Department for Culture, Media and Sport

DCMS Equality Scheme
2007 – 2010
(Updated August 2008)

Contents 
Foreword by Minister of State…….……………………………………………………………3
   Foreword by Permenant Scretary……….……………………………………………….……4
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..5
Our Duties…………………………………………………………………………………………10
Our Policies and Functions…………………………………………………………………....15
Access to Information and Services………………………………………………………….24
Involving our Stakeholders…………………………………………………………………….29
Our Staff…………………………………………………………………………………………...36
Public Appointments…………………………………………………………………………....43
Our Agencies………………...……………………………………………………………..........48
Internal Arrangements…………………………………………………………………………..53
Annex A: Equality Action Plan………………………………………………………………...54
Annex B: List of NDPBs and Sponsored Bodies…………………………………………..79
Annex C:  PSA and DSP Targets……………………………………………………………...81
   Annex D: Involving People with Learning Disability Case Study……………………....83

2
Foreword by the Minister of State
The new equalities duties for disability and gender introduced in the last two years have taken us a further step forward in our ambition to promote equality of opportunity for all.  The Department’s first joint Equality Scheme set out specific actions actions for improving the way we build equality into our policies, review our evidence base, involve our stakeholders and increase the diversity of public appointments.  This updated scheme explains how we have involved, and will continue to involve, disabled people in developing our scheme and the additional actions we are taking to improve our performance as a department and push forward with our equalities agenda.    

We are working to mainstream equality and diversity into all of our policies.  The breadth of our sectors is such that we can include only a selection of case studies in this updated scheme.  We will continue to work closely with our public bodies and our sectors to promote equality, share good practice and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the richness of what our sectors have to offer.

Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP

Foreword by the Permanent Secretary
When we published our first single Equality Scheme for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in December we said that the scheme would be a living document, revised and updated on a regular basis.  The scheme was updated in April 2007 to reflect the Gender Equality Duty.  This new revised version reports on the progress we have made to date and includes further updates reflecting the outcome of our involvement of disabled people in developing the scheme.

DCMS is committed to promoting equality of opportunity.  Our Capability Review earlier this year helped us to identify where we need to change.  Our restructured Board – including new non-executive directors Liz Forgan, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Darra Singh, Chief Executive of Ealing Borough Council and former Chair of the Commission for Cohesion and Integration, joining existing non-executive Parminder Vir, Chair of the Creative Industries Working Group for Indo British Partnership Network and Diversity Advisor to MTV, ITV and RSC  – will have a crucial role to play in steering us in delivering our ambitions for a truly diverse department.  

We are now moving at pace to implement the transformation of the department.  We have completed an Equality Impact Assessment for the change programme and this has presented us with an opportunity to do more to embed diversity in the way we work.

We take our leadership role seriously for the many Public Bodies we sponsor. While appointments to these bodies perform comparatively well in terms of ethnicity and disability representation, we need to do more to engage and build capacity in relation to women.  Our Advisory Board has set up a small working group to look specifically at how we can do this.

We recognise that our diversity provides us with great opportunities to enhance further the economic, sporting and cultural wealth of the nation and it will continue to be a significant factor in delivering the 2012 Olympics.  We want to build on this for the future.

My directors and I will continue to receive regular reports on progress and will take a personal lead in driving it forward.

Jonathan Stephens, Permanent Secretary
Introduction
Our Responsibilities

DCMS is headed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP. He is supported by Margaret Hodge, Minister of State for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Gerry Sutcliffe.  Tessa Jowell is the Minister for the Olympics.  

We are responsible for the Government’s work in supporting and promoting the rich array of activities that enhance our quality of life: the arts, sport, the National Lottery, tourism, libraries, museums and galleries, broadcasting, film, the music industry, press freedom and regulation, licensing, gambling, the historic environment, the listing of historic buildings and scheduling of ancient monuments, the export licensing of cultural goods, the management of the Government Art Collection and the Royal Parks. 

We are the lead Government Department for the preparations for the 2012 London Olympics.  Our Government Olympics Executive reports directly to the Minister for the Olympics.  The Department also has a role in co-ordinating the Government’s humanitarian response to emergencies – ensuring that the needs of British people affected by major emergencies are understood and addressed and that humanitarian considerations are built into the plans of emergency responders. 
In May 2005 we took over responsibility for fashion design and the arts market from the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI).  We also now jointly sponsor the Design Council, advertising, computer games and publishing with the DTI. 
Our Vision
Our vision is to become a Department which represents at all levels, including the most senior, the different communities it serves; which treats all staff equally; and which reaches out to all parts of society and genuinely reflects their interests.  We want to be seen as a good place to work - and a good Department with which to do business - by all groups of society.

Our interest in equality and diversity goes beyond fairness, crucial though this is. For a Department such as DCMS there is a strong business case for involving all sections of society in both our workforce and our policies. We simply cannot afford to miss the opportunities and talent offered by engaging with a truly diverse population. 

We recognise that we do not work in isolation but achieve our objectives in partnership with a wide range of Non-Departmental Public Bodies. They too must eliminate unlawful discrimination against racial groups and disabled people and promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons from all sections of society.  Our role is to offer them leadership and to ensure that we share and learn from best practice.

We face challenges in achieving this vision.  Our Ministers, our Permanent Secretary and our Board recognise this as a priority for the Department as the country prepares to host perhaps the most diverse event of all time, the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, in 2012. 

This report shows the actions and milestones which will help us to get there.  It brings together in one place a number of strands of activity on equality and diversity, such as assessing our policies, collecting data sources, monitoring our progress and implementing training, and puts them in the context of our overall strategic objectives and equality and inclusion policies.  It is intended to be a usable reference document for our staff and all those involved in our programmes, as well as being a report to the public and a fulfilment of our statutory duties.

Our Aims and Objectives

DCMS aims to improve the quality of life for all through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries.  In pursuing this aim, we are committed to ensuring that equality considerations are central to all that we do.

Our core values include developing talent from a wide range of backgrounds and encouraging diversity in our sectors. 

The 2004 Spending Review set a target (PSA 3) for the period ending March 2008 to increase participation in and access to sporting and cultural activities for priority groups with a history of lower participation rates.  Our sectors already have great potential to promote cohesion between communities, as people choose to come together through cultural and sporting events.  We want to exploit this potential to the full.

New performance framework

As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, the Government changed the framework of Public Service Agreements (PSAs).  Each PSA has a Delivery Agreement that sets out plans for delivery and the role of key partners.  The complete set of Delivery Agreements is published on the HM Treasury website.  In addition, in order to reflect the totality of the work carried out by Departments, a new set of Departmental Strategic Objectives (DSOs) has been created to function in parallel to the PSA process.  The new PSAs and DSOs will come into effect from April 2008. 

Our Public Service Agreement 
DCMS leads on one PSA (Olympics and PE & School Sport) and contributes to six others. The aim of this PSA is to:
"Deliver a successful Olympic Games and Paralympic Games with a sustainable legacy and get more children and young people taking part in high quality PE and sport."  Among the supporting indicators for this PSA is one to increase public participation in cultural and community activities across the UK and participation in sporting activities both in the UK and other countries, particularly those in development.

In addition, DCMS contributes to other PSAs led by other Government departments including:
•	Address the disadvantage that individuals experience because of their gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief 
•	Improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people 
•	Increase the number of children and young people on the path to success 
•	Build more cohesive, empowered and active communities

DCMS’s contribution to the first of these is described in the Delivery Agreement as “the Department for Culture Media and Sport will work closely with Sport England, Arts Council England, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, English Heritage and others at national, regional and local level to promote participation and formal volunteering across the cultural and sporting sectors.  The Department will focus on those groups who are currently under represented or otherwise excluded.”

The ‘Cohesive, Empowered and Active Communities’ PSA includes a supporting indicator on increasing the percentage of people participating in culture or sport, which will be led by DCMS.

Departmental Strategic Objectives (DSOs)

As part of the settlement, the Department agreed a new set of strategic objectives for the CSR period.  They are designed to complement the Public Service Agreements and will help to deliver the Department’s priorities. 

Progress will be measured by an accompanying set of indicators, available on the DCMS website.  The new objectives for 2008-2011 are set out below:
•	Opportunity: Encourage more widespread enjoyment of culture, media and sport 
•	Excellence: Support talent and excellence in culture, media and sport 
•	Economic impact: Realise the economic benefits of the Department’s sectors 
•	Olympics: Deliver a successful and inspirational Olympic and Paralympic Games with a sustainable legacy

Performance Reporting
Progress against PSAs (and from 2008, the DSOs) can be found in the latest Departmental Annual Report or Autumn Performance Report.

Case Study - Encouraging BME groups to participate in sport 

The 2004 Public Service Agreement 3 (PSA 3) aims to increase people from Black and Minortity Ethnic (BME) groups' sports participation by 3% by the year 2008.  Participation rates are particularly low for certain BME groups, where different cultures can be perceived as barriers to participation.  Sport England works with key partners to deliver this target.  The Equality Standard for Sport is being rolled out across the sport sector as a framework for assisting organisations to widen access and reduce inequalities in sport and physical activity from under-represented individuals, groups and communities, including BME groups, women, those with a limiting disability and those from lower socio economic groups.

Using the DCMS Taking Part survey to measure progress against PSA3, the latest results, published in December 2007 (using data from interviews from July 2006 to July 2007), showed that, during the previous four weeks, 51.9% of people from BME groups had participated in at least one active sport; and 19.6% of people from BME groups had participated in moderate intensity level sport for at least 30 minutes on at least three separate occasions during the past week. 

How We Are Organised

The Department’s Board is chaired by the Permanent Secretary, and includes three executive Directors General, and four non-excutive directors.  Our Executive Leadership Team, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, includes the Directors General and Directors. We have a Department Diversity Champion, currently the Change Director.

We employ over 500 staff.  A breakdown of the 527 staff in post on 1 April 2007 by ethnic minority background, gender and declared disability can be found in the Our Staff section.  Sexuality and religion and belief monitoring was introduced in June 2006 but we do not have sufficient data to include information in the Scheme this year.  

DCMS is also responsible for over 600 appointments to the boards of around 60 public bodies, making more than 100 appointments or re-appointments each year.  We want appointments to draw on a richness and variety of viewpoints, ideas and experiences. 

A breakdown of current appointees in post by gender, ethnic minority and declared disability can be found in the Public Appointments section.  In addition, information on our Annual Public Appointments Plan, which includes targets to increase the diversity of our appointments, as well as proposals for how to achieve them can also be found in the Public Appointments section.

Responsibility for the Scheme

The Equality Scheme was produced by a project team including members of the Equality and Diversity Team, as well as legal and human resources advisers reporting to a Project Board consisting of Director General Andrew Ramsay, Ros Brayfield, Head of HR and Business Services, and David Roe (DCMS Board Diversity Champion), Archana Gudka (Diversity Network) and Janet Atkinson (Head of Personnel, Imperial War Museum.

Our Diversity Steering Board, which will bring together lead officials on policy, workforce and appointments, will be responsible for implementing the action plan contained within this Scheme.  It will publish an annual report to measure progress against the action plan.  Day to day work is carried out by the Equality & Diversity Team, managed from within Strategy Division. The working level contact is Mythily Manickavasagar on 020 7211 6363, Mythily.Manickavasagar@culture.gsi.gov.uk. David Roe, 020 7211 6026, david.roe@culture.gsi.gov.uk is the DCMS Diversity Champion and is chair of the Equality/ Diversity Project Board.
Our Duties
DCMS – as a public authority – is currently subject to duties for disability, race and gender equality.  We also intend to show, where appropriate, the same commitment to sexual orientation, religion and/or belief and age.  In addition, we are subject to duties covering all six equality strands as well as political opinion, marital status and dependency, where policies affect Northern Ireland.

The General Duty 

Current legislation requires DCMS, along with all other Government Departments and public authorities, to meet a ‘general duty’.  

Race
The general duty in respect of race is for DCMS in the carrying out of its functions to have due regard of the need to:

•	eliminate unlawful racial discrimination; and

•	promote equality of opportunity  and good relations between persons of different racial groups.

Disability
The general duty in respect of disability requires DCMS in carrying out its functions to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful disability discrimination and to:

•	eliminate harassment of disabled persons that is related to their disabilities;

•	promote equality of opportunity between disabled persons and other persons;

•	take steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities, even where that involves treating disabled persons more favourably than other persons;

•	promote positive attitudes towards disabled people; and

•	encourage participation by disabled persons in public life.

Gender
The general duty in respect of gender requires DCMS in carrying out its functions to have due regard of the need to:

•	eliminate unlawful sex discrimination and harassment; and

•	promote equality of opportunity between men and women

In order to help the Department to meet this ‘general duty’, to demonstrate its commitment, and measure its success, there are a number of Specific Duties it will have to adhere to.

The Specific Duties 

Under the Specific Duties, the Department is required to publish Race, Disability and Gender Equality Schemes.

Race Specific Duty

DCMS is required to state which of its functions and policies, or proposed policies it has assessed as relevant to the performance of its general race duty; and, set out the arrangements the Department has in place to:

•	assess and consult on the likely impact of proposed DCMS policies on the promotion of race equality;

•	monitor DCMS’s policies to ensure there is no adverse impact on the promotion of race equality;

•	publish the results of such assessments and consultation;

•	ensure public access to information and services, which DCMS provides;

•	train DCMS staff in general and specific race duties 

DCMS - in line with all public authorities bound by the race specific duty - monitors, by reference to the racial groups to which they belong, our staff in post and applicants for jobs, promotion and training and publishes the results every year.  As an authority with more than 150 full-time staff, DCMS also monitors and publishes annually the number of staff, again by reference to the racial groups to which they belong, who:

•	receive training;

•	benefit or suffer detriment as a result of its performance assessment procedures;

•	are involved in grievance procedures;

•	are the subject of disciplinary procedures; and

•	cease employment.

