Working across the public sector David Warren (Policy Officer – Older People and Ageing) – December 2010

What is equality? Perceptions of equality "The problem is that television executives have got it into their heads that if one presenter on a show is a blond-haired, blue-eyed heterosexual boy, the other must be a black Muslim lesbian”. (Jeremy Clarkson, 2009) White job applicants could be overlooked because of the colour of their skin under proposed equality laws (Daily Mail, 2009)

Equality – what is it all about? Gender Marriage and Civil Partnership or… Race Gender Reassignment Who your parents are? Religion and belief Where you were born? Pregnancy and Maternity Your background and educational opportunities Sexual Orientation Your socio-economic status Age Disability

Linking into your agenda Income, wealth, employment – ‘Deep-seated and systemic differences remain between men and women and minority groups in pay and employment’ (John Hills, National Equality Panel) Education – ‘During the earliest years, it is primarily parents who shape their children’s outcomes – a healthy pregnancy, good mental health, the way that they parent and whether the home environment is educational’. (Frank Field, The Foundation Years, 2010) Health – ‘Differences in life expectancy and infant mortality are just the tip of the iceberg. The physical and mental health and wellbeing of people across the life course is strongly linked to their relative income and social position.  Other factors such as ethnicity, gender and disability also impact... (Sir Michael Marmot, 2009)

Education - a national shame? ‘Wales has a more extreme position of educational attainment [than the rest of the UK]. 70% of advantaged boys do above average. 80% of disadvantaged boys do below average’ (John Hills, Chair – National Equality Panel)

Looking at life… Our life chances are critical… “Although there are many who think that ageing begins at 40, 50 or 60, we are learning that the underpinning mechanisms of ageing play out their mischief throughout the life course…The damage that will undermine our health, vitality and level of independence in later life has been accumulating since we were in the womb…’ (Professor Tom Kirkwood)

Working cross sector Recognising that equality issues are central to all our work. If equality is relevant to every aspect of our work then the only way to tackle it is collaboratively Who are our partners? Internal colleagues People External colleagues (health, local government, academia, the voluntary sector…)

Practical Example 1: Age Well Anglesey Using prevention to ensure older people’s independence Three Age Well centres Works on the principle of inclusion, by signposting and improving access to mainstream and universal services Saving money! Local Authority National Partners Who is involved? Health Voluntary Sector University Older People

Practical Example 2: Commission for Racial Equality Project to assess every Welsh local authority race equality scheme and acknowledging that all were non-compliant with the law Managing difficult situations and relationships Developing a constructive relationship with partners Developing a final report in consultation Recognising non-compliance with the law A progressive happy ending? Performing regulatory role Bringing partners in to discuss consequences

A future opportunity? – Child Poverty ‘…It matters more in Britain who your parents are than in many other countries. …your origins and your parents’ income provide a series of nudges that tend to push people in a particular direction, from your chances of being read to as a child, whether your parents can buy a house in the catchment area of a good school, educate you privately, pay for a second degree, provide help with a deposit to buy a house, or leave an inheritance’ (Report – An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK, 2010) ‘working class grandmothers on low incomes are more likely to be providing childcare than other groups. They are also more likely to have given up work or reduced their paid hours to care for grandchildren’ (Grandparents Plus and EHRC, 2010)

Discussion Over to you… What are the barriers to collaborative working? What innovative examples are there? What mechanisms do we already have in place to work across the sector(s)? For example, Local Service Boards? When we collaborate, are we including the people that our policies and practice affect?