ONS Equality Scheme
2008–2011
Contents
Foreword by National Statistician
1
Key
points
4
2
Introduction 5
3
About
ONS 11
4
ONS
as
an
employer
18
5
Equality
impact
assessments
22
6
Governance, monitoring, reporting and reviewing
26
This document should be viewed with the following companion
annexes.
Annex A ONS impact assessment priorities
29
Annex B Roles and responsibilities relating to ONS
35
equality
and
diversity
Annex C ONS equality impact assessment framework
37
Foreword by National Statistician
ONS is committed to valuing diversity and promoting equality in the way it does business as a statistics office and as an employer. We aspire to
demonstrating best practice in the way we do this beyond merely meeting our statutory equality duties.
As a statistics office, our mission is ‘to improve the understanding of life in the UK and enable informed decisions through trusted, relevant, and independent statistics’. Understanding equality and diversity is a key part of life in the UK and ONS has an important role to play in improving this understanding. Better measurement of equality is a challenge that needs to be addressed if we are to provide an evidence base for developing and assessing policies and allocating resources. ONS published a cross-cutting review of equality data needs across government in October 2007 that identified the challenges of improving equality data sources, analysing data and making it more
accessible to users. Implementation of the recommendations from the review will be monitored by a cross-government group which I will chair.
As an employer, our vision is that ONS will be regarded as an employer of choice and will be recognised as a great place to work and thrive for all, regardless of age, disability, gender and gender identity, ethnicity, religion, sexual identity and work-life balance needs. At the same time, we believe equality and diversity are everyone’s business regardless of background. While progress has been made, in particular through the valuable
contributions made by ONS’s diversity networks and champions, this scheme recognises that there is more to be done to build a culture and environment in which all members of our workforce recognise that diversity is valued.
In particular, we aim to demonstrate statistical leadership in monitoring the workforce and developing a process for carrying out equality impact
assessments in ONS.
As head of ONS, I am committed to making a reality of the aspirations set out in this Equality Scheme. It is an important step towards promoting greater equality of opportunity for all. I will ensure that the ONS management board routinely considers progress towards meeting the equality and diversity objectives set out here and consistently addresses obstacles to progress.
1 Key
points
•
This equality scheme is both a description of how ONS plans to
meet its statutory equality duties as a public authority and a
commitment to achieving best practice in promoting equality
and eliminating discrimination and harassment
•
It is a single comprehensive scheme with the intention of
promoting equality in its widest sense, in relation to age,
disability, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, religion/belief,
sexual identity and work-life balance
•
The equality and diversity objectives described in this scheme
are consistent with the ONS Vision, Values and Strategic
Objectives, and in particular should be seen as an elaboration
of our commitment to ‘respect’ as a core value
•
While ONS’s equality duties to its workforce are very important,
we recognise that as the UK’s statistics office the ONS also has
a vital role to play in promoting equality across the UK through
statistics which are key to measuring equality
•
Promoting equality is core to the expectations ONS staff should
have of ONS as an employer, and in the expectations ONS has
of its workforce
•
Equality impact assessment is the mechanism through which
ONS will mainstream its equality and diversity objectives in the
way it carries out its business and manages its staff
•
ONS has developed a new governance structure for steering
equality and monitoring the effectiveness of the scheme and
associated actions towards promoting equality
•
ONS has:
-
an assessment schedule in which its back catalogue of
functions, policies, practices and projects are prioritised for
equality impact assessment, and
-
a prioritised action plan which will enable ONS to promote
2 Introduction
2.1 This
document
ONS is committed to promoting equality for all groups and eliminating
discrimination and harassment both in its role as the UK’s statistics office and as an employer.
This document should be seen in this context. It is both:
• ONS’s response to the statutory duties to develop and publish equality schemes for gender, race and disability, demonstrating how we deliver on our general duties under equality legislation, and
• an expression of ONS’s commitment to going beyond the statutory duties in pursuit of best practice
This document describes the context, strategy and a set of actions to enable ONS to meet its equality duties.
2.2 Legislative
framework
2.2.1 General statutory duties
The responsibilities of public authorities regarding equality are set out in legislation and statutory codes of practice relating to the:
• Equal Pay Act 1970
• Sex Discrimination Act 1975
• Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RRAA 2000) • Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA 2005), and • Equality Act 2006 (EA 2006)
The core general duties are similar for disability, gender and race, to give due regard to the need to:
• promote equality of opportunity between equality groups, and • eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment (as defined in the
legislation and including for example discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment)
However, there are important areas where there are different legislative requirements in addition to the general duties.
For race (RRAA 2000)
There is an additional requirement to promote good relations between people of different racial groups.
For disability (DDA 2005)
There are additional requirements to:
• promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
• encourage participation by disabled people in public life, and
• take steps (or make reasonable adjustments) to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment
ONS will also meet our general employment duties for age, sexual orientation and religion/belief as set out in the following legislation:
• Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
• Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 • Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
2.2.2 Specific statutory duties
Government departments, agencies and other public authorities have specific statutory duties to develop and publish equality schemes for gender, race and disability demonstrating how they will go about delivering their general
statutory duties and employment duties.
As part of the specific statutory duties on gender, race and disability equality, public authorities are required to include a ‘statement of the authority’s
arrangements for assessing the impact of its policies and practices, or the likely impact of its proposed policies and practices’.
The codes of practice for each duty clarify that the separate schemes can form part of a ‘general’ or ‘comprehensive’ equality scheme. Some
government departments/agencies have chosen to do this in a single equality scheme (for example Department of Health, Learning Skills Council) whereas others have published three separate schemes (for example HM Treasury, Department for International Development).
2.2.3 Rationale for a single Equality Scheme
We believe that ONS will be best able to make progress towards the goal of equality of opportunity and elimination of unlawful discrimination and
harassment through a single Equality Scheme.
