Outcomes based approach to equality in East Renfrewshire

Transcription

1 Briefing Paper Outcomes based approach to equality in East Renfrewshire May 2012

2 Project summary The Improvement Service, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Scottish Government worked in partnership to deliver the action research project, Improving Local Equality Data (ILED), over twelve months from February The project provided hands-on, tailored support to four local authorities/ Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to develop and use the equality evidence base to measure progress towards equality within the outcomes approach. Each local project team selected areas for support based on their unique priorities and circumstances. A key part of the project was also to share learning from the practical work with the four local authorities/cpps with the wider Scottish public sector. East Renfrewshire Council approached the ILED project team to ask for support in the early stages of its process of moving to an outcome-based approach to equality. East Renfrewshire Council is preparing for the Public Sector Equality Duty (the Duty). The Duty consists of a general equality duty in the Equality Act 2010, and specific duties designed to enable the better performance of the general duty. New specific duties are expected to come into force in Scotland in May One of these duties will require public authorities to publish a set of equality outcomes by April 2013 and report on progress towards these outcomes at least every two years. The Corporate Equality Unit in the council, with support from the ILED project team and City of Edinburgh Council, worked jointly to design and deliver a half-day workshop with 19 Heads of Service and senior managers within the council. East Renfrewshire Council outlined a series of aims that it hoped the workshop would support: improving its ability to adopt evidence-based approaches to equality; better understanding how the Equality Measurement Framework could be used in a practical way at the local level; improving how data could be used for the purpose of carrying out Equality Impact Assessments 2

3 integrating equality into the Single Outcome Agreement (SOA) and Outcome Delivery Plans (ODP); build capacity for a more evidenced-based approach to performance reporting on corporate and partnership approaches to equality in East Renfrewshire, using the How Good Is Our Service approach 3

4 Strengths of the approach The project is midway through its development. The main strengths of the project to date are detailed below. Collaboration with other local authorities to adopt a peer learning approach. The City of Edinburgh Council has made some important steps in terms of its strategic approach to equality. Of particular interest for East Renfrewshire Council was the City of Edinburgh s work on equality impact assessments, and its steps towards an outcome based approach to equality. By inviting a colleague from the City of Edinburgh Council, senior managers in East Renfrewshire Council had the opportunity to hear about a successful approach, taken by another local authority, which meant they could be inspired to recreate the process and be equipped with knowledge on what has worked and what has been challenging. Seeking advice and input from other organisations/projects with similar aims and purpose at the outset of a new process or way of working. Bringing senior management together. Strong leadership is required to thoroughly embed the equality agenda. 4

5 What we did Ahead of the workshop, delegates were asked to familiarise themselves with the EMF briefing note, and consider how the domains and outcomes within the EMF might resonate with their own service plans. 1 There were two main parts to the workshop. The ILED project team opened with an overview of the project, focussing on the experience of the four local authorities/cpps within ILED using the EMF. Delegates then participated in a discussion-based activity, which was designed to: support delegates to reflect on their own experience of how equality features in local outcomes; capture delegates aspirations of how equality could integrate better to improve local outcomes; encourage delegates to identify potential solutions to realising their aspirations, including thinking about the practical use of the Equality Measurement Framework at the local level. The activity was facilitated by the ILED project team and asked delegates to discuss and answer the following questions: Discovery 1. What is currently working well in terms of how equality data is being used to improve local outcomes? 2. What factors have contributed to success in ensuring equality is reflected in local outcomes? Dare to Dream 3. What is your dream of how things might look in the future? 4. How can we build on existing strengths? Down to Earth 5. What practicalities are needed to support your wishes/dreams? 1 For more information about the EMF, please see the briefing paper at 5

6 6. Locally, how would using the Equality Measurement Framework help you to realise your wishes or dreams? Delegates identified that the council collects a lot of useful equality information. In particular, there is a lot of educational attainment information available that can be broken down by protected characteristics. Evidence is also regularly used in equality impact assessments. Delegates pointed out that there is room for improvement too however, as often equality information is collected but not used as effectively as it could be within the outcomes approach. Some key internal developments that delegates believed would be most significant in terms of improving local equality data within the outcomes approach were: use of consistent questions; a central storage system for equality data; sufficient evidence to have a baseline of equality issues; improved sharing of equality information and sharing of knowledge about work on using equality data; and a recognition that equality should be a core part of day to day business. In order to make some of the above goals possible, delegates suggested practical solutions including guidance and staff training on mainstreaming equality, and improved internal guidance on sharing data. Furthermore, using standardised questions was identified as a step towards being able to obtain a reliable baseline of equality information. It would also increase potential to facilitate benchmarking, which delegates also saw as useful. This session was followed by a presentation and discussion from the senior equality manager from the City of Edinburgh Council. This session presented the council s experience of developing and implementing their equality impact assessment tool, and their approach and experience of integrating equality within their outcomes approach. Both sessions were practical and interactive, and provided delegates with the chance to hear about the experiences of other local authorities and other staff within East Renfrewshire Council in terms of using the local equality evidence base within the outcomes approach. 6

7 Impact It is hoped that the workshop will support the council to mainstream equality and develop well-evidenced equality outcomes. The process for this will become clearer if the specific duties come into force in May The Equality Officers Working Group within the council is currently developing an outcome delivery plan, which will incorporate lessons learned from the workshop session. The Equality Officers are also improving their approach to equality impact assessments. Finally, the session has contributed to a new sense of eagerness to include equality outcomes within the Council s Outcome Delivery Plan. 7

8 Issues or challenges Communicating the purpose and value of the Equality Measurement Framework as a practical tool to council staff both prior to and at the workshop was challenging. 2 It was hard to establish how it would work on a practical level in the local authority context particularly due to the abstract language used in the framework and the fact that as yet there is not data in the framework to demonstrate its potential. Implementing change in the absence of specific duties. At the time of this workshop, there was also a lack of clarity on the next round of SOAs. Both of these factors made it difficult to be able to be clear about what work needed to be done, how to do the work, and how to situate it. 2 For further information on the practical experience of using the EMF at the local level within the ILED project see the learning paper, Exploring the Use of the Equality Measurement Framework ( news-and-features/news/first-learning-from-equality-project-published/) 8

9 Lessons learned The workshop provided an opportunity for senior officers in the council to become more familiarised with the EMF and how it could be used in their area. The workshop also allowed the officers to benefit from a peer learning approach. Below are some key points in these respects: The EMF offers an opportunity to widen the ownership of the equality agenda and support understanding of how equality can be seen as a core part of everybody s business. Because the EMF gives a comprehensive view of equality covering equality of opportunity, equality of process and equality of outcome across ten important areas of life it means that everybody should be able to see the relevance of equality to them and their business. The EMF offers opportunities for integrating equality into the SOA and ODPs. The EMF can be seen as a tool to help conceptualise equality and organise equality evidence, meaning it can be used in a practical way to support the development of the SOA and ODPs. Some of the indicators within the EMF also resonate with those in East Renfrewshire s current SOA. Again this highlights an opportunity for being able to better integrate equality into the SOA. Peer learning is a helpful way to enhance and improve approaches to local level work. Hearing about the approach taken by another local authority, particularly if it highlights issues and challenges and how to overcome these, as well as the overall benefits to undertaking the work, is not only useful but can be motivating and inspiring. Further information Kofi Tordzro, kofi.tordzro@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk 9

10 Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland Freepost RSAB-YJEJ-EXUJ PO Box Glasgow G2 9DU Tel Improvement Service Westerton House East Mains Industrial Estate Broxburn EH52 5AU Tel