MPS Race and Diversity Strategy 2006-09

Report: 10
Date: 23 February 2006
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report presents to Members, for approval, the MPS Race and Diversity Strategy 2006 – 09.

A. Recommendation

That Members endorse the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Race and Diversity Strategy 2006 – 09.

B. Supporting information

1. The purpose of this new draft Race and Diversity Strategy is to underline the importance of diversity and equalities in working together with colleagues and partners to make London safer. It outlines how the MPS will engage in general and specific equalities activities to achieve its strategic aims of improving service delivery to all the diverse communities across London, and of becoming an employer whose workforce reflects the diversity of London. The strategy is attached as Appendix 1.

2. This strategy develops the previous MPS approach to diversity, and takes into account the learning from the Morris Inquiry, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) investigation, the Ghaffur and Taylor reports.

3. The first version of this new strategy was produced in April 2005 and has been the subject of an extensive and lengthy internal and external consultation process. It was presented to MPS Management Board, and the Authority’s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB), in October 2005, and amended to take into account the feedback received.

4. In addition, the strategy now reflects new programmes of work embraced by the MPS: the MPS Modernisation Programme, MPS Corporate Strategy, MPS Citizen Focus Programme and the MPS Together approach. It is intended that the strategy will be frequently refreshed, not least because of the MPS commitment to a single equalities scheme, to be in place by December 2006.

5. Diversity in the MPS is about recognising, valuing and responding to differences between people. This strategy includes all six formal aspects of diversity – age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation - but, in line with Home Office direction, retains a specific focus on race equality. On that basis, the term ‘Race and Diversity’ is used throughout.

6. The strategy will be delivered through local action plans, constructed around the framework provided by the Equality Standards for Local Government, which the MPS is committed to achieving. An accountability framework will identify named individuals responsible for specific activities. Each of the 96 operational command units will be required to produce an action plan, but the structure will be sufficiently flexible to take account of any structural change driven by the Met Modernisation Programme. To reduce bureaucracy, these plans will include the activity that is required to deliver the MPS Race Equality Scheme Action Plan. The MPS Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate will monitor MPS performance against the Equality Standards and other diversity targets, reporting to the MPS Diversity Board chaired by the Deputy Commissioner.

7. The strategy has the full endorsement of the MPS Management Board. It will be communicated throughout the organisation, and to our partners, through the use of appropriate methods such as briefings, articles in relevant media and the dissemination of electronic and hard copies of the document. Opportunities will be taken throughout the life of the various strategic MPS programmes referred to above to communicate and reinforce the MPS Race and Diversity Strategy as an effective tool in modernising the organisation and improving service delivery.

C. Race and equality impact

Equality and diversity is the subject of this report and this strategy is a cornerstone of the MPS approach to improving service delivery to the diverse communities of London, and to our employment practice.

D. Financial implications

In common with all MPS publications, and to comply with disability legislation requirements, this strategy will be produced in a variety of formats intended to meet all information access requirements. These costs will be met out of the existing Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate consultation and communication budget. Using the Equality Standards as a template, the MPS is researching the use of an IT performance management tool for which licence fees for the whole of the MPS would be in the region of £5,000 per annum, with total training costs of £6,000 as a one-off cost. Implementing the action plans will, it is envisaged, involve some extra activity and therefore opportunity costs at OCU level. This will vary dependent on the level of activity involved.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Kevin Bowsher and Rose Fitzpatrick, Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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