We believe the advantages of a single Equality Scheme are:
• It brings together for the purposes of monitoring and accountability all the actions which the authority will take to promote equality of opportunity and eliminate discrimination and harassment
• It helps to ensure that increasing equality of opportunity for one group is not achieved at the detriment of another group
• It is consistent with the move to recognise that individuals can be affected by multiple equality characteristics, symbolised in the merging of the three
original equality commissions (Equal Opportunities Commission, the
Commission for Racial Equality, and the Disability Rights Commission) into the single Equality and Human Rights Commission
• It recognises the similarity between specific duties on gender, race and disability and allows the organisation to aim higher than simply meeting the minimum standard of each individual statutory duty
• It facilitates promoting equality of opportunity and eliminating discrimination and harassment by extending it to equality relating to sexual orientation, religion/belief, age and work-life balance
However, we recognise:
• It is important to ensure that the single Equality Scheme is not seen as a poor alternative to individual schemes by including the same level of information and commitments that individual schemes would have, in particular in the action plan
• The aim should be to publish the Equality Scheme in a way which will allow a user to pull out the sections of the scheme relating to their strand of interest, for example on disability, ethnicity or gender
2.2.4 Procurement
The legislation makes explicit reference to the requirements and responsibilities regarding procurement practices.
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RRAA) and procurement
To comply with their duty under the amended Race Relations Act, all public authorities must take race equality into account when procuring goods, works, or services from external providers. Public authorities must build relevant race equality considerations into the procurement process to ensure that all of their functions meet the requirements of the Race Relations Act, regardless of who is carrying them out.
The Disability Equality Duty and procurement
The Disability Equality Duty applies to bodies carrying out public functions or to contractors carrying out public functions on behalf of a public authority. If a contractor is merely providing services on behalf of a public authority then the obligation to comply with the duty remains with the public authority that
contracted out the function.
The Gender Equality Duty and procurement
Under the Gender Equality Duty, where a contractor is carrying out a public function on behalf of a public authority, the legal liability for the gender duty in relation to that function remains with the public authority that contracted out the function.
2.3 Involvement and consultation in developing the scheme
The duties
The three statutory duties are different in that:
• the disability duty requires that public authorities ‘involve disabled people in producing the Disability Equality Scheme’ and that ‘involvement should not be confused with consultation’ (‘Doing the Duty’ – Disability Rights Commission)
• the gender duty, on the other hand, requires that ‘the public authority should, in preparing a scheme, consult employees, service users and others’ (‘Gender Equality Duty Code of Practice (England and Wales)’ – Equal Opportunities Commission 2006), and
• the race duty does not explicitly refer to consultation in drawing up the scheme, but puts emphasis on effective consultation in delivery of public functions; that ‘public authorities must set out in their race equality scheme their arrangements for assessing, and consulting on, the likely impact of their proposed policies on race equality’ (‘Code of practice on the duty to promote race equality’ – Commission for Racial Equality 2002)
ONS’s view
We consider that while involvement is a statutory requirement only for disability stakeholders, ongoing involvement of all equality-strand
stakeholders in developing, monitoring, reviewing and delivering equality objectives should be the ONS’s objective.
How ONS has involved equality stakeholders in the development of this scheme
In developing this scheme we:
• carried out an ONS-wide consultation exercise on an early draft of an equality scheme and used the ONS intranet to communicate changes that would be made in a further draft as a result of consultation responses
• set up a number of equality and diversity working groups across the ONS and asked group members to rework sections of the scheme and
contribute proposals for equality and diversity actions for consideration in the action plan, and
• asked an editorial team to assess the effectiveness of amendments to the scheme made in response to stakeholder requests, and to propose
improvements for the final working draft
How ONS will continue to involve equality stakeholders in prioritising and delivering equality objectives
We will continue to use a multiple approach to involve stakeholders in promoting equality in the ONS.
a) We will involve our staff, experts in other parts of the public sector and other external stakeholders at key points in developing and reviewing the content of the ONS equality scheme by continuing to use the working group approach or a similar process
b) We will actively involve equality stakeholders in proposing and prioritising actions that ONS should take to improve equality, for recommendation to the relevant steering group and to quality assure reported progress against actions
2.4 Terminology
Diversity and Equality
The Equality Act 2006 (8 (2)) says ‘…diversity means the fact that individuals are different.’ The Review of Equality Data (October 2007) proposed that the definition of an equal society used in the Equalities Review (February 2007) should be amended to read (amendment shown in bold):
…An equal society recognises and values people’s diversity – their
different needs, situations and goals and removes the barriers that limit what people can do and can be.
Due regard and proportionality
Public authorities are required to give due regard to the need to promote disability equality in its various dimensions. Due regard has two elements; proportionality and relevance. In all their decisions and functions, public authorities should give due weight to the need to promote disability equality proportional to its relevance. This requires more than giving consideration to disability equality. (Disability Rights Commission (2005) The Duty to Promote Disability Equality Statutory Code of Practice – England and Wales)
Equality impact assessment
Equality impact assessment is the process of assessing the impact of existing or proposed ONS functions, policies, practices and projects in relation to their consequences for equality of the ONS workforce or the society we serve where:
• Functions include ONS’s public duty to manage the census and surveys and publish analytical reports
• Policies include high-level strategies (for example an external
communication strategy or a site strategy) and individual policies (for example a recruitment policy)
• Practices cover informal, undocumented ‘way we usually do things’ (for example the process for handing over work responsibilities when roles change or how meetings are usually conducted)
• Projects cover the development of new functions and policies or
developments relating to corporate services (for example the development of a new survey, a flexible working policy, IT support mechanism or a site development project)
Reasonable adjustment
This is a change that a business or organisation is required to make in order that disabled employees and customers are not put at an unfair disadvantage to others as required by the duties of the Disability Discrimination Act. For a public authority, what should be considered reasonable will be determined by the type and size of the organisation, the cost of the adjustment, disruption to business while work is being carried out, practicality of carrying out the
3 About
ONS
3.1 Office for National Statistics
ONS is a public authority with responsibility for producing official statistics. Until the end of March 2008, ONS was an agency of HM Treasury, reporting to the minister with the title Exchequer Secretary.
With the implementation of the Statistics and Registration Services Act 2007, ONS became a non-ministerial department reporting to an independent Statistics Board and ultimately accountable to Parliament.
