Equality scheme

and action plan

 Contents

Foreword 2
Summary 3
Statement of commitment
The legal context
Status of the scheme and reporting
Coverage and scope
Involvement and consultation
Action plan – five strategic themes 6
1 Leadership and influencing
Published in 2008 by the 2 People in places and spaces
Commission for Architecture
and the Built Environment. 3 Strengthening inclusion
Graphic design: Duffy 4 Representativeness
Although every care has been
taken in preparing this report, no 5 Human resources and management
responsibility or liability will be
accepted by CABE, its employees, Equality scheme action plan 8
agents or advisors for its accuracy
or completeness. The equality report 17
All rights reserved. No part of this CABE – what we do
publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, copied CABE activities
or transmitted without the prior
written consent of the publisher Approach to the scheme
except that the material may be
photocopied for non-commercial Developing the scheme
purposes without permission from
the publisher. Findings from the process
CABE is the government’s advisor
on architecture, urban design and
Appendix 25
public space. As a public body, we
encourage policymakers to create
Detail of the legal context for the
places that work for people. We equality scheme
help local planners apply national
design policy and advise
developers and architects,
persuading them to put people’s
needs first. We show public sector
clients how to commission
buildings that meet the needs of
their users. And we seek to inspire
the public to demand more from
their buildings and spaces.
Advising, influencing and inspiring,
we work to create well-designed,
welcoming places.

This publication is
available in alternative
formats on request
from the publisher.
Foreword
At CABE, we are committed to integrating equality
and inclusion into all our activities. As a public body,
we have a legal duty to promote equality, and this
equality scheme and action plan explain how we
will do that. But I want CABE’s equality scheme
to do more, to set our sights well beyond our legal
obligations. I want us to lead the field in promoting
equality in the design, management and maintenance
of the built environment.
We know that realising equality is as vital for the
people who work in the sector as for the people
who use the built environment. People’s health and
well-being, safety and sense of belonging are all
affected by the environment around them. Not being
able to access that environment, or feel part of it, is
unacceptable. So knowing that it was designed and
is managed with someone ‘like me’ in mind is critical.
Successful placemaking embodies equity of access
and provision. It will be further helped if we have
professions that are as inclusive and diverse as
the communities they serve. We must ensure the
removal of any barriers that prevent people from
joining and progressing in the built environment
professions whoever they are.
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry (1999) pointed out
that institutions can discriminate; that whole systems
can exclude and marginalise – whether it’s education,
transport, planning – so they end up working to the
advantage of some groups and the disadvantage of
others. It is important that we listen especially to those
who are seldom heard; who experience disadvantage
and discrimination. So we have to ask: who designs
and manages the built environment? Who do clients
represent? Who do designers have in mind when they
create towns and cities, buildings and public spaces?
Who benefits from design decisions and who does
not? Who hasn’t expressed an opinion and why not?
CABE chose to produce an equality scheme in
early 2007 and the process of creating this scheme
has been as important as the finished product.
CABE’s staff, the organisation’s inclusive environment
group, our commissioners and other members of the
CABE family have been consulted along the way.
This scheme marks the beginning of a process of
change. As we track our successes and failures, I
expect the scheme to evolve. What I do not expect
to change is our commitment to improving the way
in which equality is dealt with in the design of the
buildings and places that we all share.
Richard Simmons
Chief executive, CABE
Foreword 2
Summary

CABE’s equality scheme has been drawn up people in public life. A three-year equality action
with involvement of managers, staff, commissioners plan will, when completed, ensure compliance and
and CABE’s advisory panel, the inclusive environment best practice.
group. It has involved meetings with partner
The equality action plan focuses on CABE providing
organisations and members of the ‘CABE family’
strong and clear leadership on equality and inclusion,
network. The process was guided by a leadership
and using its influencing role to promote the equality
plan approved by the senior management team.
and inclusion agenda.
There is a high level of awareness among individual
CABE needs to expand the representativeness of
CABE staff and family of disability access and some
its staff, panel members and use of experts. Its priority
aspects of the inclusion agenda. This awareness
is to increase the number of black and minority ethnic
needs to be rendered corporate and consistent,
people, disabled people and people from different
and broadened to cover other aspects of disability,
social backgrounds on its staff and panels, as well
other equality strands, and connected up to the
as the number of women on its panels.
sustainability and cohesive communities agendas.
CABE can continue to take a leading role in the
CABE needs to strengthen its procedures on a
promotion of inclusive design through continued
number of aspects of the equality public duties
leadership and by influencing its partners,
(see opposite), mainly on its collection of data and
stakeholders and the wider built environment
active promotion of good relations between different
professions.
racial groups, positive attitudes towards disabled
people, and encouraging the participation of disabled