Disability Specific Duty

DCMS is required to involve disabled people who appear to have an interest in the way it carries out its functions in the development of its equality scheme.

The scheme should include a statement of:

•	the ways in which such disabled people have been involved in its development;

•	the methods for assessing the impact of its policies and practices, or the likely impact of its proposed policies and practices, on equality for disabled persons;

•	the steps DCMS proposes to take towards the fulfilment of the general disability duty;

•	the arrangements for gathering information on the effect of its policies and practices on disabled persons and in particular its arrangements for gathering information on:

o	their effect on the recruitment, development and retention of its disabled employees

o	the extent to which the services it provides and those other functions it performs take account for the needs of disabled persons and:

•	the arrangements for making use of such information to assist in the performance of its general duty, and in particular its arrangements for:

o	reviewing on a regular basis the effectiveness of the steps which DCMS proposes to take towards the fulfilment of the general disability duty

o	preparing subsequent schemes.

Gender Specific Duty

DCMS is required to consult its employees, service users and others who appear to have an interest in the way it carries out its functions in preparing its scheme and set out the actions which it has taken or intends to take to:

•	gather information on the effect of its policies and practices on men and women and, in particular, the extent to which they promote equality between its male and female staff, and the extent to which the services it provides and the functions it performs take account of the needs of men and women;

•	make use of information gathered and any other information the department considers to be relevant, to assist it in the performance of its general and specific duties and in particular its regular review of the effectiveness of the actions identified and its arrangements for the preparation of subsequent schemes;

•	ensure its scheme sets out the overall (gender equality) objectives for it to perform its general and specific duties;

•	consider the need to have gender equality objectives  that address the causes of any differences between the pay of men and women that are related to their sex;

•	assess the impact of its policies and practices, or the likely impact of its proposed policies and practices, on equality between women and men;

•	consult relevant employees, service users and others (including trade unions); and

•	achieve the fulfilment of the objectives identified as being necessary for it to perform its general and specific duties.

More information on the duties is available on the website of the Equality and Human Rights Commission  -  http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/Pages/default.aspx

We also ensure that we are meeting the general duty in exercising our employment functions. This means that we use our monitoring information to:

•	see if there are differences in the way racial, disabled and other minority groups are treated;

•	investigate the underlying reasons for any differences; and

•	deal with any unfairness, disadvantage or possible discrimination.

Northern Ireland

Regarding its policies relating to Northern Ireland the Department is required, under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, to:

•	have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation; between men and women generally; between persons with a disability and persons without; and between persons with dependants and persons without.

•	have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

The Department is required to produce an equality scheme which will show how it proposes to fulfil the duties set out above and shall state in particular its arrangements for:

•	assessing and consulting on the likely impact of policies adopted or proposed to be adopted on the promotion of equality of opportunity;
•	assessing its compliance with the duties above and for consulting on matters to which a duty is likely to be relevant (including details of the persons to be consulted);
•	monitoring any adverse impact of policies adopted by the department on the promotion of equality of opportunity;
•	publishing the results of its assessments and monitoring;
•	training staff; and
•	ensuring and assessing public access to information and to services provided by the Department

More information is available on the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland’s (ECNI) website at http://www.equalityni.org/

Sponsored Bodies

As noted above, a large proportion of our executive functions are delivered by a wide range of sponsored bodies (in conjunction with other Government Departments and Local Authorities.).  Many of these bodies are subject to the various duties in their own right and a list of these bodies can be found at Annex B.

Our Policies and Functions

The duty requirement to conduct impact assessments is an important mechanism for ensuring that we give due regard to equality in our decision making and activities.

Assessing Existing Policies 

Officials across the Department were asked to review and assess each of their existing functions and policies against the six equality groupings (race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion and/or belief and age) using the following guidance: 

1.	Please rate how each of the particular groups (race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion and/or belief and age) may be affected differently on the following scale: 0 = None, 1 = A little, 2 = Some, 3 = Substantial.

2.	You must also provide evidence to support this rating, even if you believe that the policy should have a rating of zero.

3.	Using the same rating and evidence system you should complete the entries for whether there is any public concern about discrimination in relation to the policy. This should cover all six strands. 

Assessing Proposed Policies

We also have a statutory requirement to carry out race, disability and gender equality impact assessments on all proposed policies. DCMS has developed a new, single equality impact assessment (EIA) tool that covers all six equality strands.

With the help of this tool, the requirement will be to:

Stage 1: screen all new policy or legislative proposals to see if they are relevant to race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion and/or belief and age equality. In addition, all policies which could affect Northern Ireland will also be screened for relevance to political opinions, marital status and dependency.

Stage 2: Fully assess those policies, to make sure they do not have adverse effects on any of these groups of society.  This may include consulting on the policy and monitoring its effects as it goes into operation.

Formal EIA training to support this new tool was rolled out across the Department at the beginning of March 2007.  For those proposed policies identified as being relevant, Stage 2 of the assessment will include a full EIA covering all eight stages:

1.	Identifying the aims and outcomes of the function or policy

2.	Analysing the available data and collecting further data as necessary

3.	Assessing the impact or likely impact

4.	Where adverse impact is identified, considering alternatives and/or mitigating the adverse impact

5.	Consulting and involving relevant stakeholders

6.	Deciding whether to adopt the policy

7.	Publishing the assessment results

8.	Monitoring for adverse impact in the future and publishing the results

The schedule for EIAs so far initiated by the Department is given below: 

Policy	Responsible Division	Schedule for EIA screening	Schedule for EIA	Comments	
Heritage White Paper	Architecture and Historic Environment	August 2006	Spring 2008, 	Published on DCMS Website	
Creative Economy Programme (CEP)	Creative Economies	April 2007	In line with publication of Strategy Paper		
Tourism 2012
	Tourism	September 2006	Spring 2008		
Olympic and Paralympic Games	Government Olympic Executive	Consultation – March 2007	Spring  2008		
Digital Switchover	Broadcasting	March 2007	March 2008
		
DCMS Change Programme	Change Team	November 2007	December 2007	Published on DCMS Website	
Audiovisual Media Services Directive	Broadcasting	Plans under development	Depends on outcome of screening		

DCMS now requires that project initiation documents and submissions on future policies and programmes include a statement on how the EIA requirement has been addressed.  This will give rise to further EIAs as the screening process identifies future relevant proposed policies.

We shall review the list of relevant functions and policies on a three-yearly basis and the next review will be completed by the end of 2009.  This work will be led by the Equality and Diversity Team, working together with policy or function managers and reporting to the Director of Strategy and departmental Diversity Champion.  We envisage using a similar method to the current review, subject to any comments received in response to this Scheme.

The Creative Economy Programme

The diversity of an open society stimulates creativity.  New ideas spring from the melting pot of people of different cultures, nationalities, backgrounds.  Tolerance of different groups in society has the by-product of supporting our creative industries.  The free exchange of ideas is the sine qua non of creativity.  

Britain has real strengths here – a free and diverse media; an open culture; successfully managed immigration; a growing tolerance.  

Diversity is embedded in our Creative Economy Programme and it describes what more we will be doing to promote equality of opportunity between the industries. The strategy was published on 22 February 08 and can be found on our website at 
http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/3572.aspx

2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games – Case Study
The UK won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in London. An important aspect of the bid was its emphasis on the diversity of the UK’s and London’s communities. We believe that the 2012 Games will mobilise enthusiasm for sport, and have the potential to increase participation at all levels and the medal success of our elite athletes.  We are keen to ensure that equalities are embedded at the heart of the Games and there is a specific sub-objective to ensure that the UK’s and London’s diverse communities are engaged with, and benefit from the changes and opportunities arising from hosting the Games in the UK and London.   

The Government Olympic Executive (GOE), based in DCMS, is currently working with the Department for Communities and Local Government which has the lead for Government on this specific objective.  Other Government Departments and the GLA are closely involved in taking this work forward. The following actions are under way:

•	a steering group has been set up to look across the Olympic and Paralympic Games programme to ensure that equality and diversity benefits of the Games are being considered by partners, and progress will be monitored by the group.  Membership includes DCMS, GLA, DCLG, DWP and nations and regions representatives. 

•	ODA has commissioned the production of a diversity and equalities strategy for its work, and has set up access panels to advise it. 

•	the London Organising Committee, with the GLA, is consulting communities through its London 2012 Forum, which draws representatives from a very wide range of communities throughout London who can put forward views and concerns. They have also embarked on a series of bilateral discussions with community representative groups.   

Workshops have been held in London on all the diversity strands to consider priorities, opportunities and concerns for each strand around the Games. For example, the Disability Rights Commission organised a workshop with disability groups. Workshops have also been held in Cardiff and Leeds for representatives from the nations and regions outside London. With DEFRA, GLA and the Government Office for London, a day’s workshop looked at issues arising from the point of view of sustainability, diversity and health in the draft delivery plans. We will be holding further consultative exercises around inclusion. 

DCMS is currently preparing Equalities Impact Assessments (EIAs) for those elements of the Olympics Programme for which it is directly responsible, that is for the wider benefits for sport, culture and tourism.  The GOE with the DCLG department has already set up an equalities reference group.  Representatives from each equality strand have attended a series of meetings to look at Government Departments’ Olympic delivery plans.	

Assembling Evidence

The Equality and Diversity Team maintains a list of data sources on the DCMS intranet to assist in carrying out equality assessments.  The Evidence Interface is a web-based system designed to provide a one-stop shop for the discovery and investigation of evidence and analysis related to what we do. It includes a section on equality and diversity issues.  It has been developed to make it easier to find and use key facts, figures, and reports.  Staff undertaking equality screening and assessments are invited to contribute references to other useful sources of information which they come across in the course of their work, so that it be shared with the rest of the Department. For major new policies they may commission their own research.

Consultation

We will tailor our equalities consultation to the scale of the potential equality impact identified at earlier stages in the assessment and to the overall consultation plans for the proposed policy.  In some cases a specifically-targeted consultation on equality issues will be appropriate, in others relevant questions will be included in a more general consultation.  In doing so, we will follow guidance from the relevant body on consultations, to make sure that any groups who are likely to be affected by the policy have had the opportunity to express their views.  We will also draw on other sources of practical guidance.

Dealing with Adverse Impact

If the EIA process identifies a potential adverse impact on a particular group, policy managers, advised by the Equality and Diversity team, will consider how best to proceed in accordance with the guidance from the relevant equality body.  This could include:

•	considering the robustness of the finding, in terms of statistical significance and representativeness of respondents;
•	considering whether there are different ways of achieving the policy aims that would remove or substantially reduce the adverse effect;
•	considering whether the net overall effects of the policy could justify any adverse effects and seeking legal advice as to whether the policy would in that case be lawful;
•	discussing the results of the assessment with stakeholders;
•	considering further research, if proportionate to the importance of the policy;
•	consider implementing the policy in pilot form, where practicable, in order to assess its actual impact.

Case Study – Promoting Equal Opportunities in the Media
The role of the media in the portrayal of women is widely recognised by Government, broadcasting regulators and broadcasters.  The Communications Act 2003 requires the Office of Communications (OFCOM), the independent regulator, to set licence conditions for all broadcasters who meet the thresholds to promote equality of opportunity between men and women.   Section 27 of the Act also places a duty on OFCOM to promote training and equal opportunities in employment by television and radio broadcasters.  Previously this was a licence requirement for terrestrial licensees only, but has been extended under section 27 to cable and satellite and radio licensees.  In 2004, the BBC volunteered to report to OFCOM on equal opportunities in the same way as other broadcasters. 

Monitoring

It is important that we assess the actual impact of new policies, as well as the impact of changes to existing policies, to check whether they have had the intended effect. Until recently, monitoring was hampered by a lack of reliable, consistently-collected information on the participation of people from diverse and priority groups. This is why DCMS has commissioned the Taking Part survey - a significant new resource which started in 2005. 

Taking Part is a continuous national survey of the participation in cultural and sporting activities of adults (aged 16 or over) who live in a representative cross-section of private households in England.  (Data on children was published earlier in 2007).  It was commissioned by DCMS and its partner Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) Arts Council England, English Heritage, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and Sport England. The survey is in its early stages: the eventual annual sample will be around 29,000, running for three years in the first instance.  The survey measures involvement in activities where the purpose is for recreation or leisure, including voluntary work.  It is managed by a team of statisticians and researchers based in DCMS Strategy Division.  To help our staff access this data, we have developed Taking Part NETQuest, a user-friendly online programme that enables policy advisers to produce quick and simple reports from the Taking Part survey data. NetQuest allows users to select the topics they are interested in and create tables, charts and graphs to their own specification.