3.2 ONS vision and values
Mission – why ONS exists
Our mission is to improve the understanding of life in the United Kingdom and enable informed decisions through trusted, relevant, and independent
statistics.
Vision – what we will achieve by 2012
At the heart of decision-making and opinion-forming, we will be a prestigious place to work, a world leader, innovative, geared for change and delivering more with less. Continuous improvements to our systems will allow for more analysis while maintaining the high quality of our statistics.
Values – shape our behaviours
We embody the Civil Service core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
We also live by our own organisational values, which are central to delivering our vision in our own unique circumstances. We recognise and value:
• Respect: We respect the background and lifestyles of every colleague, their skills, contributions and potential
• Commitment: We are committed to high-quality statistics and analysis, professional standards, keeping data confidential, open communication, personal responsibility for delivery, and the development of personal and organisational capabilities
• Flexibility: We view change as an opportunity and continually seek improvement. We have a broad corporate view and respond to the overall needs of our organisation
• Results: We focus on customers and suppliers and their changing needs, embedding quality into our products and processes, providing value for money and delivering our commitments
ONS culture – the way we do business
Delivery in challenging circumstances requires consistency in the way we conduct our business. In strengthening our shared culture, we operate with:
• Pride: We are proud of the quality, relevance and timeliness of our outputs and the role they play in improving life in the UK
• Professionalism: We adhere to the Code of Practice for Statistics, the National Statistician’s Code of Conduct, and relevant protocols. We pursue the highest professional standards in every part of the ONS
• Outward focus: We understand and adapt flexibly to the fast-changing world in which we operate. We actively seek opportunities for external engagement and positive promotion of ONS. We are transparent about the work we do and decisions we take. We minimise our impact on the
environment
• Ambition: We search for new and innovative ways to carry out our work. We set ourselves challenging goals for the change we wish to bring about
3.3 ONS strategic principles
To deliver the vision for ONS, our strategy is to transform our statistical business through a clear focus on people and support for the necessary innovation. The following are the key strategic principles which we will use in making the vision a reality.
A high-performing statistical business
Demand for high-quality ONS statistics will continue to grow and the resources to meet this demand are limited. To meet this challenge we will improve our performance across all parts of the business. We will:
• work in partnership with our key customers to understand both their current and future needs
• deliver a prioritised statistical work programme which evolves to meet customer needs and reflects the UK as it changes. Lower priority activity may need to make way to address new demands
• devote a greater proportion of resources to adding value by analysing the data, improving accessibility and producing easy-to-read reports
• undertake high-quality data collection, emphasising improved efficiency through the use of administrative data, streamlined survey design and integrated sources
• improve respondent trust and goodwill through efficient survey design and developing collection methods
• standardise our processes, systems, and tools where there are business benefits in doing so, and
• strengthen the way our statistical directorates and our corporate services work together
Statistical leadership
Independence will increase the prominence of the ONS. We will:
• work with partners to improve the trust in statistics
• establish statistical standards and best practice to provide a framework for quality production of official statistics
• be active participants in the key statistical activities of the EU, UN, OECD and other international organisations, and
• maintain formal and informal contacts with other statistics producers to promote our own best practices and to learn from others
A clear focus of people
In our constantly changing environment, our abilities to make difficult
decisions, manage change, and to lead, manage and support others will be critical to our success. We will:
• enhance our employee policies and practices to allow us to retain and recruit the staff we need
• develop our skills and competences to undertake our roles more effectively and better equip us to embrace and deliver change
• develop our capabilities to provide the right mix of expertise to deliver the business
• recognise those who uphold our values
• recognise the value and importance of a diverse workforce that feels valued for its contribution
• treat people with respect and dignity, and
• communicate more effectively, engage more fully, listen and seek feedback
People leadership
Strong leadership will be essential to achieve our vision. All managers in the organisation will:
• build effective teams, encourage talent, motivate individuals and promote diversity
• be personally accountable, act corporately and deliver results
• communicate openly, transparently, with objectivity and consistency, whether the news is good or bad
• seek to improve business operations, through better use of resources and technology, and improved processes, and
• provide effective leadership, giving clear direction, setting objectives, dealing with difficult situations and championing new ways of working Senior managers in the organisation will be visible and available to staff.
Targeted innovation
Innovation is essential for us to thrive in a fast-changing world. We must constantly review what we produce, and how we produce it. We will:
• focus on innovation that produces cash savings to reinvest in meeting new demands, or that builds on the quality of our outputs
• build a framework to encourage and deliver innovation, allocating a proportion of our budget for new developments
• encourage ideas to be put forward and strengthen the skills required to translate innovative ideas into business benefits, and
• work with partners who can add to our knowledge
3.4 ONS public functions
The ONS carries out a range of public functions, summarised below.
We have a wide range of customers including central and local government, academics, the wider public and international bodies.
Our statistics and reports are published on the National Statistics website
www.statistics.gov.uk.
The census (England and Wales)
We carry out the ten-yearly census which goes to every household in England and Wales. We report the results and publish analyses using the census data. We work with the census offices of Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure consistency across the UK.
Household and business surveys
We carry out a number of our own surveys to households (for example, the Integrated Household Survey) and businesses (for example, Annual Business Inquiry, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings). We report the survey results and publish analyses.
We carry out surveys on behalf of other organisations (for example the Disability Survey for the Office for Disability Issues).
National Accounts and related statistics
We compile and publish the UK’s National Accounts, which provide estimates of UK economic growth. We additionally compile and publish estimates of short-term economic growth and environment accounts.
Further analysis and research
We carry out and publish reports from a range of further analyses and research projects drawing on our own data sources and other government and non-government data sources. These include reports on:
• Population trends
• Health statistics
• Social trends
• Regional trends
• Economic and labour market trends
• Other economic analyses
• Productivity of public services
Survey and analysis expertise
We are a centre of expertise for survey methodology and aspects of analysis (for example, time series), and the advice of our methodologists is sought across and beyond government. We lead the work on harmonising survey questions and outputs from surveys across government.
