LOCAL AUTHORITY/GOVERNMENT

Sexuality - the new agenda (2nd February 2010)
“Sexuality – the new agenda” emphasises the need for a corporate approach to promoting equality. Once seen as a fringe issue of little relevance to the core business of local authorities, sexuality has been brought centre stage by recent legislative developments.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual equality is coming of age and can no longer be seen as an optional extra. Many successful initiatives have been undertaken by local authorities throughout England and Wales.

This publication aims to cover:

• service delivery and customer care
• community development and involvement
• local authority employees
• monitoring and evaluation.

Publication

Tackling Domestic Violence (28th January 2010)
About one in four women can become victims of domestic abuse. For many, the crime will go unreported and unnoticed. Three years ago Oxfordshire County Council and local partners decided more needed to be done to support women and their children. Their answer to the problem was the Domestic Abuse Champions Network.The scheme has created specialists in domestic abuse, in public and voluntary-sector organisations throughout the county.

There are now 250 trained champions from 35 different agencies. The champions include:

• police officers
• social workers
• housing staff
• midwives
• health visitors

Information

LEARNING DISABILITIES

Equal access? A practical guide for the NHS: creating a Single Equality Scheme that includes improving access for people with learning disabilities (7th December 2009)
This is a guide to support the NHS to include people with learning disabilities in their equality schemes, with practical examples of reasonable adjustments to achieve equality of access.
Guidance

IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA): 18 weeks referral to treatment standard (13th November 2009)
This Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) provides an assessment of the impact of the 18 weeks referral to treatment standard on the six key equality dimensions of ethnicity, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief.
Impact Assessment

EQUALITY

Age Equality in Health and Social Care (22nd October 2009)
In April 2009, the then Secretary of State for Health asked Sir Ian Carruthers OBE, Chief Executive of NHS South West, and Jan Ormondroyd, Chief Executive of Bristol City Council, to undertake a review of age discrimination and age equality in the health and social care sector.

This is the report of that review. The Government intends to publish and consult on its response to the review’s recommendations in December of this year. This will take place in parallel with consultation on a resource pack designed to support implementation.
Report

Trans research review. Research Report 27 (21st October 2009)
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has today launched a new review of evidence that captures the experiences and challenges facing transgender people in Britain.

The Trans Research Review highlights that some transgender people experience transphobia including bullying and discriminatory treatment in schools, harassment and physical/sexual assault and rejection from families, work colleagues and friends.
Report

Equality impact assessment: summary tool and guidance for policy makers (published 18th November 2008 updated 27th October 2009)
Equality impact assessment (EqIA) is the process by which the DH seeks to meet its legal requirements in conjunction with the DH Single Equality Scheme (SES) and to narrow the health inequalities that exist in England between people from different ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, men and women (including transgendered people), people with different sexual orientations, people in different age groups, people with different religions or beliefs and people from differing social and economic groups.
Summary tool

EQUALITY

Young people: Know your rights (September 2009)
Young women and men may find themselves being treated unfairly because of their gender, age, disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status. This can happen whether they are at school, school leavers making career choices, new employees, part-time workers, students in further or higher education, apprentices or trainees.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have put together some advice resources that should be useful to young people that experiencing discrimination.
Resource

PUBLIC SECTOR

A guide to the public sector equality duties (22nd April 2009)
This report outlines public sector equality duties which give public bodies legal responsibilities to demonstrate that they are taking action on race, disability and gender equality in policy-making, the delivery of services and public sector employment.
Report

HEALTHCARE COMMISSION

Listening,learning, working together? A national study of how well healthcare organisations engage local people in planning and improving their services (26th March 2009)
According to this report from the Healthcare Commission, NHS trusts are increasing their efforts to listen to patients and the public, but now must go the next step to ensure these views are used to bring about change and improvement.
Report
Briefing
Practice Briefing
Easy Read Version

Tackling the Challenge. Promoting race equality in the NHS in England (30th March 2009)
This report looks at the extent to which the NHS in England is meeting the legal basic building blocks in promoting race equality.
Report