Results from the first two years of the survey, released in December 2006 and December 2007, compared adults from black and ethnic minority backgrounds, those with a limiting disability and from lower socio-economic groups (and women for sporting activity) to all adults for the following activities:

	% of black and minority ethnic adults	% of adults with a limiting disability	% of adults from a lower socio-economic group	% of Women	% of all adults	
Visited a designated historic environment site at least once in past 12 months	50.7%(06)
48.3%(07)	59.5% (06)
60.2% (07)	57.1% (06)
57.3% (07)	-	69.9%(06)
69.3%(07)	
Visited a museum or gallery at least once in past 12 months	35.5% (06)
33.6 %(07)	32.1% (06)
31.1%(07)	28.3% (06)
28.2% (07)	-	42.3%(06)
41.5%(07)	
Attended two or more different arts events in past 12 months	23.5% (06)
22.8 %(07)
	24.1% (06)
24.2%(07)	17.4% (06)
17.4% (07)
	-	33.7%(06)
33%   (07)	
Attended two or more different arts activities in past 12 months	20.8% (06)
20.1% (07)	18.9% (06)
19.8%(07)	15.3% (06)
14.3% (07)	-	24.1%(06)
22.8%(07)	
Participated in at least one active sport during the past 4 weeks	53.3%  (06)
51.9 % (07)	32.3% (06)
31.2% (07)	43.4% (06)
42.2% (07)	47.7%(06)
46.2%(07)
	53.7%(06)
53.4%(07)	
Participated in moderate intensity level sport for at least 30 minutes on at least three separate occasions in the past week	19.2% (06)
19.6 %(07)	9.5% (06)
9.4% (07)	15.2% (06)
15.3% (07)	18.5%(06)
18.3%(07)
	20.9%(06)
21.5%(07)	

Quarterly results from future stages of the survey will be used to report on progress on our PSA3 target which aims to increase participation by priority groups, and to inform the setting of future targets on participation.  It will also be possible to use Taking Part to analyse barriers to participation and look in more detail at particular kinds of activities, depending on sample size e.g. why are disabled people participating less in cultural and/or sporting activities or why do they take part less often.  (In addition to Taking Part, specific culture and sport areas are monitored through a variety of policy-specific or third-party arrangements, depending on the policy).

In addition, in Spring 2006 DCMS also commissioned an additional programme of research to look into how people make decisions about whether to engage in cultural activities in their leisure time and what influences these decisions e.g.  socio-demographic factors, time, cost and income.  Although information exists on how to better design services and how to modify existing patterns of delivery e.g. by improving access, there is little collective knowledge across the cultural sector about how to actually generate demand for these services and encourage the desire to take part.  The final report on this research was published in Summer 2007 and is available on our website.

In Summer 2007, DCMS published “Culture on Demand”, a research report commissioned by the department from FreshMinds on ways to engage a broader audience.  The report analyses the demand for the services offered in the cultural sector and will help us to understand how improve access to our sectors.

Publishing the Results of Assessments, Consultations and Monitoring

DCMS will make publicly available its Equality Scheme, all Equality Impact Assessments, any relevant consultation exercises and the monitoring it carries out in relation to its current policies. This material will be accessible on the Department’s website.  It will also be available in printed format, on demand, by contacting the Department.  Contact details can be found in the next chapter. 

DCMS considers providing assessment and consultation documents in the appropriate accessible formats such as Braille and audio versions and minority languages, if demand arises or where a particular policy appears to strongly impact on a group which may not have English as a first language. For example, we translated the Licensing Act leaflet and advertisement for the minority press and the Queens Golden Jubilee Award Scheme publicity into a number of minority languages.  The Department also uses national, local and community media as appropriate.

Normally the results of assessments, consultations and monitoring on the equality impact of particular policies will be published on completion and included where appropriate in Departmental publications such as strategic policy reports and annual reports.  The consultation may have been included in a wider consultation covering other questions which will be reported alongside. 

The Equality & Diversity Team will maintain an overview of the results of equality impact assessments, consultations and monitoring.  Responsibility for publication remains with lead policy units.  Summaries will include the information outlined in Codes of Practice and guidance from the relevant body  on the duty to promote equality, such as why the assessments or consultations took place, how they were carried out, the results and responses, an assessment of the policy options and what the Department has decided to do. 

Access to Information and Services			

Access to Information 

Each year DCMS publishes an Annual Report on our website and in printed form setting out our achievements over the year towards meeting our strategic priorities and our plans for the forthcoming year.  All publications, consultations and press releases are available from the DCMS website www.culture.gov.uk, which is also available by phone on 0845 333 0850 (calls are charged at local rate).  Paper copies of documents are always available on request.

DCMS is committed to ensuring that its websites achieve a high standard of accessibility for the benefit of all our visitors, regardless of disability or impairment and to meet its statutory obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (1995).  We have reviewed our accessibility practice and our accessibility standards now adhere to guidelines set out by Web Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0) and the e-Government Unit. (compliance A) standard.   Our target is to meet priority level 1 and 2 or AA compliance for all our sites by the end of 2008.  (see Action Plan ref: 7c). An internal accessibility specification document is given to all external contractors to ensure all DCMS websites conform to these guidelines.  All DCMS publications produced for print are also published on our website in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF) and our guidelines state that to meet our accessibility obligations, accessibility measures are built into the original document PDF’s.  We also produce alternative text only versions in RTF format

More information can be found on our website:

http://www.culture.gov.uk/accessibility.aspx

We are able to supply documents in alternative formats where there is a specific request or where a requirement for alternative formats is identified prior to publication.

Enquiries in languages other than English are rare but we endeavour to meet any demand as it occurs on a case-by-case basis.  Our Skills Database includes details of staff with expertise in other languages which we can draw on to meet unforeseen needs, e.g. visitors in person. 

DCMS periodically carries out information campaigns.  Where appropriate, it takes into account market research information on the best ways to reach ethnic minority and other priority groups, such as the COI’s research under their Common Good programme on communicating with people from a range of ethnic minority communities, covering: 

•	Lifestyles and cultural identities; 
•	Media consumption and attitudes to mainstream media and specialist channels; 
•	Attitudes to advertising and different ways of integrating and mainstreaming ethnic minority people in communications. 

This is accessible at www.commongoodresearch.gov.uk/bmes (requires registration).
Campaigns targeted at particular groups might include a number of tailored initiatives, such as:

•	placing a series of articles in targeted media, such as specialist magazines, professional journals and the minority press;
•	advertising in specialist and minority media;
•	working with a wide range of sectoral and other groups representing ethnic minorities to identify communication opportunities, such as working through community centres;
•	identifying suitable Ministerial visits, speeches and announcements.

The success of such campaigns is monitored in order to learn lessons for future campaigns.

Access to Services 

Most of our services are provided through other bodies, rather than directly by DCMS.  We shall investigate with our NDPBs the range of methods used to improve access to services with a view to sharing and learning from best practice.  Such methods might include:

•	outreach services;
•	consultation and co-operation with the community, and with particular groups;
•	translation services;
•	interpretation services;
•	positive action;
•	access to computer and internet services. 

DCMS does provide some direct services to the public through the organisation of the Annual Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Cenotaph, the provision of humanitarian assistance to the British victims of major disasters, the arrangement of certain one-off public events such as the memorial service for the victims of the 7th July 2005 bombings and the management of the Royal Parks (see the Royal Parks Agency section.

Humanitarian Assistance Unit
The Humanitarian Assistance Unit supports the victims and bereaved families of major disasters and following the London bomb attacks of 7 July, the team has been liaising with other Government Departments on a wide range of support services such as provision of free legal and financial support, co-ordination of compensation and the distribution of the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund.  The role of the Unit is:
•	To provide a co-ordinated approach to aftercare for the survivors and bereaved relatives to the highest possible standard; 
•	To co-ordinate a cross-government approach to financial support for survivors and bereaved relatives of disasters; 
•	To arrange a suitable and fitting memorial service for the 7/7 victims encompassing of all faiths and communities as part of a long term events strategy encompassing victims of the tsunami and other disasters. 
•	To co-ordinate a longer-term strategy to help individuals and communities respond to disaster and the threat of disaster, ensuring there are strong links with other work being taken forward across Government with regard to community cohesion.
In supporting the provision of humanitarian assistance and when organising major national memorial services, DCMS aims to ensure that the needs of all sections of the public are fully considered.  This includes being aware of and responding appropriately to the needs of individuals who may be suffering severe physical and emotional injury and to cultural factors, such as religious traditions, among those who are using the services.  Our aim is to respond sensitively to the needs of families, survivors, and others affected in emergencies. 

For example, we seek to ensure that all who attend memorial services organised by the Unit feel included by:

•	(If religious at all) involving faith leaders from all denominations in the service (through procession and prayer);
•	Incorporating contributions from diverse communities (e.g. Thai and Sri Lankan representatives spoke at the service for the Indian Ocean tsunami, and a Thai fiddler played at the service);
•	Providing translations of the order of service and sermon;
•	Ensuring convenient access for those with mobility problems;
•	Protecting people from the scrutiny of the media, where people want their privacy assured;
•	Making special provision for families with young children (we provide crèche areas at memorial services where people are invited to remain for a significant time);
•	Ensuring that refreshments cater for special dietary requirements.

Our aim is to ensure that everyone attending the service is supported as much as possible. 

Humanitarian Assistance Unit

The Humanitarian Assistance Unit was established in 2005.  Our aim is to ensure that those affected by terrorist attacks and major disasters in the UK and abroad receive the help and support they need, both in the immediate aftermath of an incident and in the longer term.  We are in touch with a number of those who have been directly affected in past incidents, many of whom have suffered loss of loved ones, life changing injuries and some of whom may require psychological support.  We address the inequality that arises from being involved in a violent and life changing incident, including the physical and/or mental disability that may follow in a range of ways.  Specific projects include: establishing the Red Cross Charitable Fund for Victims of Terrorism Overseas; providing national guidance on humanitarian assistance; ensuring the experiences of those affected inform lessons learned processes after emergencies; and funding the 7 July Assistance Centre, which continues to support those affected by 7 July 2005. We have also commissioned research to help us better understand the range of needs people may have after emergencies, and the impact of incidents on different sectors of the community, such as young people and vulnerable groups.  All of our work is underpinned by the need to reflect faith and other cultural sensitivities when supporting people affected these terrible events.  We recently funded the production of a training video, supported by the leading faith groups, on how to manage faith sensitivities when managing a Mass Decontamination.

Procurement 

It is the intention of DCMS to incorporate social issues within its procurement practices to ensure that diversity, equality and value for money are all equally considered. DCMS procurement team and the internal customer will consider from the outset any social issues prevalent when defining needs and specifications.  There will be a need to plan carefully the whole procurement process and ensure it is accessible to a suitable variety of suppliers including bodies like small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including: 

•	Black and minority ethnic enterprises; 
•	Female- and disabled-owned businesses; and 
•	The voluntary and community sector. 
Involving our Stakeholders

Our aim is to become a department which is much more closely in touch with its stakeholders.  We must understand the nature of the people we serve if we are to respond adequately to their needs and priorities.  We are accountable to the public and must demonstrate that we are credible to, and meeting the needs of, all our stakeholders and not just some of them.
We understand that equality of opportunity cannot be achieved merely by treating disabled and non-disabled people in the same way.  Therefore, the success of our policies and functions in the future will depend on our ability to work with representative bodies of disabled people and with diverse groups more widely.  To that end we shall:

•	actively develop networks with representatives of diverse groups of society;
•	seek their input to the processes of policy development right from the start; and
•	invite them to monitor how well we are doing.

Involvement should not be a one-off process but a continuing and evolving engagement with stakeholders and in particular to ensure that we meet our duty to involve disabled stakeholders in developing our equality scheme.

Involving External Stakeholders

Where our policy objectives impact upon specific groups of society e.g. disabled people, and men or women, specific stakeholder groups are involved in policy development and assurance.  Our involvement of disabled people in considering priorities for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (see Case Study, page 13) and the case study below are examples of this. 
 
Digital Television Switchover  Case Study

In 2003, the Government formally convened the Consumer Expert Group (CEG) to advise on consumer issues relating to the switch to digital television.  The Group includes key consumer organisations and charities that represent older people and disabled people, such as Age Concern, Help the Aged, the RNIB, the RNID and Sense. 

The Government holds regularly quarterly meetings with the CEG and has commissioned a number of reports on specific issues. For example, the Group made recommendations on the structure and operation of the Help Scheme for older and significantly disabled people during digital switchover. 

The CEG gives us direct access to senior policy officials of major consumer and charity groups and their advice has proved invaluable in the development of the Government's policy on digital switchover.  It enables us to canvas views in confidence to gauge reaction to major policy decisions affecting consumers before decisions are announced. It gives us a panel of experts we can call upon to give valued advice and recommendations.  It ensures that we are kept well-briefed on issues such as subtitling and audio-description and the needs of the less able at the forefront of our thinking.	

In order to improve our involvement with disabled people and disability organisations in the longer term (and following advice from the Disability Rights Commission) – we are inviting a group of disabled people with knowledge of our sectors to be a part of a reference group which can be called on to contribute to and advise on the departmental equality scheme and other issues relating to the participation of disabled people within our sectors. 

We commissioned in March 2007 a small telephone/email survey of disabled people, carried out by a consultancy with expertise in disability issues, seeking views on our equality scheme.  This provided valuable input to helping us to identify what we were doing well, and where we needed to improve and set additional targets.  Our consideration of their key suggestions is outlined below and relevant actions added to our action plan:

•	Promote access to information being available in a range of formats and in particular to make the scheme available in an easy to read format for people with learning difficulties or those for whom English is not a first language (which will include some deaf people) (Action Plan ref: 7d)
Our arrangements for providing access to information and services are outlined above under “Access to Information and Services”.  We have been working with the charity Speaking Up to directly involve people with learning difficulties in developing our scheme.  We will convert our revised Equality scheme into Easy Read format.  We are also looking at which key documents relating to our policies on the Olympics should be made available in Easy Read format. 

•	Explore our role as a leader and champion in promoting disability equality (Action Plan ref: 10m)
The restructured DCMS Board has scheduled a discussion on diversity which will include consideration of what more we can do to develop our leadership role.  Although we are smaller than many of our NDPBs, we recognise that we have a role in facilitating the sharing of good practice so we have planned three practical workshops for practitioners from our NDPBs on issues related to diversity and equality.  The first of these will take place in February 2008 and will focus specifically on involving disabled people in policy development, EIAs and the development of equality schemes.

