Measuring equality Measuring equality improvement processesimprovement processes

Equality and Social Inclusion 2nd Feb 2006 Julian Clarke

Centre for Local Policy Studies clarkej@edgehill.ac.uk

Continuous equality improvementContinuous equality improvement

Equality objectives and targets (performance indicators)

Levels of improvement that sum the achievement of specific objectives into a coherent assessment or measurement of the performance of a whole authority.

ESLG: the LevelsESLG: the Levels

Level 1 Commitment

Level 2 Assessment and consultation

Level 3 Equality objectives & targets

Level 4 Information & monitoring

Level 5 Achieving and reviewing outcomes

commitment

engagement

objectives

monitoring

review

ESLG Levels and ScrutinyESLG Levels and Scrutiny

At Level One an authority is asked commit to the development of an external stakeholder/user group scrutiny capacity.

At Level Two an authority should engage with external stakeholders to help it reflect on its equality consultation

To achieve Level Three an authority should have its stakeholder/user group working effectively so that their views on impact assessment and objective and target setting feed into those processes

ESLG Levels and ScrutinyESLG Levels and Scrutiny

Authorities working at Level 4 will be using stakeholder scrutiny as a means of testing the monitoring and measurement systems

At Level Five a continuous process of user scrutiny of local authority action will have been developed. Scrutiny group activity will have become embedded and constitute a deliberative process that sits alongside representative processes

Questions: structure and Questions: structure and organisationorganisation

What resources are required to set up an effective scrutiny system?

Do stakeholder/user groups have the capacity to critically engage with the processes that develop under ESLG.

What voluntary groups should be represented in a stakeholder/user group?

What should be the terms of reference of stakeholder/user scrutiny groups?

Questions: Internal debateQuestions: Internal debate

Is there a common understanding of equality improvement throughout the authority? Does the scrutiny group share this understanding?

Are there likely to be competing equality priorities?

Will there be contradictory equality demands? It cannot be assumed that all equality interests are compatible

Other issuesOther issues

A perceived threat to local authority officer professional status?

a perceived threat to the authority of elected members

Scrutiny group be co-opted or ‘institutionalised’ by the local authority