Friday, 6 November 2015

Essex County Council/Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations Request


Question 1.  Please send me the reports about the implementation of your Equality and Diversity Scheme for the last three years.

The Council no longer is required to publish an Equality and Diversity Scheme, instead it is required to publish Equality Objectives.

We have incorporated our equality objectives within our equality strategy which can be found here: http://www.essex.gov.uk/Publications/Documents/EQUALITIES_POLICY.pdf


Question 2. Please send me the information about the nature and description of Essex County Council contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses in the current year and last three years, including the support provided to BME businesses to win Essex County Council’s Contracts.


We do not hold information of the ethnicity of businesses.


Question 3. Please send me the information about the funding allocation and grants to BME voluntary organisations working or based in Essex County Council ( for the current year and last three years), and indicate the proportion of this funding allocation in relation to all voluntary organisations working or based in the County.

We only hold information regarding BME Voluntary and Community Sector Grants for 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Year
Proportion of grants allocated to  BME Groups
2015/16
3.87%
2014/15
1.92%

While we have allocated some funding to BME groups, we also want to ensure that people from all ethnicities can access support and services from the voluntary sector. We have ensured that, within our Voluntary Sector Compact, we have encouraged groups to engage with all communities http://www.essex.gov.uk/Business-Partners/Partners/voluntary-sector-funding/Pages/The-Essex-Compact.aspx



Question 4. Please send me the information about proportion of BME staff employed by the Council, especially in the management positions.

This information is published here: http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/Strategies-Policies/Equality-diversity/Documents/DEReport13-14.pdf  


Question 5. Please send me the report that you may have showing the breakdown of Black  people who have applied for jobs  within Essex  including the rates of applicants invited for  interviews and  the pass rates of the interviews by Black applicants.

This information is published here: http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/Strategies-Policies/Equality-diversity/Documents/DEReport13-14.pdf  


Question 6. Please send me your report about the complaints from the public in relation to your Equality and Diversity Scheme, including any changes or actions that may have been taken place in the Council's policies, activities, and services as the result of these complaints.

We have not received any complaints about the Council’s Equality and Diversity Scheme as we do not have one. We have also not received any complaints about the County Council’s Equalities Strategy.


Question 7. Please send me your annual workforce profile report that provides breakdowns of the workforce profile by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and age and other additional data required by the relevant institutions.


This information is published here: http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/Strategies-Policies/Equality-diversity/Documents/DEReport13-14.pdf  


Question 8. Please send me any report  that you may have in relation to the Council’s  Engagement with BME people and BME organisations based or serving Essex County Council.

We do not have a report specifically on engagement with BME people or organisations.

Question 9.Please send me your report on the implementation of the Equality & Diversity Policy in relation to  access to employment

This information is published here: http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/Strategies-Policies/Equality-diversity/Documents/DEReport13-14.pdf
Question 10. Please send me the details of the proportion of funding (grants, contracts, etc.) awarded to BME organisations (voluntary and private) by Essex County Council

See question 3  - above.

Question 11. What strategy do you have to fight BME social  isolation and exclusion  and to  increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is under-represented in your workforce ?


The Council does not have a strategy to specifically fight BME social isolation as we are aware that other groups are also vulnerable to social isolation. We have included Community Resilience as part of our Vision for Essex 2013-17 ensuring that we tackle social isolation for all
http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/Strategies-Policies/Pages/EssexWorks-Pledges-2011_12.aspx

BME communities are not underrepresented in our staff (BME communities comprises 9.2% of the population but make up 10.9% of staff).

Black staff are not underrepresented in our staff (Black African/Caribbean/Black British comprise 1.3% of the population of Essex but comprise of 2.8% of employees of Essex County Council).


Question 12. Please also send me the information about the rate of unemployment from Black people residents of Essex County


The County Council does not hold this as we are not responsible for collecting this data.