•	Use disability press to advertise job and public appointments vacancies, review our recruitment techniques, offer work experience and make employment opportunities accessible (Action Plan Ref: 4b, 4f; 9a (iv) 10 e,10f,10j)

We used existing diversity networks within the Civil Service (the Civil Service Diversity Network and the Civil Service Disability Network) to advertise recent Senior Civil Service vacancies within DCMS.  

We also want to promote the Civil Service as an employer to disabled people.  We participated in the Cabinet Office Summer Placement Scheme and had two disabled interns joining our policy teams.  That experience helped us to learn lessons about the own arrangements for addressing the needs of new disabled staff which we have shared with the Cabinet Office.  For our public appointments (normally advertised on the DCMS website), we circulate information on vacancies to the larger disability charities, such as RNID and RNIB.

Our Permanent Secretary, Chief Operating Officer and a member of our Diversity Network recently visited an East London School with a strong record on inclusion to explore how we can work in partnership with them.  This includes an offer to provide visits and shadowing opportunities for their pupils, including those with disabilities.

•	Encourage disabled people to get involved in public bodies at different levels (i.e. below Board level) to gain experience and confidence (Action Plan Ref: 10 h)
We are keen to improve the number of disabled people involved in our public bodies.  Many of our NDPBs have standing advisory boards which give disabled people the opportunity to develop their skills in public life.  The DCMS Advisory Board, a group of senior executives from our NDPBs, recently initiated work to explore what more could be done to improve the diversity of the Boards of our Public Bodies.  

•	Providing feedback on what we are doing to address their comments, possibly through an open forum web page (Action Plan Ref: 7 a)
DCMS has an Equality and Diversity page under the “Working with Us” section of our website.  We will use this page to update people on progress we are making.  

•	Measure our employees performance regarding disability issues (Action Plan Ref: 2 a)
All of our staff are required to have a diversity objective, assessed at their performance review and our Executive Leadership Team has published their objectives on our Intranet.  These diversity objectives may relate to any aspect of work – including disability.  They will be reporting back to staff at the end of the reporting year.

Our Diversity Network has published guidance on drafting suitable objectives and is considering adding case studies on how staff can make a personal contribution to all equality strands, including disability. 

Our Executive Leadership Team has asked HR to explore how we can test with job applicants their understanding and contribution towards the diversity of the organisation. 

•	Create and positively maintain a culture in which employees are confident that it is in their best interest to declare a disability. (Action Plan ref: 5 a).
Around 50% of our staff have completed our internal monitoring scheme on ethnicity, gender, disability and sexual orientation.  We want to increase this percentage and will be undertaking work in Spring 2008 to improve staff declarations.

We also commissioned the charity “Speaking Up” to arrange a workshop with people with learning disabilities to explore with them the key issues relating to participation in activities in our sectors.  Many of the issues raised related to transport, funding and affordability have policy implications which go beyond the department.  However, we will share the findings with our NDPB network and policy divisions, and discuss with our Disability Reference Group.  This exercise has emphasised for us the importance of making the effort to meet people who might find it difficult to travel, engage with people outside of urban communities, and find creative ways to consult and capture the views of people with disability in a way that best suits their preferences in relation to style and setting.  We will be looking at what more we can do to increase our face to face engagement with different groups to give them a voice in influencing our scheme. (Please see Annex D for the case study).

We will continue to work closely with our external stakeholders and support them in order to enable them to provide services that are accessible to all.

Diversity in the Arts

Arts Division’s PSA3 target is to increase engagement with the arts among under-represented groups including people from BME groups and people with limiting disabilities. The PSA3 Advisory Board had representatives from a disability arts organisation and a BME audience development agency on it, and the quarterly meeting discussed the impact of policies on its priority groups.  The Secretary of State held an Arts & Diversity seminar in October 2007 with diverse arts organisations to discuss current diversity initiatives happening in the sector and whether they felt Government targets had worked and, if not, what actions should the Government take. The organisations included black-led theatre companies, disability-led arts organisations and individual artists and curators across the different art forms. Representatives at the seminar requested a further meeting with an expanded guest list consisting of the larger arts and cultural institutions. Therefore in January 2008 the seminar was reconvened. The Secretary of State has now asked the leading arts and cultural institutions to lead on working with the diversity led organisations at the second seminar in developing a diversity network	

Involving our NDPBs

For the most part, DCMS is not directly responsible for the delivery of services but the bodies that are funded by DCMS to carry out its functions do involve and consult with disabled people and other specific groups i.e. men or women in the development of their policies and functions.  

For example, in the development of their disability scheme, the Arts Council formed a strategy group of over 30 disabled people to identify a number of areas for research and development plus a smaller more focused strategy group in order to hone down their approach to the work.   The organisation is currently running a wider piece of research (by a company specialising in disability issues) which explores barriers to the arts for disabled people who are not engaged in the arts.  Around 100 disabled people were engaged in two focus groups in London and Yorkshire. 

Another example is English Heritage which is committed to promoting a more inclusive approach to the historic environment.  The organisation promotes best practice in providing access for individuals in its publications "Easy Access to Historic Buildings" and "Easy Access to Landscapes" and has consulted with many stakeholders regarding access to their sites in the development of its disability equality scheme.  It has also consulted with staff (including disabled members) and a disabled consultant to assist in the development of the scheme. 

While it is our NDPBs, rather than DCMS, who are at the front line of delivery, we recognise that we can provide a valuable leadership role in co-ordinating activity and sharing good practice on the involvement of disabled people and other stakeholders.  In order to involve our NDPBs more fully in the development of this scheme, and to develop a co-ordinated approach to the involvement of our stakeholders, a series of seminars were organised to consult our key NDPBs and share best practice on diversity and equality in their organisations.
Many issues and actions were raised as a result of these seminars, which have been included in our action plan.  Key points and actions from these events include:

•	There is value in sharing with each other our experiences of being public service organisations seeking to meet the diverse needs of our stakeholders;
•	In recognition of the issues shared by DCMS and its NDPBs in relation to their disabled stakeholders, and the advantages of a shared approach, DCMS will organise a workshop in the New Year to identify the barriers faced by disabled people and set priorities;
•	Schemes run by NDPBs e.g. the Inspire scheme should be better co-ordinated across DCMS sectors and its sponsored bodies in order to share costs and cut administration;
•	A diversity forum involving DCMS and its NDPBs would allow continued interaction on disability and other issues.

We have now prioritised these proposed actions 

Involving our Staff
The department has held several formal and informal events to discuss key elements of the equality scheme. For example, we invited a group of internal staff that are disabled and declared disabled, together with those from ethnic minority groups, to a workshop to discuss the following key questions:

•	What would you like to see as the vision for the department’s equality scheme?
•	How can we make the equality scheme a living, workable document?
•	How can we win hearts and minds to ensure equality and diversity issues are taken into account across the department?
•	What can DCMS do to improve as an employer?  What are the current barriers?
•	How can we work better with our sectors and/or learn from them?

Key points raised included:

•	Diversity within the Department should be treated not as a tick box exercise but as integral to the business of the Department and its policies;
•	The importance of diversity needs to be articulated better and why it matters in today’s society;
•	Minority groups from all grades should be mentored and not just those intending to enter the Senior Civil Service;
•	The Equality Scheme needs to be linked to the Department’s business plan;
•	There should be no perception that those with disabilities in the Department and those that work part time are valued less ;
•	Support for staff e.g. training, mentoring, flexible working needs to be better communicated; 
•	Accountability for diversity could be considered for inclusion in funding agreements with our NDPBs

In addition, we held a short meeting with colleagues across the department who work flexibly to gather their views and how conditions can be improved.  
Key points raised included:

•	Ensuring that the needs of flexible workers are addressed, for example, by arranging meetings within core hours as far as possible;
•	Improving technology and remote electronic access to files to support home working; and
•	Sharing best practice examples across government and promoting the business benefits of flexible working (i.e. improved productivity) within the department 

Many of the key issues and subsequent action points that were raised in the session have been included in our Action Plan at Annex A.  These will form the basis of the Department’s broader diversity and equality agenda. 

Our Staff

We value the benefits of a diverse and varied workforce and are committed to providing the support and encouragement needed to ensure that everyone is given the opportunity to reach their full potential and make an effective contribution to the work of the Department.

Support and Training for Staff

The Department is an equal opportunities employer. We do not discriminate against staff or eligible applicants for posts on the grounds of gender, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation.  Every possible step is taken to ensure that staff are treated equally and fairly and that decisions on recruitment, selection, training, promotion and career management are based solely on objective and job related criteria.  We actively pursue arrangements for flexible working patterns and are committed to provide a working environment where no one is disadvantaged. We fully consult staff on all issues. 

DCMS currently provides compulsory diversity and equality training to all our staff, which includes an induction into the equality duties as they affect the Department’s work.  We also offer an e-learning module in equal opportunities and diversity. This training aims to provide a general understanding of equality issues, as they affect public authorities.  However, this training is currently under review due to the new legal requirements that the department has to comply with and the planned equality impact assessment training as detailed below. 

Our in-house intranet, available to all staff, has a set of pages on the current equality duties. These set out the requirements, with links to the relevant websites and data resources. This is being expanded as staff gain experience in fulfilling these duties. Sessions on diversity have been included at meetings of the DCMS Board, Senior Management Team and Awayday for all staff.

From March 2006 we have provided broad training on Race Equality Impact Assessments.  We have now developed the course to address the specific needs of DCMS and to cover all equality strands.  This is role-specific training designed to enable and enhance the skills of staff to carry out impact assessments efficiently.  The course covers how to develop and introduce policy, the general and specific duties and why they are important, and how to carry out policy assessments, consultations and monitoring and to produce reports for publication.

The course will also allow colleagues to share best practice and lessons learned as DCMS staff gain experience in carrying out EIAs. This will be reinforced and followed up through the activities of the Diversity Network.  

The DCMS Diversity Network was formed in June 2002.  Its current terms of reference are: 

•	To provide a discussion and action forum on equal opportunities and diversity issues;
•	To advise and proactively contribute to diversity policies and practices through the implementation and achievement of the Diversity Group 5 point action plan;
•	To help communicate a clear and consistent internal and external message on equality and diversity; and
•	To actively seek out, and through approaches set out in the Diversity Group Action plan, engage with the Board and the Diversity Champion.

The network is made up of DCMS staff from a broad range of backgrounds.  It is chaired by DCMS staff, with support from HR and the Diversity Champion, and meets on a regular basis.  The network recently developed the following five challenges for presentation to the DCMS Management Board:

•	Partnership Challenge:  Department to build outreach partnerships to promote aspirations of priority/minority groups e.g. by sponsoring a secondary school with a view to offering mentors, speakers and work experience placements.  

•	Leadership Challenge:  Board members to develop personal statements of commitment to promoting diversity.  Assessment of progress should be built into the new Board appraisal arrangements

•	Performance Challenge:  Develop a guide to setting diversity objectives and collect evidence of good practice from around the department

•	Communications Challenge: Develop departmental intranet site to make it more interactive on diversity issues

•	Development Challenge:  Diversity Network to contribute to the DCMS transformation programme (arising from the departmental Capability Review), in particular the Skills and Ways of Working Task Forces 

In addition, three new networks have been established; a Black and Minority Ethnic network, a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender network and a Flexible Working network.  These will be self-managed by DCMS staff, with HR support as required, and will help to embed diversity and equality across the Department.

Employment

DCMS employs just under 500  staff and monitors by disability, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion and belief in the following areas:

•	Staff in post
•	Applications for employment
•	Applications for promotion
•	Take up of training 
•	Performance appraisal procedures and their outcomes
•	Those involved in grievance procedures
•	Those subject to disciplinary action
•	Those that cease employment

Ethnicity, disability and sexuality monitoring is conducted on the basis of voluntary self-declaration through a self-serve database which was re-launched in October 2006. This was done to encourage all staff to self-declare all strands of equality. HR will be doing a follow-up exercise in May 2008 asking all staff to complete a diversity monitoring form.  This will also include religion and belief. This will be done with the support of our Diversity Champion and the Executive Leadership Team to highlight the importance of monitoring not only to the Department but to its’ staff to ensure that we have a diverse workforce and that we are valuing difference.

Ethnicity is monitored against the 2001 census categories.  Information broken down by all ethnic groups is held centrally by HR but due to the small numbers of staff involved at each grade and because of staff confidentiality we are unable to share this information publicly. However, analysis of this data is done to ensure there are no patterns of inequality. DCMS keeps the results of its monitoring under continuous review to see whether it is on track to meet its targets, whether there is scope for revising upwards and to identify any adverse impact.

Of the 526 staff in post on 1 April 2007 47% were women, 14% were recorded as being from an ethnic minority background and 2% as having a disability.  Sexuality and religion and belief monitoring was introduced in June 2006 but we do not yet have sufficient data to include information in the Scheme this year but will  be keeping this under review. 

Table 1 shows progress against our 2007 targets for ethnicity, disability and gender monitoring as at 31 March 2007. Table 2 shows outcomes for a range of HR activities for 2006-2007. Ethnic minority and disability percentages are calculated as a percentage of the number of people declaring their ethnicity or disability rather than as a percentage of the total.

The appraisal system was evaluated in 2006 and as a result changes were made to the overall system.  This included reducing the three marking boxes from highly successful, successful and acceptable to two boxes, successful and needs to improve.  A further evaluation was done by an external consultant, supported by the Trade Union.  This was done by consulting staff and as a result of this further procedural changes were included for 2007 and supported by the Executive Leadership team to ensure fairness and transparency.  Included in these changes were the agreement to publishing clear standards of performance, and clarifying roles and responsibilities of Reporting Officers, Countersigning Officers, Deputy Directors and Directors in managing the bonus nomination and decision making process. A further review of the system will take place after the 2008 process will take place in September 2008.