Dissemination
In addition to considerable efforts we make to ensure our own data and
reports are clear and accessible, we compile and manage the Neighbourhood Statistics website.
International data requirements
We meet the UK’s legal obligations for a range of international data requirements. We take an active role in shaping international standards, guidance and new data requirements.
Statistical leadership
We provide leadership for statisticians across government through the Government Statistics Service.
3.5 ONS’s contribution to measuring equality in the UK
ONS makes a significant contribution to the measurement of equality in the UK through a number of its functions.
The census (England and Wales)
Information from the census provides a benchmark for a number of equality characteristics in the population. In addition, the ‘Code of Practice on the duty
to promote racial equality’ explicitly encourages public authorities to use the Census 2001 ethnicity classification for monitoring purposes.
Household and business surveys
ONS surveys are considered by government departments to be primary sources of data for monitoring a number of aspects of equality in the UK:
• The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings for the gender pay gap
• The Labour Force module of the Integrated Household Survey for inequality in employment, use of childcare, job tenure and provision and take-up of flexible working
• The Integrated Household Survey in combination with registration data for inequality in life and health expectancies
Collecting information on sexual identity
ONS is an international leader in the development of questioning on sexual identity. The objective of the current project is to develop questioning which could be used in household surveys to collect information on sexual identity.
Statistical leadership on measuring equality
The ONS led a cross-government review of equality data needs and published a report from the review in October 2007. The review made a number of recommendations including:
• A number of recommendations to strengthen the coherence of data on equality
• A number of recommendations for filling data gaps
• A number of recommendations for improving data accessibility and presentation
• Setting up of a high-level cross-government group to monitor
implementation of the further recommendations in the review and to ensure that equality evidence base is fit for purpose for current and future data needs.
This group has now been set up and is chaired by the National Statistician. Its terms of reference are to report on progress against recommended actions and to take a strategic overview across equality data collection.
3.6 ONS policies and practices as a statistics offic
eNational Statistics. Our statistical outputs are produced according to the National Statistics Code of Practice for Statistics and relevant protocols.
Internal policies and practices. ONS has a number of internal policies which determine how we go about producing statistics in practice and how we
provide the corporate services needed to support the production of statistics. These are:
• External communication policies (publications, website, etc)
• Procurement policy
• Information Management policies
• Facilities policies
• Employment policies
International standards and guidance. Some parts of our business are carried out within an international framework. For example:
• The compilation of the UK National Accounts is carried out according to international guidelines to ensure comparability (System of National Accounts 1992)
Procurement and partnership
The ONS spends part of its overall budget on externally purchased goods and services, most particularly services. We also frequently work in partnership with other organisations. We recognise the importance of best practice in procurement and partnerships for meeting our statutory duty to promote equality.
3.7 ONS’s commitment to its customers
Our customers can expect the ONS to:
• continue to develop data sources which contribute to measuring equality
• give due regard to the accessibility of statistics and reports for diverse users, and
• consult, listen to and involve a wide range of equality stakeholders in identifying future needs for equality data
4
ONS as an employer
4.1 What staff can expect from the ONS
Staff can expect that ONS will:
• keep their personal information confidential
• treat them fairly and in line with our statutory legal duties and ONS employment and HR policies
• make sure everyone has the opportunity to engage in learning and development with relevance to equality
• give every staff member equal opportunity for training, development and promotion, and make sure our recruitment, performance management and promotion processes are open and clear
• give all staff the information/training and support they need to understand the legal requirements of them, to promote equality of opportunity and recognise and eliminate bullying and harassment, and
• offer staff safe communication channels to raise equality issues and problems
4.2 Equality
and
diversity
learning and development
To effectively eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity we recognise that our employees need the appropriate knowledge, skills,
confidence and resources.
We offer staff a number of different ways of ensuring that they understand the expectations ONS has of them with regard to equality. These include:
• Mandatory Diversity Awareness training for new starters
• Diversity Awareness sessions for other staff
• E-Learning on equality and diversity
• Refresher sessions
• Coaching for those with specific responsibilities relating to equality and diversity, for example diversity champions and network chairs
ONS recognises that the learning and development needs of its staff change throughout their careers. Equality and diversity learning and development needs of staff are regularly identified in discussion with their line managers and recorded in a Personal Development Plan which all staff are required to have.
4.3 ONS’s expectations from its staff
We expect our staff to:
• treat each other and with respect and dignity, in their daily working life
• contribute to progressing their business areas equality and diversity objectives
• include at least one personal equality and diversity objective in their own performance agreements (which may relate for example to a contribution to their business areas assessment schedule for equality impact
assessment, a role in diversity networks, an aspect of staff management, a contribution to corporate policies which impact on equality)
• take responsibility for their own learning and professional development, and where applicable the learning and development of their staff, making good use of the opportunities and resources on offer, and
• act in line with equality legislation addressed in Human Resources and other policies
We encourage staff to contribute in progressing the wider equality objectives of the office by recording their personal information for monitoring purposes.
4.4 Monitoring workforce diversity
ONS collects data on equality and diversity relating to the majority of our workforce to:
• monitor progress towards targets
• assess the impact of changes in employment policies and practices
• identify discrimination, and
• assess equality of opportunity in learning and development To enable us to do this, we are reliant on:
• the goodwill and commitment of staff in recording their personal information on the ONS people management database, and
• the goodwill of applicants to the ONS
Staff can expect that ONS will keep their personal information confidential. Employee data is analysed by the Equality and Diversity Monitoring Group on a quarterly basis and disaggregated by each equality strand, grade and directorate. The report provides information about recruitment, staff currently in post, applications for and receipt of training, disciplinary procedures, and staff leaving employment.
A report will be published annually with data summarising our progress towards our diversity targets and ONS will take care to ensure that the data do not allow the identification of individuals.
4.5 Progress to date on equality in employment
The action plan accompanying this scheme demonstrates the commitment of ONS to promoting equality and the challenges ahead for ONS as an
employer. There is, however, progress to report since the publication of our first Race Equality Scheme in 2002. In particular significant progress has been made in two key areas.