You may find this website helpful in retrieving this information: http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/


Your Right to Know
Information Services
Essex County Council
Telephone: 08457 430430
Email: YourRight.ToKnow@essex.gov.uk | www.essex.gov.uk
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Saturday, 10 October 2015

[diversityliving] Freedom of Information request -London Borough of Waltham Forest(October 2012) [3 Attachments]

 

[Attachment(s) from Diversity Living Services included below]

Freedom of Information request -London Borough of Waltham Forest(October 2012)

1. Please send me the information about the nature and description of Waltham Forest Council contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses in the current year and last three years, including the support provided to BME businesses to win Waltham Forest Council Contracts.
In 2009 LBWF sent a questionnaire to all suppliers that had been used in the previous 2 years  and since then all new suppliers are requested to complete the questionnaire identifying whether they would consider themselves to be BME businesses. The data that we have is therefore only for those companies that chose to complete the questionnaire (it is not mandatory for them to do so in order to be set up as a vendor)

Based on those businesses who completed the voluntary questionnaire, since 30.9.2009 to date LBWF has raised Purchase Orders (i.e has contracted with for the supply of goods/services/works) to 335 vendors who stated that they were BME owned businesses.

2. Please send me the information about the funding allocation and grants to BME voluntary organisations working or based in the London Borough of Waltham Forest ( for the current year and last three years), and indicate the proportion of this funding allocation in relation to all voluntary organisations working or based in the borough.
Please see the attached spreadsheet (voluntary sector funding).  In terms of the last 3 years – we have records for 2010-2011, 2011-2012. We do not have collated information 2009-10. We are including 2012-2013 but would need to highlight that this period is not complete and there are other funding e.g. grants that are still to take place.

Notes
2012-2013 –NB as at 26 October 2012)
2011-2012 –
2010-2011 – NB no project information was collated for this period.

3. Please send me the information about proportion of BME staff employed by the Council, especially in the management positions.
HR Scorecard June 2012 attached – Includes details of Minority Ethnic Staff in top 5% of earners.

4. Please send me your report about the complaints from the public in relation to your Equality and Diversity Scheme, including any change or action that may have been taken place in the Council's policies, activities, services as the result of these complaints.
No complaints have been received.

5. Please send me the reports about the implementation of your Equality and Diversity Scheme for the last three years.
This is published on our website. The Equalities Review: http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/documents/equalities%20review%20final.doc

6.Please send me your annual workforce profile report that provides breakdowns of the workforce profile by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and age and other additional data required by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Annual Workforce Profile is published on our website: Under Employment Information, there is a link to the Equality Scorecard. Can be found under this link: http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/pages/services/equalities-and-diversity-assessment-and-consultation.aspx?l1=100003&l2=200041
Some examples of current initiatives and on-going work include:
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>Aspiring Leaders Programme (Year-long Development Programme launched in April 2012) – See attached for details.
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>The council undertakes regular and routine analysis of its workforce profile through quarterly HR scorecards and an annual equality scorecard
<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>The Councils Equality Plan sets out  a number of equality objectives which it aims to progress, these include objectives on our workforce for example - Ensure the percentage of women, disabled staff, and black, Asian and minority ethnic staff is in line with top-performing London authorities across all tiers of the Council’s workforce; Eliminate bullying and harassment in the workplace.
The Council undertakes benchmarking exercises on how the profile of its workforce compares with other local authorities, this includes the top 5% of minority ethnic earners  and Waltham Forest is in the top quartile for London Boroughs

7.What strategy to increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is under-represented in your workforce ?
There is no overall under-representation of BME staff in the Council, as at June 2012 the overall % of BME staff is 53.2%, this compares well with our BME population locally (Waltham Forest) which is 47%.

I trust that the above satisfies your enquiry.  If you have any queries about this email, please contact me.  Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you have the right to complain about the Council’s response to your request for information. If you wish to pursue such a complaint, please do so within 28 days from the date of this letter and ask for a review of the Council’s decision.  Please write to: The Information Officer, Complaints Team, Room 104, Waltham Forest Town Hall, Walthamstow E17 4JF, or email  information.officer@walthamforest.gov.uk .  Please mark your request clearly as “Request for Review”.