Table 1: Staff in Post 
(Figures in brackets represent actual number of staff)

		Women	Ethnic Minority	Disabled	
Grade	Total No of Staff at 29/2/08	2008 target 	Position 29/2/08	2008 target	Position 29/2/08	2008 target 	Position 29/2/08	
SCS	  35	37%(13)
	40%(14)	4% (1)	7%  (2)	3.2%(2)	3%*  (1)	
A	106	45%(52)
	38%(40)	4% (5)	7%  (7)	3%  (3)	6%*  (5)	
B	173	42%(81)
	46%(79)	5%(10)	11%(18)	7% (13)	2%  (3)	
C	115	Not < 50% (65)	53%(61)	10%(13)	18% (18)	3% (4)	3%*  (3)	
D	 48	Not < 50% (39)	58%(28)	21%(16)	29% (12)	7% (5)	5%   (2)	

* Already met/exceeded target

Table 2: HR Outcomes 2006-2007 
(1st April 2006 – 31st March 2007) 

	Total no.	Women	Ethnic minority	Disabled	
Recruitment by applicants, success at interview	
Applicants	873	41%	22%	5%	
Success at final interview	136	53%	15%	2%	
Promotions and Postings	
Promoted 	23	38%	5%	5%	
Posted to SCS 	6	33%	0%	0%	
Leavers	
Leavers	89	47%	20%	2%	
Formal Grievances and Disciplinary Action	
Grievances	0	0	0	0	
Disciplinary Action	2	50%	0	0	
Training Attendance	
Attendance	344*	51%	12%	3.5%	
Performance Appraisal Outcomes 	
Highly Successful	435	215% (49%)	58%(13%)**	13(3)%**	
Needs to Improve	7	2(28.5%)	3%(43%)**	1(14)%**	

*     This figure reflects the number of individuals that have attended at least one training event.  The total training attendances for the 2005/06 financial year are 547 therefore indicating that individuals have attended more than one training course.

** % of people with declared ethnicity and disability

We have developed actions in response to the Cabinet Office’s 10-point plan to increase diversity in the senior levels of the civil service but have also detailed actions needed to achieve holistic diversity reform across DCMS.  
These are included in the scheme’s action plan at Annex A.

Recruitment, Retention and Promotion of Disabled Staff

The Department was re-accredited with ‘Positive About Disabled People – Two Ticks Symbol’ in 2008.  Part of the commitment to the scheme is a guarantee to interview applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy.  HR has provided guidance for interviewing disabled people and guidelines for best practice on making reasonable adjustments to all staff via our intranet site.  To help retain staff the Department also supports staff who have a disability or who develop a disability by providing reasonable adjustments to their working environment.

DCMS will also be arranging disability awareness raising workshops for staff across the department. This will help to build the confidence of staff who work with disabled colleagues and raise awareness of staff when dealing with external disabled stakeholders.  Training will also be made available to our contract, front of house, staff.  

The Department also has membership to the Employer’s Forum on Disability and works in partnership with them to ensure we are providing an inclusive workplace for those working in the department and those visiting the premises.  We have also hosted a number of successful breakfast events for them to discuss disability issues across the sectors.

DCMS provides positive action training for disabled staff and this is paid for from the central training budget. In addition to this there are mentoring and coaching schemes for all staff, including disabled staff. To raise the profile of disability issues we have also provided disability awareness training for all our staff, including contract staff.  

As part of our induction training we supply diversity training to all staff which includes aspects of disability.  In addition we also provide ad-hoc disability awareness training for all staff including customer facing contract staff. 

DCMS has taken part in the Disability Standard, run by the Employer’s Forum on Disability. This is a management tool that enables the department to accurately measure our performance against other public sector organisation on disability in every way in which it affects the business. We are hoping to take part in the process again for 2009.

We also participate in the Summer Work Placement Scheme which is led by Cabinet Office.  The scheme sets up work placements for high calibre undergraduates, and aims to address the under-representation of ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in the Civil Service by offering them opportunities to experience working in the Department.  We offer 5 placements on a year on year basis.

We also take part in the Leaders UnLtd programme led by Cabinet Office and the National School for Government.  The programme is aimed at developing talent for the Senior Civil Service to address the under-representation of women, ethnic minority and disabled in the senior Civil Service

Health and Wellbeing 

The Department launched  the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) in April 2007.  The scheme gives access to an on-line, confidential, advice line covering a wide range of issues for staff, their families and friends, including child care; health care, elder care and debt management.  It also includes a confidential on line or face to face counselling service. EAP is also able to help with specific problems faced by staff which is specific to DCMS. This can be illustrated by the recent Transformation programme which the department has just gone through and was an uncertain time for staff.  EAP was alerted to this and HR provided an outline of the issues which might arise for staff and EAP were able to prepare for and provide expert help for staff.  The scheme is continually reviewed and has been well received by staff. 

The Department will be undertaking a Stress Audit during May/June 2008. We will be assessing the risk of staff suffering from stress-related ill health arising from work.  The Audit will be conducted by Clarion International Limited and will assess the current working environment.  This will allow us to set targets for improvement and address any issues raised. By working in partnership we can create a healthier working environment.

Flexible Working

DCMS already has a range of flexible working options in place including compressed hours and part-time working.  Flexible working is open to everyone to apply.  Of the 477 staff in post at 31 March 2008, 42 (9 men and 33 women) were working alternative work patterns.  In addition, all staff have access to flexi time arrangements allowing them to manage their own working hours within core time parameters.  We have also set up a flexible working network which is run by DCMS staff with the diversity champion’s and HR support.

DCMS supported the move by government to improve support for working families and increase statutory maternity pay from 26 weeks to 39 weeks.  Extended fully paid maternity leave will be increased from 26 weeks to 39 weeks to staff where their expected date of childbirth is on or after the 1 April 2007.  

DCMS launched a Family Life Solutions package in 2006 which gives access to an on-line advice line covering a wide range of issues for staff and their families including child care; health care and elder care, and has been well received by staff.  The Department also launched a new Counselling Service in April 2007.

Part time working case study
It can often be felt that by opting to work part time your promotion prospects can be hampered.  This does not have to be the case.
DCMS's policy on flexible working offers all staff an array of options for achieving a sensible work-life balance without compromising career development.  
Deirdre Wells has been working part-time at DCMS for 8 years.  Her time here has included work as a Religious Affairs Manager for the Millennium Dome and heading up a team to deliver the Memorial Service for the UK victims of 9/11,  and then in turn the victims of the Bali bombing, the Tsunami and the London 7/7 bombings.  During this time, and still working part-time, Deirdre was promoted to a senior management post in DCMS. 
Senior Civil Service (SCS) member Bryony Lodge has also worked two days a week for the last two years in DCMS.  In the last couple of years she has worked on the establishment of a National Sports Foundation to encourage sports sponsorship and the management of risk in relation to the UK's successful Olympic Games bid. Bryony said “some people still think that working part time means that you cannot take on important, strategic jobs.  There have been challenges…but it is important that everyone recognises that your career does not come to a standstill when you work part-time".  Bryony now works in a job-share arrangement within DCMS.

Equal Pay

DCMS regularly monitors salary differentials and is currently working with Trade Unions on an equal pay audit which covers gender, ethnicity and disability in line with Cabinet Office and Equal Opportunities Commission guidance. The audit will assess if there is any evidence of bias in the following three areas of the pay system in the Department: salaries, appraisal and development report performance categories, and special bonus payments.

Staff numbers were small when broken down into specific groups so in some cases indicative findings were provided rather than firm conclusions.  However, no unexplained bias was found

DCMS intends to conduct a similar review every two years.

Health and Safety 
DSE virtual desk assessments are being rolled out across the department were completed by Summer 2007.  We have also reviewed our management and delivery times for reasonable adjustments for staff to ensure we are providing a good service..

The Department will also be undertaking a Stress Audit in 2007 in line with HSE guidelines and we will be reviewing our Health and Safety Policies to ensure that we are meeting our legal obligations to staff - this will be completed by Spring 2008.

Transgender Issues

The DCMS intranet includes advice and contact details on how to contact a:gender, the support network for staff in government departments/agencies who have changed or need to change permanently their perceived gender, or who identify as intersex.

Public Appointments

Public bodies assist Ministers and Departments to deliver their objectives and priorities, especially where specialist expertise and an independent view are needed.  DCMS is responsible for over 60 public bodies, which are funded by, but are not part of, the Department and are run by Boards. 

DCMS is responsible for over 600 Ministerial appointments to these Boards, making more than 100 appointments or re-appointments each year.  It is our policy to promote equality of opportunity and integrate it into all aspects of our business, including public appointments. It is important that our sponsored bodies’ Boards should be able to draw on a rich variety of viewpoints, ideas and experiences.  Our Annual Public Appointments Plan includes targets to increase the diversity of our appointments and plans to achieve them. 

Public appointment recruitment campaigns are conducted in accordance with the code of practice issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Department draws up role specifications, advertises vacancies, searches for suitable candidates, supports the independent interview panel, and advises Ministers on whom to appoint. The principles of fair and open competition apply and appointments are made on merit, with independent assessment, openness and transparency of process.

We have ambitious, centrally agreed targets to increase the representation of three of the six equality strands to 50 per cent women, 10 per cent from minority ethnic backgrounds and 6 per cent disabled people. 

We believe that public bodies can be most effective, and have most legitimacy, if they and their boards are in touch with and representative of all facets of society. We are striving for diversity in the widest sense, covering not only gender, ethnicity and disability, but also age, socio-economic background, area of residence and so on.

Whilst all appointees, regardless of their background, must be able to make a full contribution to the work of their boards, people can contribute in different ways and bring different insights. In addition, with time and the right kind of support, appointees develop new governance skills, so the lack of those skills should not rule them out of consideration if they have other valuable competences to offer.

Monitoring Diversity

We ask applicants to fill out, on a voluntary basis, a monitoring form covering gender, ethnic group and disability and we monitor the diversity of serving board members, applicants and appointees on our database. 

The percentages of female, ethnic minority and disabled board members in post at 14 February 2007 and the percentage appointed in 2005-06 are shown in the table below. The ethnic origin, gender and disability of applicants are monitored on a campaign-by-campaign basis and will be collated to provide an overall figure for 2006-07. 

Update table
	Total	% Women	% Ethnic Minority	% Disabled	
DCMS TARGETS		50%	10%	6%	
Number in post (snapshot at 14 February 2007)	508	33.7%	8.3%	3.7%	
Number in post (snapshot at 20 December 2007)	539	33.0%	10.4%	4.8%	
Figures for those appointed since 1/9/06	254	33.1%	11.4%	4.7%	
Number of appointments 2006-2007	208	33.2%	11.1%	  4.8%	
Number of 1st appointments	134	33.6%	12.7%	5.2%	
Number of reappointments	84	29.8%	8.3%	3.6%	

Our targets reflect the make-up of the population as a whole, whereas board members tend to come from the top echelons of the workforce, where these groups are less well represented. For instance, the Labour Force Survey shows that women constitute 29.7% of the 'higher managerial and professional' category, slightly below our current performance. A recent survey conducted by the Equal Opportunities Commission shows that women represent 17 per cent of influential positions in the Media and Culture sectors (including editors of national newspapers, directors of major museums, and chief executives of national sports bodies), and 24 per cent of influential positions in the Public and Voluntary sectors (including senior judiciary, health service chief executives, and senior police officers); both considerably lower than DCMS appointments’ current representation.  Nevertheless, we are committed to improving our performance, firstly to catch up with the average Whitehall figure of 37 per cent (March 2006), and secondly to make progress towards our target of 50 per cent.

As reported in our 2002 Race Equality Scheme, only 2.1 per cent of those in post in September 1997 were from an ethnic minority background, but this had risen to 6.6 per cent by September 2000 and 7.9 per cent by September 2001.  We are pleased to have achieved an ethnic minority appointment rate of nearly 10 per cent for 2005-06, well above the Whitehall average of 5.6%. However, the recent slight dip for first-term appointments shows the need to work hard to sustain this performance. 

Whilst the percentages of board members with disabilities are currently below target, it is encouraging that the percentage of disabled people in first appointments is approaching our 6 per cent target.  This figure suggests that on-going efforts to develop diversity in the appointments process are producing improved results, although it may also indicate that our diversity monitoring has become more effective. 

We ask applicants to put their date of birth on the application form and we monitor the age of serving board members, applicants and appointees on our database.  The average age of appointees in 2005-06 was 55.9 years.  DCMS public appointees tend to come from the older age brackets, as the graph below shows:

Age of Current Board Members (27 

September 2006)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

20-30

30-40

40-50

50-60

60-70

70-80

80+

Age (years)

Number of Board Members

We currently have only two serving board members under 30 years of age; a figure matched in the over 80 years category. A key part of our diversity drive is to try to widen the age range of appointees, in order to produce more diverse and representative public boards. The challenge is both to maintain good governance and deliver diversity. 

We do not request or hold any information concerning religion or sexual orientation, and there are no current plans to do so. We have, however, assessed the pilot study of sexual orientation monitoring recently conducted by Cabinet Office, and will keep these aspects of equality under consideration. 

