1. Creating an Equality Duty Toolkit for the VCS Equality and Diversity Forum and Citizens Advice October 18 2011

2. Agenda for today 1.Welcome and introductions 2.Project Context 3.Aims today 4.Discussion of most useful tools:  Understanding the Equality Duty  Influencing Public Bodies  Using Data about Equality 5.Wrap up and next steps

3. Getting started In pairs, discuss: What equality issues your organisation most wants local public bodies to address How you go about trying to persuade them to address these issues now

4. Project Context Equality Duty in force since April 2011, replace race, gender and disability duties New model of Equality Duty relies on transparency and civil society holding public bodies to account, key role for VCSOs Government has commissioned toolkit to support VCSOs in using Equality Duty Consulting with VCSOs is first step

5. Aims Today Identify what sorts of tools and guidance might best: –Encourage VCSOs to use the Equality Duty –Help VCSOs to use Equality Duty effectively Discuss ideas for specific tools and guidance Identify best formats for tools

6. The Toolkit we are developing Three main areas  Understanding the Equality Duty  Influencing Public Bodies  Using Data about Equality We have ideas for tools for each areas Want to explore what you’d like, not just your response to our ideas

7. Understanding the Equality Duty 1.If your organisation used any of the old equality duties, what would have helped you understand them better? 2.If you didn’t use the old duties, what sorts of information or knowledge about how they worked would have encouraged you to use them?

8. Some ideas for tools Checklist of what VCSOs can expect public bodies to do: taking the equality duty into account when making decisions, engaging with relevant VCSOs, publishing information, setting equality objectives Case studies covering what minimum and best practice looks like Case studies from VCSOs that have worked effectively with public authorities to frame or improve their approach Guidance on good practice in the equality duty objectives set by public authorities How and when the equality duty can help VCSOs achieve their own strategic objectives How, when, where to get further help when engagement or influencing is not appropriate or effective Plain English guide to relevant case law Plain English glossary of technical terms that public bodies may use

9. Influencing Public Bodies 1.What have you found helps you to influence public bodies and hold them to account for their equality performance? 2.What is most challenging when you are trying to influence local public bodies? What tools might help you?

10. Some ideas for tools and guidance How to identify and profile key public bodies (including where to find information about changes in their roles and responsibilities) Guide to key issues in decision making and budgetary processes in public authorities Use of language and tone in influencing How to set equality within the context of the challenges facing the body and show the role equality has to play in helping the body achieve its wider aims Planning and running events and meetings with decision makers How to use partnerships and coalitions to engage and hold public bodies to account Case study resource of successful engagement with range of public bodies by VCSOs on equality issues

11. Some ideas for tools and guidance A knowledge base of links about engagement and influencing public bodies on equality Information about other equality frameworks public bodies might be using (equality delivery system in health, local government equality standard etc) Example and template letters to develop partnerships with public authorities and other VCSOs to support equality duty Example and template letters to send to public authorities: –seeking engagement in objective setting –asking for information on objectives and published equality duty information –asking how they are showing due regard to the duty –raising issues or problems where things have gone wrong

12. Asking For and Using Equality Data The new Equality Duty requires public bodies to publish information and data showing how they are eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between people. Public bodies choose what to publish but it must be enough to show people how they are fulfilling the Equality Duty We want to help VCSOs to use this information and data to hold public bodies to account

13. Asking For and Using Equality Data The first deadline for public bodies to publish is Jan 31 2012 so no-one really knows yet what sort of information they will publish and in what format VCSOs might be able to: –Compare one public body with a similar one elsewhere –Compare a local public body’s performance with the national picture –Look at how a public body’s performance on an equality issue changes over time It will be important for VCSOs to be assertive in asking for the data they want, in usable formats

14. Some ideas for tools and guidance How to ask questions of public authorities about their published information with example and template letters and possibly case studies Analysing gaps in public authority information Understanding the impact of public service provision on different equality groups Plain English guide to using data and statistics – comparables, testing robustness of information, presenting and analysing results How VCSOs can find and understand other sources of equality information for comparison and make contributions to public authority information –from their own networks and social policy evidence –from other VCSOs, and –from nationally published data Online or downloadable spreadsheet data tool for users to import data, analysing, presenting in different formats

15. Ideas about formats of tools Mostly online in PDF and other more adjustable formats Some hard copies Easy Read Podcast

16. Next steps Project team reflect on what you’ve said Agree tools to be developed with Govt Prepare tools Test tools with VCSOs – second half of Nov Make any changes needed to tools Ensure accessible versions are available Final toolkit launched in early 2012