If after receiving a response to the review, you remain dissatisfied with the Council’s response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner.  Further information can be obtained via the Information Commissioner’s helpline 0303 123 1113 or their website at:  http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom_of_information.aspx 


Waltham Forest Council
Room 104
Waltham Forest Town Hall
Forest Road
London E17 4JF

www.walthamforest.gov.uk



From: Website (DO NOT REPLY) [no-reply@walthamforest.gov.uk]
Sent: 02 October 2012 08:46
To: Information Officer
Subject: FOI request related to: Other/don't know
Dear Information Officer,
A Freedom of Information submission has been received from the website.

Form fields

Subject: Other/don't know
Please state below the information you are requesting from the Council: Dear Sir, Madam,

I would like to have more information about the following. Please ignore my previous request sent yesterday evening because it confusing. Here is the updated version of my request. I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Please send me the information about the nature and description of Waltham Forest Council contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses in the current year and last three years, including the support provided to BME businesses to win Waltham Forest Council Contracts.

2. Please send me the information about the funding allocation and grants to BME voluntary organisations working or based in the London Borough of Waltham Forest ( for the current year and last three years), and indicate the proportion of this funding allocation in relation to all voluntary organisations working or based in the borough .

3. Please send me the information about proportion of BME staff employed by the Council, especially in the management positions.

4. Please send me your report about the complaints from the public in relation to your Equality and Diversity Scheme, including any change or action that may have been taken place in the Council's policies, activities, services as the result of these complaints.

5. Please send me the reports about the implementation of your Equality and Diversity Scheme for the last three years.


6.Please send me your annual workforce profile report that provides breakdowns of the workforce profile by gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and age and other additional data required by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

What concrete actions being undertaken by the Council to increase its ethnic diversity for example:

• Attraction strategy, talent management and mentoring progra mmes.
• Analysing the workforce profile to explore the reasons for underrepresentation.
• Reviewing ethnicity targets for the Council .
• Comparing the Council's top 5% of ethnic minority earners, (for Council departments) against other local authorities.
• Involvement of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the Council decision-making process and service delivery.
• Equalities consultations ( e.g. consulting with range of people from different backgrounds and cultures about different diversity and equality issues relevant to them.
• Diversity and Community Cohesion Board/ Committees/Steering Group.
• Contracting and commissioning ( Equalities and diversity as an important part of the council's procurement process with equality and diversity requirements in all tender documents (contract monitoring system that includes routine equality reporting).
• Promoting Equality and Diversity across all our services . Oth er actions in relation to Equalities monitoring, engagement and implementation

7.What strategy to increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is under-represented in your workforce ?

Note: Please send me the information with my original copy of the freedom of information request.
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Attachment(s) from Diversity Living Services | View attachments on the web
3 of 3 File(s)
Voluntary sector funding.xls
Scorecard June 2012.pdf
aspiring_leaders_programme.pdf
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[diversityliving] Freedom of Information request -London Borough of Croydon (October 2012) [1 Attachment]

 
[Attachment(s) from Diversity Living Services included below]

Freedom of Information request -London Borough of Croydon (October 2012)

 

1. The information about Council contracts awarded to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) businesses and the support provided to BME businesses to win Council Contracts;

 

We do not record ethnicity of contractors and so are therefore unable to provide a response to this element of this request.   There are no specific initiatives regarding encouraging BME businesses to bid for contracts.

 

2. Funding allocation and grants to BME voluntary organisations, in comparison with all voluntary organisations;

 

The Council does not formally define BME led organisations and any data provided could therefore be misleading as it may not be comparable with date provided by other local authorities.  The full list of organisations funded by Croydon Council is published on the website at http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/advice/tsfunding/thirdsector.

 

3. The proportion of BME staff employed by the Council, especially in the management positions;

 

Please see attached link to the workforce profile

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/strategies/workforceprofiles0910

 

4. The report about the complaints from the public in relation to Equality and Diversity Scheme, with any change or action that may have been taken in the Council's policies, activities, services as the result of these complaints;

 

We have not received any complaints in relation to the scheme to date.