Diversity Action Plan

Our action plan addresses the challenge in two ways: on the supply side, through better searches for candidates from under-represented groups and various longer-term measures to increase the pool of such candidates;  and on the demand side, through promoting the value of diversity to our sponsored bodies and eliminating any remaining barriers from our procedures. The plan includes the following initiatives:

•	working with sponsored bodies to review our collective approach to governance and recruitment, in order to ensure that the diversity of the country is reflected in the way bodies operate, and that no part of the appointment process limits the field of candidates unnecessarily;

•	tapping into new and more diverse networks to extend our database of suitable candidates;

•	using head-hunters to find candidates from a wider range of backgrounds;

•	considering feeder routes and development schemes which can help prepare people from diverse backgrounds for service on boards;

•	reconsidering the approach to board remuneration across the DCMS family of bodies; 

•	extending use of outreach and marketing to raise awareness of opportunities to serve on DCMS boards; and 

•	sharing and replicating best practice in promoting diversity.

The Secretary of State asked NDPB Chairs to draw up strategic plans to maintain or increase board diversity over the next 5 years and we are also in the process of inviting existing board members from a range of different backgrounds to become champions or role models for public appointments, to combat perceptions that people from particular backgrounds have little chance of success.  

Overall our performance in relation to the monitored groups is improving but patchy. We are targeting the less diverse boards as vacancies arise but progress will inevitably take time. Our aspiration is to create a sustainable legacy of high-quality, diverse boards, able to bring fresh perspectives to the delivery of long-term goals, whilst at the same time maintaining high standards of governance.

Our Agencies

The Royal Parks Agency

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for the maintenance and preservation of the Royal Parks under the 1851 Crown Lands Act.  These are Bushy Park (with the Longford River), The Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent's Park (with Primrose Hill), Richmond Park and St James's Park. In addition it tends a number of other spaces in London, including Brompton Cemetery, the gardens of 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street and Grosvenor Square Gardens. Day to day management has been delegated to the Chief Executive of The Royal Parks (TRP), which is an Executive Agency of the Department. 

TRP employs around a hundred staff and its corporate objectives are designed to support DCMS in meeting its strategic priorities and wider responsibilities, as follows:

TRP Objective	Link to DCMS Strategic Priority	
1) To protect and enhance our “world class” natural park environment  for the enjoyment of families, children and visitors	Community, Economy	
2) To understand and respond to the needs of our audiences,  reflecting  diversity of needs and use; enriching lives and enhancing access to culture and sport	Community, Children and Young People, Economy	
3) To work with other organisations and volunteers to deliver clear education, health, sport and participation offers	Community, Children and Young People	
4) To conserve and enhance the historic built environment of the Royal Parks	Community, Economy	
5) To deliver greater value for money for the taxpayer through increased income generation and reduced dependency on vote funding	Delivery	
6) To demonstrate organisational excellence 	Delivery	

All policies are required to meet these six corporate objectives.

Park Management

TRP’s purpose is to manage the Royal Parks as open spaces that the public can enjoy, free of charge.  At the most basic level, they are places where people can enjoy a wide variety of informal open air activities at no cost, including traditional park–related activities, such as walking, running, exercising dogs, childrens’ play, cycling, having picnics, skating, horse-riding, kite–flying, sunbathing, etc. 

Many of the buildings in the parks are historic (or listed) structures, and scope for adapting access for the disabled is often limited. TRP’s policy is to make adaptations where possible as buildings are refurbished. New buildings are constructed to be compliant with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.  
Opportunities are taken, where appropriate, to adapt the historical landscapes of the parks to accommodate the disabled. For example:
 
•	A sensory garden has been created in Greenwich Park, and physical barriers are tackled (e.g. kerbs are lowered at crossing points) where appropriate as part of the ongoing maintenance and refurbishment of the parks. 

•	Reserved bays for disabled parking have been provided in the parks, as near to access points and refreshments as possible. In addition, disabled drivers are allowed to park without charge in pay and display spaces for a maximum of four hours.  

•	There are disabled-accessible electric buggies, manned by volunteers and funded by the Hyde Park Trust, to take people with mobility difficulties around Hyde Park. 

•	In Greenwich Park there is a road-train with disabled access, run by the National Maritime Museum, which takes people up the hill from the National Maritime Museum to the Observatory. 

•	The recently launched solar boat shuttle on the Serpentine is also disabled-accessible and a specially designed disabled-access boat has been provided for use on the wildlife pond in Richmond Park. 

Events

TRP does not commission events but it considers requests for events from private promoters. One of its criteria is to give priority to events that involve community engagement, particularly those aimed at culturally diverse audiences. For example, two annual events are held: a Bangladeshi Mella in Regent’s Park and a Caribbean musical event in Hyde Park on the weekend of the Notting Hill Carnival. Other events have included the Sala’am Music Village festival of Islamic music and Klezfest, a concert of traditional Jewish music. TRP works with event organisers to see that they provide adequate access for disabled people and adequate access to facilities – toilets, catering etc – within the event enclosure. For example, at Proms in the Park the organisers arranged electric buggies to ferry disabled people from their cars to the special enclosure provided for them.

Community, Sport and Education

TRP provides educational resources for local schools, both for teachers’ continual professional development and for National Curriculum Key Stage 2 and state – funded schools local to the parks are invited to take part. TRP also provides opportunities to involve local people in the running of the parks as volunteers and are consulted about the way in which the parks can address the different needs of local people

For example, by working with an Asian Women’s Group, TRP created an Islamic garden in Greenwich Park. The Black Environmental Network was one of its partners in the three year Wildlife for All project, which has recently come to an end. In considering activities for children, TRP seeks to ensure that they will appeal to local children. For example, it works with local football clubs – Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers – to provide football coaching sessions for local children in the school summer holidays in Regent’s Park and Greenwich Park, and the two weeks of dance workshops that the Rambert Dance Company provided in summer 2006 were designed particularly to appeal to schools with large black teenage populations.

Regent’s Park provides the greatest number of open air sports pitches in central London. In drawing up a strategy in 2001 for refurbishing the pitches and building a sports pavilion, TRP undertook a major survey of all stakeholders amongst local communities, talking to both users and non - users of the park, to establish their requirements for the new sports facilities. Particular care was taken to consult residents of social housing in the area, in which racially diverse groups are heavily represented. 

Children’s playgrounds are designed to take account of the needs of disabled children and are equipped with specially adapted equipment. In partnership with PHAB (a national charity dedicated to promoting the integration of people with and without physical disabilities, at all levels of society) TRP has been running the Holly Lodge centre in Richmond Park for over ten years. The centre offers opportunities for mentally and physically handicapped adults and children to use the park and its buildings to develop skills. Both Richmond Park and Bushy Park work with Companion Cycling, which provides disabled people with an opportunity to enjoy the park sharing specially adapted cycles with able-bodied volunteers. A ‘manege’ has been created in Hyde Park, in partnership with the owner of local stables, to hold sessions of Riding for the Disabled and there is also Riding for the Disabled at Bushy Park
In Regent’s park, the Hub staff run sports activities for disabled people including:

•	A weekly walk and exercise session for people with mental health conditions (in partnership with the Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust);

•	A weekly exercise session for people with learning difficulties (in partnership with the Westminster Primary Care Trust);

•	annual events including the London Youth Games for people with mild learning difficulties; 

•	The London Sports Forum annual football tournament for young disabled people; and 

•	Football and rugby days for the National Deaf Children's Society.

Consultation

TRP carries out customer satisfaction surveys in each of the Royal Parks every other year by interviewing a sample of park visitors and this, amongst other data, provides information on the ethnic origin of respondents. TRP also carries out telephone surveys of randomly selected non - users of the Royal Parks to try and establish why they do not use the parks. Surveys are carried out in advance of individual projects to establish the make-up of the customer base and how the proposed policy would impact on their requirements.

Surveys are carried out in advance of individual projects to establish the make – up of the customer base and how the proposed policy would impact on their requirements.  For example: 

•	TRP will be consulting disability groups as part of its consideration of new cycling provision in the parks (as it did prior to introducing a new cycle route in Kensington Gardens). 

•	The Bushy Restoration Project included a "Disability Planning For Real Day" in which Royal Parks staff, helpers, experts and staff from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund spent a day travelling around the park accompanying disabled people (physical, aural, visual and learning) testing the access audit and informing us what they really wanted from an historic park (which was often at odds with what was in the audit).  Their comments directly influenced our proposals resulting in:

o	access improvements - path surfaces, easier opening gates, signage, level access to new facilities;
o	creation of special routes / circuits;
o	provision of two mobility buggies; and
o	provision of special "pre-visit information" for disabled people.

TRP is planning to carry out additional research amongst local communities into how different ethnic groups use parks in order to make the Royal Parks more relevant to them.

Internal Arrangements
This scheme is issued with the full support of the DCMS Board and will be monitored by the DCMS Equality and Diversity Team.  It will be publicised to our staff, stakeholders and to our NDPBs and will be published on our website in a prominent place. 

Reviewing and Amending the Scheme

We will review this scheme within three years and publish an annual progress report. We may also need to review this scheme, or propose amendments to this scheme, because of changes to our functions, or to the circumstances in which we undertake those functions, or for any other reason. 

Complaints and Suggestions for Improvement 

DCMS welcomes suggestions from the public or from staff on how the operation of the scheme might be improved.  

Complaints related to this scheme, or suggestions for improvement, should be directed to:

Colleen Bowen
Head of Diversity and Equality
Department for Culture, Media and Sport 
2-4 Cockspur Street 
London 
SW1Y 5DH

enquiries@culture.gsi.gov.uk

Tel: 0207 211 6023

Annex A: Equality Action Plan

This plan sets out the action we must take over the next three years to bring about the fundamental change in attitudes and behaviours which will lead to a truly diverse DCMS. Our broad aim is to involve a greater proportion of the population and a wider range of people in the activities we sponsor, and to become more representative of wider society ourselves. 

All the main diversity strands (disability, gender, race, religion and belief, age and sexual orientation) are covered by the plan. A separate section is provided on disabled people to show the additional actions planned in response to our immediate responsibilities for disability equality. 

A large proportion of our executive functions are delivered by a wide range of sponsored bodies. They will have their own plans which are not replicated here.  We do however indicate the actions we propose to support these bodies in their efforts to achieve greater diversity.

The plan incorporates diversity initiatives already in train, including actions developed in response to the Cabinet Office’s 10 point plan to increase diversity.  The sponsor of the plan is the Department’s Director-level Diversity Champion. 

Task and responsibility	Progress and further action	Outcome/
success measures	Strands	
1. Mainstreaming diversity				
a. Embed diversity and equality in all corporate and business plans and processes

Director, Strategy
Deputy Directors (with support from Equality and Diversity Team)	DCMS values and business plan already address diversity.  Our 2007 Annual Report included a section on equality and diversity.  Our internal guidance on consultation and developing project plans has been revised to incorporate advice on addressing equality issues, such as EIAs, at the planning stage.  

Further action: To review the inclusion of diversity and equality in business plans and risk registers by end April 2008
	Raised understanding of diversity across the DCMS family. Equality Scheme a living document which informs the way the Department operates on a day to day basis.	All	
b. Ensure that all departmental policies, projects and functions are monitored and screened for equality impact and where appropriate staff undertake Equality Impact Assessments
Deputy Directors (with support from Equality & Diversity Team and Learning and Development Team)	A new Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) tool was developed and training was rolled out in March 07 to 45 staff.  The training was evaluated in November 07 and is being updated to take account of the comments of participants.  The updated course will be piloted in Spring 2008.

	The department’s policies will be more attuned to the diverse needs of its stakeholders and EIAs will be considered as an integral part of policy making by the department and its officials.  All EIAs will be made accessible in a range of formats e.g. Braille and minority languages upon request.
	All	
c. Equality Impact Assessments are published and made accessible 
Deputy Directors (with support from Equality & Diversity Team and Learning and Development Team)	A new Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) tool was developed and training was rolled out in March 07 to 45 staff.  The training was evaluated in November 07 and is being updated to take account of the comments of participants.  The updated course will be piloted in Spring 2008.
Completed impact assessments are and will continue to be available on the DCMS website.  The timetable for publication of EIAs is available in the section of this scheme headed Our Policies and Functions.

	Response to EIAs published is positive	All	
d. Revise equality schemes every three years and publish progress reports annually
Equality & Diversity Team	Single equality scheme published by 4 Dec 2006 and will be revised by Dec 2009
Revised equality scheme taking into account new gender equality duty published on 30 April 2007
The Northern Ireland Equality Scheme annual progress report was completed in August 2007 and is published on the DCMS website 
Further action: Consultation exercise for the Department’s Welsh Language Scheme will be completed in April 2007.	The department is legally complying with equality legislation.

Living documents which steer the way we operate as a department  	All	
2. Leadership and accountability				
a. Ensure that DCMS Board and Senior Management take steps to promote diversity and equality where appropriate in the department
Permanent Secretary	The new DCMS Board met for the first time in September 2007.  It has 7 members, of whom 2 are women, and 2 are from BME backgrounds.  A paper on Diversity is scheduled for discussion in February 2008.
At the request of the Permanent Secretary, the Diversity Network provides quarterly updates on progress on equality and diversity to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), including progress on the Cabinet Office 10 point plan. 
Members of our Executive Leadership Team, including the Permanent Secretary, reported on what diversity meant to them and their own diversity objectives at a “Diversity Chat show” hosted by the Permanent Secretary.  Our ELT has also published their personal diversity objectives on the DCMS Intranet and will report on progress to all staff in early 2008. 
Three of our ELT members are mentors to the Minority Ethnic Talent Association (META) set up in 2007 and other ELT members are mentors to staff within and outside the Department.
Further action: Senior staff to report back to staff on progress on their diversity objectives by July 2008.
All Directors to include diversity in their personal objectives (start of reporting year) and to include discussions on equality and diversity at their staff meetings by September 2008.
	Visible top-level leadership commitment to diversity. Senior management team seen as role models.	All	
3. Behaviour and culture change				
a. Develop and launch equality change management programme for the Department.  This will include reviewing the terms of reference and remit for the departmental internal diversity network.