Summary 3
Statement of commitment
CABE is committed to promoting diversity, equality
and inclusion and ensuring they are at the heart of
our role as champion of good design.
We aspire to be an employer of choice noted for
our progressive equality practice.
We want CABE to lead the field in equality and
inclusion and be an exemplar of excellent practice.
The legal context
CABE must have regard to national policies
and advice relating to equality, inclusion and
sustainable development, and is now subject
to the statutory equality duties under the Race
Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Disability
Discrimination Act 2005 and the Equality Act 2006.
Summary of public duties
Race
– eliminate discrimination
– promote equality of opportunity between
racial groups
– promote good relations between racial groups.
Plus:
– monitor staff in post and applicants for employment
– monitor training, promotion and performance
assessment
– monitor grievances and disciplinaries
– monitor exit from employment.
Gender
– eliminate discrimination and harassment
– promote equal opportunities between women
and men.
Plus:
– address causes of any pay gap (including the
impact of child and dependent caring)
– address occupational segregation
– address violence against women
– monitor as above under race.
Disability
– eliminate discrimination
– promote equal opportunity
– eliminate disability related harassment
– promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
– encourage participation by disabled people in
public life.
Plus:
– monitoring as above under race
– ensure the involvement of and consultation with
disabled people in the drafting of this scheme.
CABE also has a duty to publish a race, gender and
disability equality scheme and a three-year action plan,
a programme of equality impact assessments and to
report back annually on progress.
(See Appendix 1 for more detail on the legal context)
Status of the scheme and reporting
The equality scheme and action plan constitute
official CABE policy, and the chief executive, senior
management team and commissioners are responsible
for its implementation.
The chief executive, on behalf of CABE
commissioners, is responsible for progressing,
monitoring, reviewing the scheme and action plan.
The chief executive will be responsible for conducting
an annual review of the progress each directorate has
made in implementing the action plan. A report will be
presented to the commissioners stating progress to
date and making recommendations to adjust the
programme to ensure that over a three-year period
all the actions have been addressed and completed
successfully. A published report on the scheme and
action plan will form part of the annual review.
Publishing the scheme
CABE will publish this equality scheme and three-year
action plan on the CABE website, www.cabe.org.uk.
Summary 4
Coverage and scope
The CABE equality scheme covers race, gender,
disability as well as sexuality, age, social background
and religion. It also takes into account other factors
that contribute to exclusion and inequality such as
poverty, health and well-being and safety in public
spaces – all issues relevant to the built environment
and spaces.
Involvement and consultation
The disability equality duty introduced a legal
requirement for CABE, as a public authority, to
develop arrangements, mechanisms and policies
to enable the involvement of disabled people and
their representative organisations in the decisions,
policymaking and service planning processes. The
intention of these measures is to ‘…encourage the
participation of disabled people in public life and
take into account and anticipate their current and
future needs’.
CABE’s unique remit concerning the development
of inclusive design principles and guidance on what
makes ‘good design’ requires concerted action on
mainstreaming practice into all of its key activities,
services and relationships.
In 2006, CABE established an inclusive environment
group as a non-executive advisory committee to
champion inclusive design and to provide expert
advice as a critical friend to the CABE board of
commissioners.
The inclusive environment group was involved in and
consulted on the development of the equality scheme
at three separate events between September 2007
and February 2008.
In addition, while gathering information and
intelligence on all CABE’s activities and influencing
functions, we explored to what degree they included
consultation and involvement of disabled people.
The remit and role of the inclusive environment
group has been reviewed by Equality Works Limited,
and the recommendations included in this equality
scheme action plan. In response to the findings of this
report, CABE is setting up a new ‘inclusion by design’
group to advise on all aspects of inclusive design
and equality.