 

5. Implementation of your Equality and Diversity Scheme for the last three years;

 

Please see attached link and the attached document

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/strategies/edarchive

 

6. Annual workforce profile report;

 

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/strategies/workforceprofiles0910

 

7. Concrete actions undertaken to increase ethnic diversity;

 

Please see attached link and document http://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/strategies/edarchive

 

8. Strategy to increase the proportion of black people personnel if it is under-represented in your workforce

 

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/documents/meetings/546596/2012/2012-03-19/cab20120319equalitystrategy.pdf

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

 

 

 

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1 of 1 File(s)

equalitiesstrategy10-13.pdf
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Our Vision and Services

Our vision is of a society where no one should experience discrimination on the grounds of their mental health.

Mental health problems are extremely common across society, with one in four of us experiencing them in any year. Despite being so common, people from all communities will still experience discriminatory attitudes and behaviours that can prevent people from speaking out, seeking support and playing full and active roles in our communities. The impact of mental health stigma and discrimination will vary between communities as mental health has a cultural context that affects the way communities talk about the subject and engage with people who have mental health problems. In some cultures depression, for example, doesn't exist and in others an experience of a mental health problem can be attached to a sense of shame.

For the African and Caribbean communities a key issue is the overrepresentation of young African and Caribbean men in mental health services. Misconceptions and stereotypes have led to a perception that this group is more likely to pose a risk of violent behaviour and, as a result, they are more likely to be treated as inpatients and sectioned when compared to other groups. It is well documented that this has led to a fear of talking about mental health issues more openly and a fear of using mental health services. Research by the Race Equality Foundation (2011) also highlighted fears that discrimination against Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) communities and migrant service users will increase in the austerity climate and whilst commissioning arrangements change.

Our Services

· Provide information, advice, advocacy

· Represent diversity communities in Health Care services, policies and strategies

· Organise training in health and social care in collaboration with local colleges

· Provide human resources ( including interpreters) who are suitable to the diversity communities especially to break language and cultural barriers

· Provides domiciliary care and support

· Provide services such specialised support for people with mental health needs, including people who suffer from short-term memory problems, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

· Provide visits to elderly people and help them with outings and home services

· Participate in local authority and NHS consultations , research events and programmes to voice the needs of diversity communities.

· Increase access to services and rights for disadvantaged people and the most vulnerable of our society

· Help and support unemployed people to look for work, including training and job preparation

· Provide legal advice in a range of issues from on Immigration and Asylum , welfare benefits, housing, health, education, community care, and training, employment, etc.

· Provide advice and guidance, information and practical help so that our service users can access opportunities they are entitled to

· Organise training and other community learning opportunities that provide new skills, increase confidence and motivation

· Support our service users to overcome barriers to learning, employment and training

· Provide support for young people with their education, training, confidence building, employment and social needs.

Objectives of our Diversity Living Programme:

· To promote the inclusion and participation of diversity communities* in integrated care.

· To inform policy, locally and nationally, and assisting in the formulation of effective policies, strategies and good practices in integrated care in order to contribute to improved health outcomes for the people from the diversity communities (e.g. Black and minority ethnic communities) and to ensure health services are able to meet their specific needs.

· To improve the quality of life for diversity people with disability, mental health problems and their families and carers through integrated care by providing inclusive advocacy and information.

· To provide service that enable diversity groups and individuals with disability /elderly and their carers to make the right choice for themselves and have an influence on decisions made about their future.

· To promote the rights of diversity people with disability, their families and carers and make sure their rights are safe and protected.

· To promoting access to information regarding healthcare issues and to raise awareness of the needs of diversity disabled children, young people, older people and their families.

· To promote the rights of older and disabled diversity people, helping them overcome and enable them to participate in decisions about their future

· To provide support and information to those suffering the isolation and loneliness that can be associated with disability and old age

· To fight against mental health stigma in refugee, black and minority ethnic communities and ensure no one should experience discrimination on the grounds of their mental health or disability.

*Diversity communities are older people, disabled people, Black, Asian, refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and other ethnic minorities.