Equality and Diversity Team

	The DCMS Diversity Network revised its terms of reference in 2007 and invited new members. They developed a range of challenges for the department and the Executive Leadership Team, now included in this action plan. 
BME staff in the department have also established a network specifically for staff from BME backgrounds.  
A Flexible Workers network met twice in 2007.  The network will develop case studies to help embed good practice in managing flexible workers.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Network has been running for approximately a year.  

The Change Director responsible for the Department’s Transformation Programme is also the DCMS Diversity Champion.  Consultation with our diversity networks on the EIA for the programme identified a range of opportunities for promoting equality within the department.  
Further action: Corporate Services to continue to support internal networks and review progress in July 2008.	Officials understand the ethical, moral and business case for diversity and equality 

Departmental Diversity Network is seen as a key network within the department with an important function and role to play.	All	
b. Ensure that all staff undergo equality and diversity training 

Line managers (with support from Learning and Development team)	Since April 2007, all new entrants (48 staff) have been offered places on Induction events taking place within 6 weeks of joining DCMS and 92% attended within 6 weeks of joining; the remainder were unable to attend due to leave or non-working days.  This includes a day of training on equality and diversity.
Further action: Evaluate diversity and equality training by July 2008
Continue to promote and monitor participation in positive action and development programmes.	New entrants to the department will undergo diversity training within six weeks of joining.  
	All	
4. Recruitment, retention, reward and development				
a. Monitor the Appraisal  System to ensure fairness and transparency of procedures
Human & Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team)	The appraisal system was evaluated in 2006 and overall changes were made to the box markings. A further evaluation was done by an external consultant in 2007.  This included a staff consultation process.  As a result of this, further procedural changes were included to ensure fairness and transparency in the system. 
 A further review will take place in September 2008.
	Ensure a fair appraisal system for all staff – open and transparent.	All	
b. Explicit consideration of diversity issues as part of SCS recruitment process in line with recommendations from Cabinet Office Diversity Champions Network

Human & Business Resources
(Recruitment Team)	Targeted communication of vacancy notices to cross-Whitehall diversity networks
Panels for 2008 SCS recruitment exercise include an external assessor
- ongoing 	Diverse pool of applicants/successes at interview
	All	
c. Monitor training uptake amongst under-represented groups and actively encourage and support participation in positive action programmes
Human & Business Resources
(Learning & Development Team)	The department is currently promoting a wide range of positive action workshops and development programmes – including Leaders UnLtd, Cope, Personal Effectiveness Training for Ethnic Minority Staff and the Stonewall Leadership Programme
- ongoing
	Representative take-up by all under-represented groups
Take up of positive action training opportunities	Disability, Race, gender

d. Increase awareness among under-represented groups of In-Service Fast Stream

Human & Business Resources	Scheme promoted to whole department and all Deputy Directors.  Currently 2 of our 17 fast stream staff are from BME backgrounds.

Further action: The scheme will be promoted throughout the department to under-represented groups and progress assessed in Spring 2008
	Increased number of applicants/successes from under-represented groups	Disability, Race

e. Encourage SCS participation in mentoring and coaching.
Human & Business Resources
(Learning and Development Team)
	The Department continues to support the mentoring scheme encouraging support from the mentors and mentees.  There has been an increase of 33% in staff mentored with more people requesting mentors.  In 2006/07 there were 16 mentoring partnerships as oppose to 12 in 2005/06.  Within the mentoring scheme we do not request equalities information.  We are in the process of revaluating the mentoring scheme to encourage more participation by SCS staff as mentors. 
Further action: Mentoring scheme will be promoted throughout the department to under-represented groups and their managers.
	Representative take-up by under-represented groups	Disability, Race

f. Take action to address diversity issues resulting from analysis of Staff Opinion Survey 

Human & Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team)
	The survey was analysed in September 2007 as part of the overall departmental transformation process.  Employment monitoring extended to include sexuality, religion and  belief, gender identity.  Greater promotion of learning and development opportunities to under-represented groups and promotion of mediation skills training.  
Work is also on going to encourage flexible working amongst staff and to address concerns from some staff about bullying and harassment.
	Improved satisfaction in key diversity areas in 2009 Staff Survey	All	
f. Take action to make employment opportunities accessible to disabled people. 

Human & Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team)	We will continue to monitor performance on workforce diversity, including progress on the Cabinet Office 10 point plan and participate in the Summer Placement Scheme.
Further Action: Evaluate outcome of 2008 Summer Placement Scheme in relation to the working environment for disabled people.
	Progress on the Cabinet Office 10 point plan.

Feedback from disabled summer interns is positive.	Disability	
g. Gather information and evidence on the effect of the Department’s policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of its employees

Human and Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team)	Improve monitoring across all areas of HR practices to ensure clear and concise information by Spring/Summer 2008.  	Improved and meaningful statistics.	All	
5. Targets				
a. Achieve improved response rate to diversity monitoring. Ensure non respondents are re-surveyed.  

Human & Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team)	Sexual orientation, religion and belief and gender identity monitoring introduced June 2006.  The self-serve database was re-launched in October 2006 to encourage staff to self-declare.  However, this wasn’t very successful so a Departmental wide follow up exercise will be taking place in May/June 2008 with the support of the Diversity Champion and the Networks.  
	Improved response rate for ethnicity and disability monitoring and completion of new categories	All	
b. Set Departmental targets for SCS and feeder grades for women, black and minority ethnic staff and disabled people and encourage and support participation in positive action programmes for junior staff to support feeder grades
Human and Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team)	Targets will be achieved by end of 2008.  New targets to be set for 2008-2011 in line with the overall revised Government Diversity Strategy which is due in July 2008.	Stretching diversity targets for women, black and minority ethnic staff and disabled people at SCS and feeder  grades have been achieved.	All	
c. Increase representation of ethnic minorities, and disabled people in our public appointments to 10% and 6% respectively.

Public Bodies Division	We are currently exceeding the ethnic minority target slightly and making progress towards the other two targets as outlined in the section on Public Appointments above.
We are working with the Mayors Heritage Diversity Task Force - Governance Working Group to develop and implement a strategy to embed cultural diversity good practice into our board appointments process.
Further Action: Advisory Board to report back on their review of Board diversity in June 2008	Achievement of the targets themselves	Gender, Race, Disability	
6. Measurement and Evaluation				
a. Regularly review Taking Part survey to ensure DCMS has the evidence base it needs

Evidence & Analysis Unit	A PSA3 baseline report was published on 14 December 06.  A progress report was released in December 07 using final estimates from year two of the survey. 
Further Action: A consultation in spring 08 will  consider further survey questions relating to disability.  The next Taking Part annual report will be published in summer 08.  A PSA3 progress report will also be published in summer 08, with the final assessment in late 08.
	Evidence and statistics from the survey will be used to shape policy and functions of the ‘DCMS family’.	All	
7. Communication				
a. Ensure that regular channels of communication are set up with representatives from equality groups and that they are involved with the development of departmental equality schemes and policy development where appropriate

Deputy Directors (with support from internal diversity network)	Set up stakeholder groups (both cross-cutting and policy specific) involving representative organisations by April 2007

Discussion initiated at NDPB workshop (November 2007 and February 2008) on potential for increasing reach through combining efforts.

Further Action: We will use the Equality and Diversity Pages on the DCMS Website to provide feedback on what we have done to address comments on our Equality Scheme.
	Diverse groups are engaged in the design, implementation and evaluation of services.

Policies reflect the different needs of diverse groups of society	All	
b. Provide clear and consistent internal and external messages on equality and diversity 

Directors/Communications	Communications on diversity already reach staff via intranet and Departmental e-newsletter.
Lunchtime seminar on Equality Scheme held.  
Successful internal seminars held on a variety of equality and diversity issues, organised by internal diversity networks and Trade Union side.
Diversity and equality are included where appropriate in ministerial and senior official speeches and correspondence.

Further Action: Diversity Policy Team to develop core script on equality and diversity issues by end June 2008.
	Wider understanding of DCMS commitment to diversity	All	
				
c. Meet priority level 1 and 2 or AA compliance standard for our website by end of 2008

IS/ DCMS Communications Teams
	Our Policy is set out in the section on Access to Information and Services above.

Further Action: Review Progress Sept 2008	Standard met	All	
d. Promote access to information through a range of formats.

Equality and Diversity Team/ Communications Team
	Our Policy is set out in the section on Access to Information and Services above.

Further Action: Publish the Annual Report on Disability and DCMS Equality Scheme in Easy Read format	DCMS Annual Report on Disability, and updated Equality Scheme published March 2008	All	
8. Building Capacity				
a. Ensure that diversity is considered an integral part of Departmental capability and public value

Director, Strategy	Change Director acts as Diversity Champion and is a member of Diversity Champions’ network/recruitment subgroup.
Department recognised in Cabinet Office Peer Group assessment as in top five performing departments.  

	Board-level representation of diversity issues
	All	
9. NDPB Sponsorship				
a. Work with sponsored bodies to review collective approach to governance and recruitment: 
(i) Tap into new and more diverse networks to extend database of suitable candidates and use head hunters to find candidates from a wider range of backgrounds.

(ii) Consider feeder routes and development schemes which can help prepare people from diverse backgrounds for service on boards

(iii) Re-consider the approach to board remuneration across the DCMS family of bodies
(iv) Extend use of outreach and marketing to raise awareness of opportunities to serve on DCMS boards

(v) Explore scope for making the appointments process more accessible. 

Public Bodies Division/Sponsor Divisions	DCMS Advisory Board established for engagement at senior level on strategic issues which impact on DCMS public bodies.

Almost all sponsored bodies have now submitted 5-year board diversity plans, which set out how they will make progress towards our targets by redesigning roles, developing networks, using feeder routes etc.  DCMS will monitor the plans, draw examples of good practice from them, and bring NDPB representatives together to share ideas. 

We will look more closely at the case for reappointing board members for a second term.  We will ensure that the benefits of continuity are weighed against the benefits of giving more people the opportunity to serve on boards, and that reappointment does not become more or less automatic.

We have commissioned a study comparing DCMS remuneration rates and systems with the private sector and other parts of the public sector, which will produce recommendations in the autumn. We will then discuss the findings with Chairs and decide on further action.  
We are working up a communications strategy that will include marketing materials and features in appropriate publications.
Recent AB discussion on diversity has led to a sub-group led by HLF CEO looking specifically at diversity in Public Appointments and how the AB might contribute to improving that.	Appointments deliver full public value through board members who bring a variety of different perspectives and understand the wider public.
NDPBs to submit strategic plans by June 2007.  Public Bodies Division to review progress.
Application forms from a wide pool of candidates will be received.
Appointments deliver full public value through board members who bring a variety of perspectives and understand the wider public.
Candidates who could make a valuable contribution are not prevented from applying because they could not afford to sacrifice earnings to serve on a board.
Application forms from a wide pool of candidates will be received.
Potentially good candidates are not deterred from applying by narrow role specifications or by the application process itself. 	All	
b. Develop regular channels of communication with NDPBs on diversity to share good practice and meet diverse stakeholder needs

Permanent Secretary (with support from equality and diversity team)	We continue to share with our NDPBs information on legislative developments and good practice as it becomes available.  We have agreed a programme of three workshops, led by different NDPBs in collaboration with the DCMS Equality and Diversity team, to take place in 2008.  The first workshop, took place in early February 2008, and explored good practice in involving disabled people in developing the Equalities Scheme, and effective equality screening. 

Further action: Finalise arrangements for two further workshops on workforce diversity and Board diversity.	DCMS and its NDPBs share a vision of diversity and are jointly engaged in delivering it. 

DCMS well informed of its NDPBs’ performance and in a position to provide a comprehensive report by 2008.	All	
c. New funding agreements reflect the responsibilities, reporting and business planning elements of diversity

Public Bodies Division/Sponsor Divisions/Equality & Diversity Team	Most funding agreements include plans for encouraging more widespread enjoyment of culture, media and sport.  A risk assessment of each sponsored body is carried out, and if diversity/equality emerges as a medium- or high-risk area, that is reflected in the funding agreement
	Diversity becomes an integral part of NDPBs’ core business and of the performance management process.	All	
d. Explore our role in showing leadership in promoting equality issues 

Equality & Diversity Team
	We will continue to work with and share good practice on equality issues with our NDPBs.

Further action: Discussion on diversity at NDPB CEO workshop March 2008.

NDPB workshop on workforce diversity to be held in June 2007; and plan further workshops on supporting Board diversity and date collection.
	NDPBs indicate that DCMS shows leadership on equality and diversity issues.		
10. Focused action for disabled people			All	
a. Involve disabled people in the development of Departmental policies and practices

Equality and Diversity Team	As a priority, we are in the process of working with an external consultancy and a disabled consultant in drawing up our terms of reference for forming a disability reference group for the department.  This will be finalised by the end of March 2008.
In undertaking work on Equality Impact Assessment, our policy divisions involve disabled stakeholders during the consultation process, deciding who within their sectors are the most appropriate groups to consult.  Examples are included in our Equality Scheme.