We have strengthened our arrangements for governing and delivering our equality and diversity programme which benefits our approach to all equality groups. We have:
• increased the visibility of the ONS diversity champion and site champions and clarified their roles
• established and supported a range of staff diversity networks and identified chairs and sponsors for a number of them
• raised the understanding of the importance of equality and diversity through a diversity forum
• carried out an accessibility review of all the buildings we occupy. Actions are underway to ensure all our buildings are accessible to disabled people as required by the Disability Discrimination Act
• continued to offer diversity awareness to our staff on the implications of the legislative framework supporting equality, and
• developed a system for ensuring reasonable adjustments are made for all new and existing disabled employees
We have improved our systems for gathering and interpreting information relating to the recruitment, retention and development of our employees by disability, ethnicity, age and gender and flexible working arrangements, and identified further data needs in this area. We have:
• adapted systems to use Census 2001 categories to monitor ethnicity
• improved the equal opportunities data which is collected on applicants to the ONS and automated transfer of this information onto the ONS people management database
• introduced monitoring at all stages of our external recruitment campaigns
• introduced learning and development monitoring in the ONS people management database
• introduced monitoring of exit information, and
• introduced monitoring of performance reviews
4.6 Employment policies and practices
The ONS has a range of policies and practices covering the way it operates as an employer. These fall under the broad headings of:
• Recruitment policy including probation
• Equal opportunities/diversity policy which includes bullying and harassment and complaints procedures
• Hours and leave including flexible working, home-working, maternity, paternity, adoption, special leave and sick absence
• Performance management/promotion
• Pay and pensions
• General conduct including discipline and inefficiency procedures
• Grievance
• Retention, resignation and redundancy
• Security covering data, personnel, document and physical security
• Welfare including health and safety, stress, gender identity and reassignment policies
• Communications
5
Equality impact assessments
5.1 What is equality impact assessment?
As part of the specific statutory duties on gender, race and disability equality, public authorities are required to include a ‘statement of the authority’s
arrangements for assessing the impact of its policies and practices, or the likely impact of its proposed policies and practices’.
Impact assessment is the process of assessing the impact of existing or proposed public functions, policies, practices and projects (FPPPs) in relation to their consequences for equality.
It should be an ongoing approach, way of thinking and process embedded in projects and development practices, not a bolted on activity which happens at the start or end of the development of a new function, policy or practice. The purpose of equality impact assessment is to achieve equality
improvements by identifying and removing or reducing barriers to equality and/or maximise positive impact for equality so, in most cases, effective impact assessments are likely to require actions to bring about greater equality.
The organisation is required to act ‘proportionately’ in relation to issues identified in the assessment so it may not always prove possible to remove negative impacts of FPPPs.
5.2 Principles underlying equality impact assessment in the
ONS
In line with best practice, ONS is committed to:
• mainstreaming equality impact assessment in the way we do business, and
• assessing the impact of its FPPPs on equality in relation to age, gender and gender identity, disability, ethnicity, religion/belief, sexual orientation and work-life balance (in relation to employees and on the wider population we serve)
5.3 Initial screening of ONS FPPPs
Initial screening has been carried out on existing ONS FPPPs and will be carried out on new ONS FPPPs to:
• ensure impact assessments are carried out where appropriate for new FPPPs
We will prioritise our existing FPPPs against the following criteria:
• The FPPP is a major one and we have regarded it in terms of the significance for the ONS’ activities in terms of:
- the number of people affected (both our employees and the wider
customers we serve),
- the nature of the impact on people under the relevant strands - scale and cost, and
- ‘Profile’ in terms of coverage in the media
• There is a clear indication that, although the FPPP is minor, it is likely to have a major impact on equality in terms of:
- numbers of people affected, and - seriousness of likely impact
In general, where there is doubt, we have and will continue to apply the precautionary principle in deciding whether a FPPP requires impact assessment.
This initial screening process has enabled us to prioritise impact assessments as shown in the current assessment schedule in Annex D of this scheme.
5.4 ONS equality impact assessment
This section provides an overview of the current ONS guidance for carrying out equality impact assessments (EIAs). The full guidance can be found on the ONS intranet.
Questions ONS EIAs address, as an example, are as follows:
• What kind of equality impact might there be?
• How significant is it in terms of its nature and the number of people likely to be affected?
• For which equality groups will there be an impact? And is the impact negative or positive (or is there potential for both)?
• On what aspects of the equality duties will this impact be? (Promoting equality of opportunity? Eliminating unlawful discrimination? Eliminating equality related harassment? Promoting positive attitudes to different equality groups? Encouraging participation of different equality groups in public life? Taking steps to meet disabled peoples needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment?) Could the impact actually be unlawful, for example constituting unlawful discrimination?
• What further information is required to gauge the probability and extent of the impact?
• What does the evidence tell us about the probable impact on different equality groups?
• What action do we need to take to reduce negative impact or increase positive impact?
• If this action does not mitigate fully against negative impact, what is the justification for this?
• When and how will we know the actual impact of the new FPPP or of actions taken relating to new or existing functions, policies and practices?
5.5 Mainstreaming ONS equality impact assessments
As shown in the action plan, we will put in place a number of changes to achieve the objective of mainstreaming the process of equality impact assessment including:
Working towards embedding EIAs in ONS project management practice • A report on initial screening for equality impact will be required in all ONS
project initiation documents and, where projects are judged relevant, milestones for carrying out different parts of equality impact assessment must be included in project time plans
• The ONS project management course will include a module on equality impact assessment for projects.
