NWDA Single Equality Scheme October 2008 to September 2011
Executive Summary
The Northwest Regional Development Agency PO Box 37 Renaissance House Centre Park Warrington WA1 1XB Tel: +44 (0)1925 400 100 Fax: +44 (0)1925 400 400
www.nwda.co.uk www.englandsnorthwest.com www.visitenglandsnorthwest.com
This document is available in large print, braille, audio tape and the following languages; Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Somali, Urdu and Hindi. Please contact the Marketing Department on 01925 400100 October 2008 Printed on Zanders Mega Matt
January 2009 NWDA KADM 12/08 21347
Executive Summary
“Equality and diversity is an integral part of what makes the Northwest a fantastic place to live and work, and we are working hard to maximise the contribution of the region’s diverse and talented population”. Steven Broomhead Chief Executive Northwest Regional Development Agency
The Northwest Regional Development Agency – Our Commitment to Equality The Northwest’s agreed vision is to be a region with a dynamic, sustainable, international economy which competes on the basis of knowledge, advanced technology and an excellent quality of life for all. The Agency’s role in achieving this vision is to invest in improving business productivity and competitiveness, and the sustainable renewal of our cities and rural areas to support long-term sustainable economic growth. We do this by supporting and funding projects and schemes which are largely delivered by public, private and third sector partners, at a local level. The Agency understands that for the Northwest to realise its vision and the Agency to be as effective as possible equality and diversity needs to be at the heart of everything that the Agency does and immersed in our ‘Values and Behaviours’. Equality isn’t a minority issue for us or our region – we can’t afford it to be – it is important to everyone and affects all residents and businesses. The Northwest’s regional context England’s Northwest is a fast growing, vibrant region, combining a dynamic business base, cosmopolitan urban centres, breathtaking landscapes and an internationally recognised creative and cultural scene. In Manchester and Salford, it has the largest media hub outside of London; Liverpool, the 2008 European Capital of Culture; Cheshire, home to AstraZeneca’s largest global Research & Development premises; Lancashire is a world-class centre of excellence in advanced manufacturing and engineering; and Cumbria which contains one of largest science parks in the UK and the Lake District, one of Europe’s leading national parks. With almost seven million inhabitants and 230,000 companies, the Northwest is the UK’s largest regional economy, worth £106 billion per year – a tenth of overall UK GDP. It is one of only three regions to contribute positively to the UK’s balance of trade.
The Northwest has benefited both socially and economically from its diverse population: • The economic value of the gay, lesbian and bisexual ‘Pink Economy’ in the UK is estimated to be around £70 billion and in Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool the Northwest has some of the most vibrant gay and lesbian areas in the UK. • Overall faith communities in the Northwest generate between £90.7 million and £94.9 million per annum to civil society in the region. • The black minority ethnic (BME) population generates £1.66bn for the region’s economy, with 19,000 BME owned businesses and 104,000 people from BME communities in the region’s labour market. • The annual spending power of disabled adults in Britain is estimated to be £80 billion. • If the same proportion of women to men were in higher level occupations the increase to the Northwest’s gross income would be up to £16bn. • People aged 50-69 contribute 23% of the region’s GVA. • The region celebrates its diversity through events such as Manchester Pride and Black History Month. However despite the UK’s history of anti-discrimination legislation and tackling disadvantage being at the heart of regeneration activity for the past fifteen years persistent inequalities continue to exist in our society. Developing a region that provides equality of opportunity for all therefore presents the Agency and its partners with major challenges and opportunities: • Economic inclusion is low in parts of the region with around 25% of the regions output gap attributable to too few people being in work. This worklessness is concentrated in particular areas and among particular communities. Engaging with the groups that face barriers to employment is required if we are to increase sustainable economic activity. • There is an untapped potential within the younger people in the region. In June 2007, 9.5% of 16-18 year olds in the Northwest were in the Not in Education Employment or Training (NEET) group compared to 8% nationally.
• Our BME population is heavily concentrated in some of our most deprived areas and people of Asian origin have the lowest employment rate – Bangladeshi and Pakistani people are 30% less likely to be in employment in the Northwest. We have to ensure that our regeneration programmes benefit the groups that need them most.
Competitive Business
• Some faith communities experience barriers to their full economic participation: only 48% of Muslims in the region are economically active.
• Businesses are more likely to be successful if they are able to respond to demographic change in the region amongst the working population and customer base.
• Women are more likely than men to have no qualifications as well as having lower earnings; improving equality will have a direct impact on the gross income within the region.
• Businesses will better reflect the communities within which they work.
• Just over one-fifth of the working age population are disabled. They are also twice as likely as non-disabled people to have no qualifications and to be economically inactive. Addressing the barriers that prevent disabled people from entering employment will enable employers to select candidates from a wider pool of talent and help address the economic and social exclusion faced by many disabled people.
• Large public and private sector contracts are increasingly being awarded on the basis of non-financial criteria such as diversity.
• Employment rates for people aged 45-64 are below the national average and those aged 55 and over are disproportionately employed in lower-skilled occupations. The region’s ageing population requires employers to value the contribution of older workers. • Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers continue to experience discrimination and bullying in the workplace. Approximately 13% of Britain’s workforce have witnessed verbal anti-gay bullying at work. The NWDA Single Equality Scheme This is the Northwest’s Regional Development Agency’s first Single Equality Scheme and it will provide the Agency with a plan of action for its approach to equality. Whilst legally there is a duty on us to produce Equality Schemes in the area of disability, gender and race we want to go beyond our legal obligation. We believe that all people, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities, faith communities and people of all ages deserve the same rights as others. This comprehensive approach to equalities will also enable the Agency to recognise and tackle multiple disadvantages, for example the particular barriers that can prevent economic inclusion for disabled women. The NWDA Equality Scheme is a way to make sure that equality is promoted and discrimination challenged in everything the Agency does, above and beyond our
The Agency will encourage business in the region to respond to the equality issues that the region faces and to benefit from the opportunities that this provides. • By developing inclusive recruitment practices businesses are able to select from the widest pool of talent, which in turn will increase the economic participation of those currently disadvantaged in the labour market.