Further action: A priority for the reference group once it is formed, will be to review  the Taking part survey-on barriers to participation. 
	Department’s policies and practices reflect the needs and priorities of disabled people.	Disability	
b. Assess the impact of Departmental policies and practices on equality for disabled people

Divisions (with support from Equality and Diversity Team)
	See 10a.	Department’s policies and practices reflect the needs and priorities of disabled people	Disability	
c. Eliminate unlawful disability discrimination

Human and Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team)	We continue to work with DWP as part of the ‘Positive About Disabled People – Two Ticks Symbol and have developed a good working relationship with them.  
We also work closely with the Employer’s Forum on Disability (EFD) to seek advice on specific disability issues.  We have hosted successful breakfast briefings for the EFD and will be doing this again in early 2008.
We continue to work closely with other cross government departments to share best practice. 
We have recently been working with Shift to highlight Mental Health awareness within the Department and provided guidance to managers.
Unfortunately we were unable to take part in the Disability Standard this year. 

Further Action: Participation in Employer’s Forum for Disability Standard in 200/9.
	Department’s policies and practices reflect our legal requirements.

Benchmarking against other Public Sector Organisations.

New entrants will receive training within 6 weeks of starting.	Disability	
d. Eliminate harassment of disabled people that is related to their disabilities

Human and Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team)	We are reviewing our diversity training, including disability training which will be completed by Spring /Summer 2008.
The Department has reviewed its policy on ‘reasonable adjustments’ for staff to ensure that we’re dealing with staff quickly and efficiently.  In May 2008 we re-tendered our contract for Occupational Health Assessments.  Within that contract we will be revising response rates for providing visits to staff and follow up work. - ongoing
	Monitor and improve take up of training.

Improved response and satisfaction rate.
Improve satisfaction in key diversity areas	Disability	
e. Promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people

Human and Business Resources
(Learning and Development Team, Headof Recruitment)	We provide positive action training for disabled staff which is ongoing.  The Department also provides mentoring and coaching for all staff, including disabled staff.

The Fast Stream scheme will be promoted throughout the department to under-represented groups and progress assessed in Spring 2008	Representation take-up by under-represented groups and take up of positive action training opportunities.	Disability	
f. Take steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities, even where that involves treating disabled people more favourably

Human and Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team with support from Recruitment Team)
	Re-accredited with Two-Ticks Symbol in November 2008.  Guarantees interview for applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy.	Increased number of applicants/successes from under-represented groups.	Disability	
g. Promote positive attitudes towards disabled people

Human and Business Resources
(Performance Management, Interchange & Diversity Team with support from Learning & Development Team)	We provide disability awareness training to all staff.  A review is currently taking place which will be completed by Spring/Summer 2008.	Improved training for all staff.	Disability	
h. Encourage participation by disabled persons in public life

Public Bodies Division	The department is researching ways of targeting disabled persons to increase our database of contacts and raise awareness about public appointment opportunities. 	Applications from disabled persons will be received and board membership will be representative of the disabled community.	Disability	
i. Gather information on the effect of the Department’s policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of the Department’s disabled employees

Human and Business Resources	Around 50% of our staff have completed our internal monitoring scheme on ethnicity, gender, disability and sexual orientation.  We want to increase this percentage and will be undertaking work in Spring 2008 to improve staff declarations.
	Improved and meaningful statistics.	Disability	
j. Ensure that the department is accessible to disabled people and that disabled colleagues are consulted on a regular basis about their changing requirements as and when appropriate 

Facilities Management and Human and Business Resources 	The department undertook an extensive refurbishment programme.  This included and improved facilities for disabled staff.   
We have reviewed and improved our management and delivery times of reasonable adjustments for staff.  - ongoing 
We are currently re-tendering for our Occupational Health Provider and will be looking to improve the Service Level Agreement with them.  The process should be completed by Spring/Summer 2008.	Disabled colleagues are able to perform their jobs to the highest standard possible.

Disabled colleagues are able to perform their day to day tasks, attend meetings and other events and enables them to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities	Disability	
k. Gather information on the extent to which the DCMS services and functions take account of the needs of disabled people

Equality and Diversity Team	A detailed annual report Taking Part was published in Spring 2007.

Establishment of diversity forum with NDPBs will facilitate exchange of information on particular services	Evidence and statistics on the involvement of disabled people will be used to shape policy and functions of the ‘DCMS family’.	Disability	
l. Review on a regular basis the effectiveness of proposed steps 

Equality and Diversity Team	By April 2008 publish first annual report on the steps we have taken towards the fulfilment of the general duties, the results of information gathering and the use we have made of that information.	The department is legally complying with equality legislation.

Living documents which steer the way we operate as a department  	Disability	
m. Explore our role as a leader and champion in promoting disability equality

Equality and Diversity Team
	The DCMS Board has agreed to the formation of a Disability Reference Group to advise them on the department’s performance on disability issues.

Further Action:  Reference Group to report back to Board on progress in Autumn  2008.		Disability	
11.  Focused Action for Gender				
a. Eliminate unlawful sex discrimination and any harassment which is related to a person’s sex.  

Equality and Diversity Team and Human and Business Resources	Equality and diversity training has been reviewed, and pilots for a new structure of training are planned for April 2008.
	New entrants to the department will undergo diversity training within six weeks of joining and the department’s policies and practices will reflect our legal requirements.	Gender	
b. Explicit consideration of sex discrimination issues as part of SCS recruitment process.

Human and Business Resources
(( Interchange & Diversity Team)	Targeted communication of vacancy notices to cross-Whitehall diversity networks
Panels for 2008 SCS recruitment exercise include an external assessor	37% of women should be represented at SCS level by 2008	Gender	
c. Take action to address any gender issues resulting from analysis of Staff Opinion Survey 

Human & Business Resources
( Interchange & Diversity Team)	The survey was analysed in Sept 2007.  Employment monitoring was extended to include sexuality, faith and gender identity.  Greater promotion of learning and development opportunities to under-represented groups and promotion of mediation skills training	Improved satisfaction in key diversity areas in 2009 Staff Survey		
d. Monitor pay differentials  and assess if there is any evidence of bias in the department by gender, disability and ethnicity in line with Cabinet Office and PCS guidance

Human and Business Resources
(Pay Team)	A final equal pay audit report was published in summer 2007 and informed the HMT pay settlement for 2007. The review was conducted with full participation of the trade unions. 
Further Action: We intend to conduct a similar review every two years. 
	Reduce any exposure on potential equal pay issues 	Gender, Disability, Race	
e. Ensure that flexible workers are not excluded from mainstream activities as a result of their working patterns

IS Unit	Flexible workers needs were highlighted in the Equality Impact Assessment for the DCMS Transformation Programme.	Staff who request to work at home as part of their working week feel supported and are able to easily access files and emails from the office	Gender	
f. Assess the impact of Departmental policies and practices on gender equality 

Divisions (with support from Equality and Diversity Team)
	Equality impact assessment tool made available in Jan 2007 and training in its use provided from March 2007	Department’s policies and practices reflect the needs and priorities of men and women	Gender	
g. Increase representation of women in our public appointments to 50%

Public Bodies Division	We are making progress.  The tasks set out above in section 5 form a strategy to move us nearer to hitting this target	Achievement of the target 	Gender	

Annex B: DCMS Agencies and Sponsored Bodies
The Department is unusual in that a large percentage of its executive functions are delivered by its Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and other sponsored bodies. The bodies listed below are all subject to the general duty on Race. In addition those subject to the specific duties are indicated below.

Specific Duty:	Race	Disability	Gender	
Alcohol Education and Research Council	N	N	N	
Arts Council England	N	Y	Y	
Big Lottery Fund	N	Y	N	
British Broadcasting Corporation *	Y	Y	Y	
British Library	N	Y	Y	
British Museum	N	Y	Y	
British Tourist Authority and English Tourist Board (known as VisitBritain)	N	N	Y	
Channel Four Television Corporation *	Y	Y	Y	
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE)	N	N	N	
Football Licensing Authority	N	N	N	
Film Council (known as UK Film Council)	N	Y	Y	
Gambling Commission	N	N	N	
Geffrye Museum	N	N	N	
Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (known as English Heritage)	N	Y	N	
Historic Royal Palaces Trust	N	Y	Y	
Horniman Museum	N	Y	Y	
Imperial War Museum	N	Y	Y	
Millennium Commission	N	N	N	
Museum, Archives and Libraries Council (MLA)	N	Y	Y	
Museum of London	N	Y	Y	
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester	N	Y	Y	
National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)	N	N	N	
National Gallery	N	Y	Y	
National Heritage Memorial Fund	N	N	N	
National Lottery Commission	N	Y	Y	
National Maritime Museum	N	Y	Y	
National Museum of Science and Industry	N	Y	Y	
National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (known as National Museums Liverpool)	N	N	N	
National Portrait Gallery	N	Y	Y	
National History Museum	N	Y	Y	
Ofcom	Y	Y	Y	
Olympic Delivery Authority	Y	Y	Y	
Registrar of Public Lending Right	N	N	N	
Royal Armouries	N	N	N	
Sianel Pedwar Cymru (Welsh Fourth Channel Authority) *	Y	Y	Y	
Sir John Soane’s Museum	N	Y	Y	
Sport England	N	Y	N	
Tate Gallery	N	Y	Y	
UK Sports Council (known as UK Sport)	N	Y	Y	
Victoria and Albert Museum	N	Y	Y	
Wallace Collection	N	Y	Y	

Annex C: Our Public Service Agreement Targets
Our Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets, agreed with the Treasury for 2005 - 2008, are:
PSA1 (in support of DCMS strategic objective on Children and Young People)
To enhance the take-up of sporting opportunities by 5-16 year olds so that the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum from 25% in 2002 to 75% by 2006 and 85% by 2008 (joint target with the Department for Education and Skills.) 	
PSA2 (in support of DCMS strategic objective on Children and Young People)
To halt the year-on-year increase in obesity among children under 11 years by 2010, as part of the broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole (joint target with the DfES and Department of Health.) 	
PSA3 (in support of DCMS strategic objective on Communities)
To increase the take-up of cultural and sporting opportunities by people aged 16 and above from priority groups by 2008. 
(Priority groups include people from black or ethnic minority groups, as well as other groups with a history of lower participation in cultural and sporting opportunities such as those with a physical or mental disability and those in socio-economic groups C2, D and E. For sport, women are also defined as a priority group.)	
PSA4 (in support of DCMS strategic objective on the Economy)
To improve the productivity of the tourism, creative and leisure industries.	
Efficiency PSA (in support of DCMS strategic objective on Modernising Delivery)
To achieve at least 2.5% efficiency savings on our Departmental expenditure limit and Local Authority spending on leisure and culture services (2005 - 2008).	

Activities in support of any of the PSA targets may have race equality implications, but the projects most explicitly directed at increasing participation by priority groups are in connection with PSA3 (Communities). As set out in the DCMS Business Plan 2006-07, Director General for Culture, Creativity and Economy Andrew Ramsay is the senior responsible owner for PSA3. 
Annex D: Involving People with Learning Disability: Case Study
We commissioned the charity “Speaking Up” a charity working with people with learning disabilities to arrange a workshop with people with learning disabilities to explore with them their key issues for our equality scheme, focusing on participation in our sectors.  This provided valuable input in helping us to identify the needs of people with learning disabilities. 
Speaking Up enables people who experience learning difficulties, mental ill health or other disabilities to find their voice and shape their own lives. Their “Cambridgeshire Parliament” enables people with learning difficulties to challenge key decision makers to make services better. It carries out various campaign on a range of subjects from banking to bus passes, from day support to direct payments. (Web link: http://www.speakingup.org/).
Our workshop took place in Cambridge.  A group of eight participants was of mixed gender, race, and age, with a range of abilities either working full time, part time or volunteering at Speaking Up. Some participants were involved in the Speaking Up Parliamentary project.  All lived in the Cambridgeshire area
Structure of the day
An Easy Read PowerPoint presentation was used to outline the aims and functions of the Department, our Equality Scheme and our desire to involve disabled people in developing our scheme and expose the issues that are important to them.   A range of activities took place to make the workshop interesting, interactive, and ensure that each person’s view was captured accurately for examples, posters and pictures representing our sectors.  The facilitator explored each person’s experience of leisure and sport activities and participants wrote on the posters.  With the help of stickers giving different types of reasons, the group was invited to explore the levers and barriers to participation.  In the last exercise each person was asked to consider the discussions of the day and write a message to DCMS in the form of a poster, where they had a choice of drawing and or/ writing. They were encouraged to be as creative as possible. 
The group welcomed the workshop and reported that they now felt more aware of the department's activities and purpose. The key issues which were reported included the following:
Transport- Many members of the group lived in supported living accommodation, often situated in rural areas, and commented that most cultural and leisure activities took place in town. Good transport was essential to participating in activities. However, they were not always able to travel without support or group transport was not always available.
Access- Some people wanted or relied upon extra support such as a helper to help them to participate or keep them company. This limited access to the amount of activities they could participate in. It also excluded them from the wider community as they tended to socialise only with other people with learning disabilities where the right facilities were available. 
Information- It was suggested that a central leaflet listing all the sports and leisure activities that took place in their area should be published locally e.g. a local newspaper.  The leaflet should be accessible, both in terms of format (i.e. easy read, audio) and should be available in a place they regularly accessed. 
Funding- One of the main reasons given for stopping attendance at a leisure activity was because funding had stopped – either for the activity itself or for transport activity.
Affordability- The cost of attending an activity was often seen as a barrier to participation, for example, fees for swimming or payment for a taxi to get in to town.  Some of the comments on the posters produced were: “It would help if it were cheaper” by a female participant who went swimming twice in one day because of the limited facilities that were available to her, and “There needs to be more money for healthy living things [to] support people [keeping healthy]” by another female participant wheelchair user with high support needs.
Respect and understanding- Participants wanted to be listened to as individuals, not as a group of disabled people; they had different needs and different types of disability. They also wanted to be treated with more respect. 
Support- Some of the participants lacked confidence in their ability to participate in sports and leisure activities. 

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