. They are also more likely to receive in-work benefits.

· Women with learning disability less likely to be offered breast screening

· One in 5 single women pensioners live in poverty

· Older Asian people more likely to have diabetes and heart disease

· Over 30% of children are in families who receive higher rate tax credit or benefits. There are 27,000 children in families without work

2.3 Enhancing Quality of Place.

· Access to Country Parks for disabled people

· Encourage people from ethnic minority communities to make use of countryside and thereby improve their health

· New homes for life - using Lifetime Home Standards ensure people can remain in their home as long as they wish even though their physical needs may change

· Women and men travel for different purposes. Men are more likely to do so for commuting and business reasons, whereas women are more likely to do so for shopping or taking children to school.

· Recent consultation with disabled people identified transport as the most significant barrier they face e.g. inaccessible buses & taxis and the attitude of drivers

3 The cost of `getting it wrong'

· This year's annual survey of recruitment, retention and turnover conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) finds that turnover increased from 16 to 18 per cent in 2005. Losing staff, whatever the cause, is expensive: overall, the average cost of turnover per employee (including any redundancy cost) is now £8,200. For managers and professionals this rises to £12000.

· The average award at employment tribunals is £20,000 and it is estimated that it costs an organisation at least twice that amount to prepare a case for tribunal and it is anticipated that the latest age discrimination law will generate significant numbers of tribunal claims.

· Intervention and inclusive services designed to meet the needs of all people - `the right time in the right place' , have been shown to be better at preventing long term dependency and higher costs.

· Negative publicity would discredit the County Council

4. The role of Leaders

4.1 To achieve improvement across the County Council requires a significant culture change and as with all change the role of leaders is critical to success. The policy framework and schemes say the right words and those must now be translated into action. The Leadership element of the Equality Assessment Framework describes the role as follows:

4.2 Leaders should:

· Show their commitment to the equalities policy and strategy in their personal conduct.

· Ensure that action plans are monitored to implement the equalities policy and strategy

· Be aware of the team/unit's performance against agreed equalities objectives and targets

· Openly report progress and show accountability for performance against their equalities objectives and targets

· Be able to describe specific actions they have taken to improve equality for staff and service users

4.3 In order to do this effectively you will need to understand and articulate that by addressing equality and diversity in the work of your department by doing so you will be contributing the following benefits to the overall business of the Council.

· Unlocking the potential for change in the workforce and the community by creating opportunity and supporting involvement

· Opening up areas of recruitment in an intensively competitive labour market;

· Greater employee satisfaction;

· Financial savings on disciplinary and tribunal costs;

· Tapping into a vibrant voluntary sector resource;

· Increasing choice and independence for those using services

· Delivering enhanced performance results for the organisation, its service users and the Community