• Businesses become better placed to tap into new markets.
• Good workplace practice regarding equality can reduce staff turnover, and increase innovation, productivity and the desirability of the organisation to jobseekers.
Competitive People dedicated equalities work. The Scheme will be effective from 1 October 2008 to 30 Sept 2011. The Scheme was developed through a highly consultative process which involved staff interviews and focus groups, an internal learning lunch, awareness raising articles, presentations, a staff survey, the involvement of representatives from disabled people’s groups and external consultation events. This intelligence led approach informed us that for the Scheme to be delivered it needed to be mainstreamed into the Agency’s structure, values and developed in such a way as to enhance individual employee’s contribution. It also required the development of an Action Plan that was both challenging and realistic. To ensure that equality is not an add-on to the work the Agency does and is mainstreamed across our business we have linked the development of the Scheme to the key themes and objectives within our Corporate Plan. The corporate plan sets out specific objectives under the following key themes • Competitive Business • Competitive People • Competitive Places This Scheme will support the delivery of the Corporate Plan by ensuring that the programmes we put in place to deliver objectives benefit from the added value of using our understanding of equality and diversity to maximise their impact.
For GVA to increase it is imperative that the region’s population provides a competitive source of appropriately skilled labour that is able to meet the needs of a changing economy. • There is a strong correlation between labour market outcomes and an ability to allow all to flourish. • To increase economic participation in the region it will be important to target disadvantaged groups, for example through funding programmes such as ERDF, ESF, and the Neighbourhood Worklessness Fund. • Increasing the skill levels within the working age population, particularly those that are currently underperforming, directly increases productivity and GVA. • An ageing population means that the region needs to appreciate and develop the skills of older workers and consider the impact of in-migration.
Competitive Place To be attractive to inward investment people want an area that actively promotes participation and social cohesion. A society that celebrates diversity is more likely to be sustainable and cohesive where communities live together in mutual respect and tolerance. • People who are disabled and from BME groups are more likely to live in deprived areas – regeneration must engage all parts of these communities. • Reduce the number of people living in poverty in the region through ensuring economic participation for all. • Exploit the cultural diversity of the region to encourage inward investment and tourism, for example by promoting Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras and Black History Month.
Specific activities will include providing training and support to sub-regional partners in relation to conducting Equality Impact Assessments and understanding Equality and Diversity in relation to their sub-regional context. 4.
Understanding where we work. We need to know more about the demography of where we do business. The Scheme therefore requires us to undertake a range of research to help the Agency deliver services that reflect the diversity of the region, for example furthering the Agency’s understanding on gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the Northwest.
The NWDA Action Plan At the heart of our Scheme is the Action Plan which sets out a series of activities that the Agency is committed to undertaking over the lifespan of the Scheme. The Action Plan provides a brief description of each action, how it will be achieved and the expected outcomes and outputs. We envisage that by implementing the actions contained within the Scheme the Agency and wider stakeholders will benefit in a wide variety of ways and subsequently the region will be more attractive and appealing as a place to live and conduct business. The NWDA’s Priorities Whilst all Actions contained within the Scheme are essential to ensuring the Agency promotes social and economic inclusion for all we would draw particular attention to four key priorities: 1.
Improving our systems and processes. The Agency understands that by embedding new systems into the way that we work equality will become part of all that we do. Specific activities will include: implementing a new and more robust process for conducting Equality Impact Assessments and monitoring those that benefit from our work.
2.
Developing our workforce. The Agency wants to recruit candidates from the widest pool of talent and develop our current workforce. The Scheme requires us to understand the impact that our current recruitment processes have on different groups, implement an apprenticeship programme within the Agency that targets under-represented groups and to provide appropriate equality and diversity training to staff.
3.
Supporting our partners. The Agency has a leadership role within the Northwest and therefore it is important that we work alongside our partners.
The complete action plan is available in the full Single Equality Scheme
Implementation and monitoring Nationally there is recognition that some equality schemes with good intention have been hampered by a plethora of action points. We have resisted this temptation by limiting ourselves to essential actions, which are not only within our remit but which we also have the powers and resources to implement. The rigorous consultation process that we have undertaken has ensured that we gained the support of all NWDA Directorates, management structures and our Board, which in turn has provided a commitment to deliver against it. Progress in delivering the Single Equality Scheme will be monitored through our continuous performance management and monitoring cycle, which will ensure that accountability, is present throughout the organisation; from individual members of staff to the Board. Overall responsibility for the Scheme will sit with the Board; they have approved the Scheme and approve the annual equality and diversity report which will include
progress against the Scheme’s Action Plan. The report will be made available on the Agency’s website and forwarded to relevant stakeholders; including equality forums. Perhaps most importantly this Scheme is not a stand alone document but an integral part of all aspects of the Agency’s work. The success of the Scheme is predicated on the success of our Corporate Plan and vice-versa. They are both mutually supportive and therefore will be subject to on-going monitoring to ensure that the Agency and region is progressing in the right direction. Looking ahead the Integrated Regional Strategy will provide the Agency and the wider region with a further opportunity to ensure that equality is embedded and mainstreamed into our agreed actions and priorities. Ecotec Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London. SE1 9 T +44 (0)845 630 8633 F +44 (0)845 630 8711 www.ecotec.com