Working towards increasing ONS capability and reducing reliance on external experts
• Working towards the objective of EIAs being carried out solely by ONS staff (both from inside and outside the business area involved) with small teams brought together for the time of the assessment
• Including a requirement for EIA consultants, where they are used, to train ONS staff alongside carrying out assessments
• Including a module on equality impact assessment in the mandatory diversity training for all new staff
• Developing EIA courses for staff who will be taking part in EIAs
• Encouraging staff to take part in EIAs in their own or other areas for personal development and evidence of meeting equality and diversity personal objectives
• Requiring line managers to give due regard to staff requests to take part in equality impact assessments as part of personal development
Reducing reliance on ad hoc consultations
• In line with guidance (Disability Rights Commission ‘Disability equality impact assessment and Disability Equality Duty’ p40), ONS will not require
a consultation with equality groups as a mandatory stage of EIAs where other appropriate sources of information already exist
• Representatives from staff equality groups will be invited to form part of the membership of an impact assessment panel to provide guidance to
assessment teams
• As a statistics office, ONS is ideally placed to build an ongoing evidence base from a wide range of data sources, including the outcomes of previous consultations, which can then be used in subsequent assessments
• ONS has a range of professional experts on a number of areas of equality whose expertise could also be sought as part of gathering evidence
• The wider mainstreaming of equality and diversity across the ONS will also increase the equality knowledge and expertise across business areas
6
Governance, monitoring, reporting and
reviewing
6.1 Governance
and
responsibilities
The fundamental principle underlying ONS’s strategy for meeting corporate equality and diversity objectives is that every member of ONS staff has a contribution to make. However we recognise that delivery of these objectives will be most effective if there are clear roles and responsibilities at different levels of the ONS hierarchy for ensuring all staff are able to contribute. A diagram showing the relationships between the different roles is shown in the accompanying document Annex B.
The Equality and Diversity Steering Group (EDSG) meets quarterly and draws members from across business areas of the organisation, diversity site champions and co-opted attendees as appropriate. Human Resources
Division provides the secretariat for the group. It operates in a fully transparent way and reports to the Departmental Operations Committee (DOC). Its responsibilities are to:
• monitor progress against the Equality Scheme action plan and resolve obstacles to progress
• review the scheme action plan at intervals and address issues raised in an issues log
• quality assure annual equality and diversity progress reports for submission to DOC, ready for publication
• ensure that DOC communicates the requirement for all new departmental functions, policies, practices and projects to undergo equality impact assessment where they meet the relevance criteria, and
• develop the bid for, and agrees the spend of, the corporate diversity budget
The current membership of the steering group can be found on the ONS intranet.
EDSG may at times have Equality and Diversity Sub-groups to resolve specific obstacles to progress or provide a specialist role, for example a working group on improving the monitoring of workforce diversity. The National Statistician and Executive Management Group is
responsible for ensuring ONS complies with its statutory duties regarding equality.
The ONS equality and diversity champion role is held by a member of staff at ONS executive board level. The responsibility of the ONS champion is to:
• sponsor the ONS’s Equality Scheme and chair EDSG
• ensure the executive board members give due regard to equality and diversity issues throughout ONS business with emphasis on best practice rather than simply meeting statutory duties
• act as a communication conduit between the board, site champions (see below) and other staff on equality and diversity issues, and
• be the owner of corporate risks relating to equality and diversity
Diversity site champions (with deputies and administrative support where appropriate)are identified on each ONS site. Their responsibilities are to:
• work with the ONS equality and diversity champion to deliver the Equality Scheme and attend Equality and Diversity Steering Group meetings
• be a focus for diversity, identify and communicate equality and diversity issues relating to their site
• nurture and support diversity networks on their site, and
• provide expertise in an advisory capacity for equality impact assessments
ONS has a number of active diversity networks on each site including networks grouped as disability; culture and ethnicity; work-life balance; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and transgender; all ages; faith/belief and a network for interviewers.
While the activity of networks is self-determined, they are encouraged to:
• identify and record issues on an issues log that relate to their needs and suggest ways that ONS functions, policies, practices and projects can be amended to address these
• facilitate their members contributions to promoting equality including cultural understanding, positive attitudes and good relations between different people
• increase the understanding of equality issues across the ONS
• contribute to the work of the Equality and Diversity Steering Group either directly or through sub-groups
• liaise directly with HR and Facilities Management to resolve local issues, and
• provide advice on dealing with issues affecting individual circumstances
Network sponsors (and their deputies where appropriate) provide support and encouragement to specific networks.
Human Resources Division provides an advisory function through the diversity advisor and also provides the secretariat function for the EDSG. The role of the diversity advisor is to:
• provide expert advice and guidance on equalities and diversity matters
• ensure up to date diversity policies and guidance are in place
• bring compliance matters to the attention of senior management and promote best practice over and above compliance
• oversee corporate communication on diversity issues via, for example, the diversity intranet, working with networks and champions.
• act as secretariat to ONS Equalities and Diversity Steering Group, and
6.2 Monitoring and reporting progress against the action
plan
Overall progress reports against the Equality Scheme action plan will be tabled at each EDSG meeting.
EDSG meeting agendas, papers and notes will be posted on the ONS intranet, with care taken to ensure information is not disclosive.
Annual reports on progress against the Equality Scheme will be quality
assured by the EDSG and published on the ONS website. They will report on a number of headline indicators which may include:
• Total numbers of equality impact assessments conducted
• Mitigating actions taken as a result of equality impact assessment
• Progress against actions to address key issues site by site
Additionally progress against workforce diversity targets should routinely form part of corporate reports.
6.3 Reviewing the scheme
The main chapters of the Equality Scheme will be reviewed at intervals (at least every three years) with the annexes reviewed more regularly as
appropriate. The action plan will be reviewed every six months during its first year and at least annually after that.
6.4 Suggestions or complaints about the scheme
Suggestions or complaints about the scheme should either be sent to the ONS Diversity Advisor or raised with the diversity champions or diversity networks.
Annexes to the scheme will be published as stand-alone documents on the ONS intranet to allow updating although the initial versions are included here for illustrative purposes at the time of publication.
