Equal opportunities statement for the MPA

Report: 10
Date: 24 October 2000
By: Clerk

Summary

A draft Equal Opportunities statement for the MPA is attached for discussion and amendment. A final, revised version will be considered for adoption by the full Authority.

A. Supporting information

Background

1. At its meeting on 19 September the Human Resources (HR) Committee commissioned the Clerk to produce a draft Equal Opportunities Statement for its next meeting on 19 October. The statement would subsequently be considered by the Consultation, Diversity and Outreach (CDO) Committee and, finally, the full Authority.

2. The report to the HR Committee meeting, together with a copy of the draft Equal Opportunities Statement, see Appendix 1. It was resolved that the statement, together with the views of the Members of the HR Committee, should be considered by the CDO Committee at its meeting on 24 October. There was a genuine desire that the Authority should move quickly on this issue.

3. The views of HR Committee Members were that the statement should:

• initially be a simple statement of intent, perhaps as little as three sentences, with a more detailed supporting document
• be positive
• acknowledge and welcome the diversity of London
• take account of the GLA statement of intent (copy unavailable at this time but will be provided at CDO if available)
• adopt a rights based approach to equalities issues
• emphasise corporate ownership
• adopt an action planning approach with monitoring, targets etc
• be prefaced with the relevant legislation, including European legislation
• be considered by an employment lawyer
• be considered by a wider range of groups inside and outside the police authority or police service

4. In addition, the following views were expressed:

• future recruiting advertisements should include a statement that the MPA is "working towards" being an equal opportunities employer
• recognise that the MPA would have some difficulties for staff with disabilities in its present accommodation
• that care should be taken with the use of words. For example, the phrase "The MPA is concerned that ..." could be taken to mean either that the organisation is interested in equality issues or is troubled and anxious about equality issues
• the third bullet point on the first page should be amended to make its meaning clearer
• that equalities statements from a wider range of bodies including local authorities and voluntary organisations should be obtained and examined as possible models

5. Prior to the meeting, the preliminary views of R. David Muir, Chair of the CDO Committee, had been sought. He suggested that copies of the CRE and EOC templates should be included for comparison (see Appendices 2 and 3) and that the order of the bullet points in the main part of the document should be revisited and prioritorised.

6. The statement is intended to recognise that in exercising its functions the MPA has a statutory duty with regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity for all persons irrespective of their race, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation or religion; to eliminate unlawful discrimination; and to promote good relations between persons of different racial groups, religious beliefs and sexual orientation. The statement takes account of similar documents for public and private sector organisations.

B. Recommendations

1. The Committee set up a working group to prepare an equal opportunities policy for the MPA along the lines of the attached draft, taking account of the HR Committee’s views and subject to any adjustments agreed with members of the HR Committee.
2. The resulting draft policy once approved by the CDO Committee to be presented to the full Authority for endorsement.

C. Financial implications

There are no direct financial implications.

D. Review arrangements

The statement will be a 'living' document, subject to continuous review.

E. Background papers

The following is a statutory list of background papers (under the Local Government Act 1972 S.100 D) which disclose facts or matters on which the report is based and which have been relied on to a material extent in preparing this report. They are available on request to either the contact officer listed above or to the Clerk to the Police Authority at the address indicated on the agenda.

F. Contact details

The author of this report is Alan Johnson.

For information contact:

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

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