Adult specialist community mental health services. Report of the follow-up to the 2005/06 review (30th March 2009)
This is the report of the Healthcare Commission's follow-up review. The findings show that although progress made by many of the trusts is encouraging, they only show modest improvements in a number os aspects of the services. The recommendations are that all mental health providers look at their performance in this follow-up review and to work on the areas where either performance has deteriorated or shows the need for greater improvement.
Review

Equality in later life. A national study of older people's mental health services (31st March 2009)
This study focused on four themes:

• Age discrimination
• Quality of inpatient care
• How comprehensive are services?
• Working with other organisations

Although this study shows evidence of some good practice, it also shows that mental health services for the over 65's are in need of urgent attention.
Study

Care Quality Commission (1st April 2009)
This is the website of the new independent regulator of health and social care in England. The Care Quality Commission replaced:

• The Healthcare Commission
• Commission for Social Care Inspection
• Mental Health Act Commission

Website

EQUALITY

Improving opportunity, strengthening society: a third progress report (24th February 2009)
Launched in January 2005, Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society sets out the Government's commitment to create strong cohesive communities in which every individual, whatever their racial or ethnic origin, is able to fulfil their potential through the enjoyment of equal opportunities, rights and responsibilities.

This report provides information on progress to increase race equality and community cohesion. It outlines progress that is being made towards achieving race equality in the key public services and in building community cohesion.
Report

EQUALITY

Secretary of State report on disability equality: health and care services (1st December 2008)
This report draws on the available evidence and case studies reflecting national, regional and local points of view to assess progress in meeting the requirements of the Disability Equality Duty and remaining areas where more needs to be done across the health and care sector.
Report
Easy-read version
Report of an event hosted by RADAR to enable disabled people and disability organisations to advise the Department of Health
Questionnaire

Insight: Work fit for all - disability, health and the experience of negative treatment in the British workplace (27th November 2008)
The number of people claiming incapacity benefits in Britain has more than doubled over the last 20 years. By comparison with other countries, Britain has large numbers of disabled people and people with long-term illnesses, and proportionately fewer of these people are employed. The Government intends to reverse this trend and move more disabled people and people with long-term illnesses into employment, as outlined in its plans for the new equality bill and the welfare reform green paper. This research shows that disabled people and people with long-term illnesses are more likely to perceive themselves as subject to negative treatment at work, and this has implications for Government policy.
Report

EQUALITY

Equality impact assessment: summary tool and guidance for policy makers (18th November 2008)
Equality impact assessment (EqIA) is the process by which the DH seeks to meet its legal requirements in conjunction with the DH Single Equality Scheme (SES) and to narrow the health inequalities that exist in England between people from different ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, men and women (including transgendered people), people with different sexual orientations, people in different age groups, and people with different religions or beliefs. Policymakers must screen all new (and eventually, all existing) policies for their impact on people from each of these groups.
Summary Tool

EQUALITY

Research on eliminating age discrimination in social services and mental health services (26th June 2008)
The Department commissioned two literature reviews and two research studies on the costs and benefits of eliminating age discrimination in the provision of health and social care. This was to inform decisions on whether to pursue legislation to outlaw discrimination in the provision of health and social services. Reports of these reviews and studies have now been made publicly available.
Click here for the Reports

EQUALITIES

"Women Not for Sale" A report on advertising women in small ads in local newspapers (29th January 2008)
This report assesses the scale and nature of the problem of women, and services supplied by women, being advertised in local newspapers. It focuses on women who have been trafficked from other countries.
Click here for the Report

EQUALITIES

The drivers of Black and Asian people's perceptions of racial discrimination by public services – A qualitative study (17th January 2008)
Report sets out the psychosocial and service-specific drivers that contribute to Black and Asian people's perceptions of discrimination or fairness in eight key public services. Following this qualitative analysis, the report makes key recommendations relevant to each public service under three broad categories: structural mechanisms, frontline service delivery and communications.
Click here for the Report