Annex A ONS impact assessment priorities
Detailed list of ONS functions, policies,
practices and projects
Guide to tables:• The first column in each table lists ONS functions, policies, practices and projects (FPPPs) with the objective of making the description as accessible as possible to a wide audience [given that the final version would be published] and disaggregating FPPPs to a level at which the equality priority score is most meaningful. They are broadly consistent with those in the outputs diagram used in the consultation on the ONS statistical programme
• In the spirit of transparency, the prioritisation of FPPPs for equality impact assessment is then demonstrated. The FPPPs are first classified as major or minor. Major FPPPs are then provisionally screened against a number of criteria (number of people who are affected by the FPPP either ONS staff or the public, potential seriousness of impact relating to equality and diversity, scale and cost of FPPP, the public profile of the FPPP). Minor FPPPs are also screened for major impact on equality in terms of numbers of people affected and potential seriousness of impact
• The criteria scores of high (H), medium (M) and low (L) are then used to propose a priority score for carrying out equality impact assessment on the basis of L – low priority, M – medium priority, H – high priority, E – equality impact assessment already carried out
Census, Demography and Regional Statistics Functions, policies, practices or
projects
Major FPPP Minor FPPP Priority
Numbers of people
Seriousness of impact
Scale and cost profile Nos. of people Seriousness of impact Recruitment of census field staff
Employment of census field staff
H Conduct of census field operation M
Non-compliance relating to census M
Consultations on requirements for information from census questions
E Census communications,
questionnaire and Internet design.
H Provide statistical disclosure
controls
L
Census reports L
Produce population estimates, projections and analyses at a national and sub-national level
M
Migration statistics M
Implementation of
recommendations from Review of Migration Statistics
M
Demographic Analysis M
NeSS Regional Statistics and analysis
includes Release Regional Statistics
(including Regional Trends) and produce analysis of ‘place’
Regional Statisticians functions M
Health Statistics
Macroeconomics and National Accounts Functions, policies, practices or
projects
Major FPPP
Minor FPPP Priority
Numbers of people
Seriousness of impact
Scale and cost profile Nos. of people Seriousness of impact National Accounts statistics and
related analysis L
Regional Accounts M
Short-term output Indicators and
related analysis L
National Accounts reengineering
project H
Welsh short-term Indicators M
Public Sector Finance statistics L
Environmental accounts L
Labour Market estimates and
analysis H
Public Sector employment statistics L
New Economy analysis L
Productivity statistics and analysis M
Editorial Strategy Economic and
Labour Market Review journal M
Ethnicity Estimates H
Provide National Statistics
Harmonisation function M
Social and Public Services Analysis and Reporting Functions, policies, practices
or projects
Major FPPP Minor FPPP Priority for EIA
Numbers of people
Seriousness of impact
Scale and cost profile Nos. of people Seriousness of impact Household Income and
Expenditure, Household Assets
M
Analyses of societal wellbeing L
Analyses of equality H
Analyses of mortality, morbidity, child health, healthy lifestyles and cancer
L Implementation of Review of
Equality Data recommendations
H
ONS Longitudinal Study L
Strategy and developments for longitudinal data
Equality technical advice H
Sexual Identity project H
Pension statistics M
Social Trends journal M
Analysis of birth statistics M
Develop Ethnicity, Identity, Language, Religion census questions
E Access to Virtual Micro Data Lab
for external users
M Procedures for protecting the
output from Virtual Micro data Lab
M Productivity analyses of public
services
L Quality Measurement Framework
project
M
Surveys and Administrative Data Functions, policies, practices or projects
Major FPPP
Minor FPPP Priority
Numbers of people
Seriousness of impact
Scale and cost profile Nos. of people Seriousness of impact Business Data collection
comprising:
• contributor selection
• data validation
• response chasing
• enforcement
L M L L Manage and report from consumer
Price Index
M Manage and report from Household
Surveys:
• Integrated Household Survey (incorporating Labour Force Survey, Expenditure and Food Survey, General Household Survey (Longitudinal), National Statistics Omnibus Survey, Annual Population Survey)
• Wealth and Assets Survey
• Longitudinal Disability Survey
H
Manage and report from other business surveys
• Producer price index
• Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings
• Short-term turnover inquiries
• Capital Expenditure Profits & Stocks inquiry
• Retail Sales Inquiry
• Prodcom
• Financial and Overseas surveys
H
• Structural Industry Statistics
• R&D and the Internet Service Providers Surveys
• Construction statistics
L
Travel and tourism statistics H
Housing statistics L
Administrative data developments M
Corporate services Functions, policies, practices or projects
Major FPPP Minor FPPP Priority
Numbers of people Seriousness of impact
Scale and cost profile Nos. of people Seriousness of impact
Facilities Security services L
Reception function
L
Catering services L
FM helpdesk function
L Finance & Planning Manage
procurement and procurement policy M Manage HR, finance and procurement self-service system (ATLAS) M Business planning and reporting L
Communications Manage internal
corporate and internal communications E Manage external publications and external publications policy E
Lead on Welsh Language Scheme H Communication Strategy E Manage information queries from public M
Human Resources Manage Human Resource operations and policies
H
Recruitment H
development
Welfare services M
National Statistics & Policy Data protection policy
H Governance of
research data access
M
Freedom of Information compliance
M
Data sharing policy M
Legal support L
Support for the Government Statistical Service
H
National Statistics Policy
L International
relations
L Stakeholder
engagement
H Development of
governance and structures for post-independence
L
Executive Board secretariat and Private Office function
L
Information management IM Service Management functions
H
ONSide M
Security Policies L
Architectural Standards and patterns
M
Flex E
Methodology Questionnaire design
M
Disclosure control M
Sampling methodology
M processing,
editing and imputation methods
Annex B Roles and responsibilities relating to ONS equality and diversity
B1. Membership of the Equality and Diversity Steering Group at time of publishing the scheme
Chair – ONS Diversity Champion Jil Matheson HRD Lead on Diversity – Patricia Passaro
HRD Diversity Advisor (Secretariat) – Rae Cornish Departmental Trade Unions Representative – Gez Kirby
Diversity Site Champions – Paul Allin; Dev Virdee; Paul Vickers Directors – Paul Woobey; Bruce Oelman; Derek Bird
Staff representation – Kirsty Burns; Duncan Elliott
Diversity network chairs and/or members and others to be co-opted according to agenda items
B2. Diagram of roles and responsibilities for achieving ONS Equality and Diversity objectives (see overleaf – should be viewed alongside ONS’ organisation structure)
Newport Site Diversity Champion
Equality and Diversity Steering Group (EDSG)
Equality and Diversity Sub Group
Equality and Diversity Sub Group London Site Diversity Champion ONS Diversity Champion Titchfield Site Diversity Champion Business Areas LGBTT Chair Work-Life Balance Chair Disability Chair All Faiths Chair All Ages Chair Ethnicity Chair Disability Chair All Ages Chair LGBTT Chair Work-Life Balance Chair Field Force Chair All Ages Network Disability Network LGBTT Network Work-Life Balance Network All Faiths Network Ethnicity Network Disability Network All Ages Network LGBTT Network Work-Life Balance Network Field Force Network Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor FMU Diversity Advisor HR Direct Welfare
Liaise with Disability Chairs Advise, answer questions
Chair
Create
Provide members for EDSG and Network
Sponsors
Report to Report to
Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Nurture & support
Nurture & support
Nurture & support
Nurture & support
Nurture & support
Nurture & support Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair
Nurture & support
Nurture & support Nurture & support Nurture & support
Nurture & support Report to Departmental Operating Committee Report to Provide Secretariat to EDSG Member of Member of Member of EDSG Departmental Trade Union Side Provide member of
EDSG Member of Disability Network LGBTT Network Work-Life Balance Network Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Disability Chair LGBTT Chair Work-Life Balance Chair Chair Chair Chair Support & encourage Support & encourage Support & encourage External Diversity Talks Diversity Champions Network
attend Liase with
UK Statistics Authority
Annex C
ONS equality impact assessment
framework
General
Equality impact assessment (EIA) is a process of systematically finding out whether a proposed policy or policy change or practice affects different groups differently. The full procedure is on our website and intranet and is
summarised below.
Initial assessment
The initial assessment follows procedures to:
• Identify the main policy aims; name of policy; lead person; who is likely to be affected; how the policy fits with ONS aims
• Identify the evidence base; information likely to be helpful in EIA and what this information shows
• Decide whether the policy is relevant to equality: possibility of negative or differential impact; likelihood of affecting or damaging relations between particular groups; whether the policy could be directly or indirectly discriminatory
• Assess the relevance of the above to decide whether a full impact assessment is required; if not, record conclusions and evidence
Full assessment
The full assessment follows procedures to:
• Consult with and involve people who are or are likely to be affected by the policy
• Collect further data if initial assessment has identified gaps
• If policy is having or is likely to have an adverse impact, consider options for action, including measures to mitigate, changes to the policy,
alternative policies, abandonment, or justification for the policy as it stands (subject to legal advice)
• Decide action
• Arrange for monitoring and review
Annex D
ONS equality and diversity action
plan
General principles:
• All ONS business areas share responsibility for the Scheme and related actions under the leadership of Jil Matheson
• The Equality & Diversity Steering Group is responsible for steering progress towards objectives identified in the Scheme and resolving
obstacles. Assigning responsibilities across the business will be part of this
• HRD responsibility is for the HRD aspects of the action plan that they have direct responsibility for: providing secretariat (limited to meeting
administration) to the EDSG; co-ordinating a progress report against this action plan (sending it out to action owners quarterly and requesting an update by a given date); obtaining papers from authors commissioned by the EDSG in the required format
• Site Champions and networks will be responsible for maintaining an equality and diversity ‘issues’ log which will be monitored by EDSG
• HRD responsibility for equality impact assessment is limited to ensuring diversity statistics needed for EIA evidence bases are fit for purpose and accessible when needed for EIAs relevant for ONS workforce; putting in place training for EIA to be delivered by staff within business areas across ONS (Super users) and ensuring that EIAs and contact names are
collected in one place
Key:
R – Race Equality Duty G – Gender Equality Duty D – Disability Equality Duty
S – Sexual Orientation Equality Legislation B – Religion or Belief Equality Legislation A – Age Equality Legislation
1. Diversity Governance and Measurement
Aim – To embed a culture of Diversity within ONS Lead Responsibility
ONS Diversity Champion Monitored by
Equality and Diversity Steering Group (EDSG)
Meets Equality Duties
/Legislation
Action How and who? Outcomes and Outputs
Time-scale
R
G
D S B A Quarterly meeting of the
Diversity Steering Group
EDSG
Quarterly meetings
• Track the progress of the SES Action Plan
• Report on the inclusion of Diversity objectives for SCS
• Publish EDSG meeting notes and headline note for the daily.
Ongoing
Develop an Equality and Diversity Strategy and policy
Deputy Director HR HR Diversity Advisor
• An equality and diversity strategy that is at the heart of all ONS’s functions, policies, procedures and practices
• To ensure that diversity is mainstreamed in ONS
2008/09
analysis and action plan by HR Division and field representatives.
Progress against action plans to be monitored by the EDSG.
• Action plan where ONS is not meeting its duties
• Publish quarterly findings and action plan
Set up diversity networks that represent all strands across all sites
ONS Champion & site diversity champions
• All diversity Networks are mirrored across Newport, London and Titchfield
• Each Network to have an SCS sponsor
2. ONS as an Employer
Aim: To be an organisation that does not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment and actively encourages all
employees to work, develop and progress to their full potential. Lead Responsibility
Deputy Director HR
Monitored by Departmental Operating Committee
Meets Equality Duties
/Legislation
Action How and who? Outcomes and Outputs
Time-scale
R
G
D S B A Develop a set of Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure and report ONS’s progress towards delivering on its equality and diversity responsibilities
Deputy Director HR EDSG
• Progress against action plan targets
• Reporting on bullying and
harassment via the Atlas system
• Monitor diversity related complaints by internal and external stakeholders
• To form part of the annual reporting where statistical information is not disclosive
By
Quarter 3 2008 and ongoing
Implement robust
diversity training which is mandatory where
Deputy Director HR Assistant Director HR – Learning and
• Diversity Awareness Training for all employees (additional case studies for field interviewers)
By
Quarter 3 2008