Summary 5
Action plan –
five strategic themes
To become the leading government agency on
equality, inclusion and diversity – an exemplar of good
practice, we are committed to realising our action plan
over the period 2008-2011. This commitment will
mean a significant change in how we do what we do,
and in some cases, what we do and who does it. We
will dedicate the necessary energy, imagination and
resources to achieve our goal.
The action plan has five themes. Outcomes will
be evidenced by completing equality impact
assessments.
1 Leadership and influencing
– talking about equality and inclusion with inspiration
and confidence and supporting others to do likewise
– defining what CABE means by equality, inclusion
and cohesion in relation to the built environment
– leading more pro-actively on these issues through
our influencing role and through CABE activities
– making connections between this agenda and
sustainability, environmental equity and climate
change
– integrating these issues into all education and
learning activities
– promoting equality and inclusion through our
partners, and through our commissioning and
procurement processes.
Outcomes
(i) Publish CABE’s commitment to equality and
the relevance of equality, inclusion and cohesive
communities to CABE’s activities.
By Autumn 2008 – started
(ii) 100 per cent CABE staff and family understand
CABE’s commitment to equality, and the link
between equality and the built environment.
By Spring 2010
2 People in places and spaces
– depicting the breadth and sociability of people using
places and spaces. (By sociability, we mean the way
people are together.)
– taking into account how different groups experience
and use the built environment
– using illustrations (both visual and case studies)
that promote diversity and inclusion.
Outcomes
(i) Define and vary the representation of people in
places and spaces.
By Spring 2009 – started
(ii) Illustrate how different groups experience the
environment.
By Spring 2009 – started
3 Strengthening inclusion
– promoting inclusive design as good design
– widening consultation with and involvement of
disabled people and other marginalised groups
in the way CABE performs its activities
– defining and promoting inclusivity and inclusive
design.
Outcomes
(i) 100 per cent of CABE projects include appropriate
involvement and consultation with disabled people.
By Spring 2010
(ii) 100 per cent of CABE projects include appropriate
involvement and consultation with other
minority/marginalised communities.
By Spring 2010
Action plan – five strategic themes 6
4 Representativeness
– broadening the diversity of CABE’s staff, family
and networks
– articulating the benefits of diversity
– promoting the findings of the report Minority Ethnic
Representation in the Built Environment
Professions (MERiBEP).
Outcomes
(i) CABE collects and publishes monitoring data on
employment and CABE family, in line with public
duties; sets targets, and sets out its plan for
widening the diversity of its staff and family.
By Spring 2010 – started
(ii) CABE completes implementation of a plan to
act on the findings of the MERiBEP report.
By Spring 2010
5 Human resources and management
– being known as an employer of choice on equality
and inclusion issues
– promoting equitable employment practices
– having a style and standard of management
compatible with equality and diversity.
Outcomes
(i) CABE agrees a set of management values, and
integrates equality into its line management
processes.
By Spring 2009
(ii) All policies contain relevant references to equality
and diversity.
By Spring 2009
Action plan – five strategic themes 7
Equality scheme action plan

1 Leadership and influencing

1.1 Leadership and definition

Action Public duty Who By when

We will publish a corporate strategy that All Chief executive Year 1
is strong, clear and coherent on equality (2008/09)
and inclusion.
We will produce a briefing paper that explains the All Inclusive Year 1
relationship between equality, inclusion and the Race design advisor
built environment, and defines our understanding
of cohesive communities.
We will develop an advocacy toolkit on equality
and inclusion for use by our teams.
We will hold an event for CABE family and clients All Director, Year 1
to launch the equality scheme and briefing. campaigns
and education
We will revise and re-launch our equality and All HR manager Year 2
diversity policy. (2009/10)
We will produce a training and development plan All Inclusive Year 2
on equality and inclusion for staff, managers and design advisor
CABE family.
We will publish a position paper on the All Inclusive Year 3
connections between environmental equity, design advisor (2010/11)
climate change, sustainability and equality. Director,
knowledge
and skills

Equality scheme action plan 8

1.1 Leadership and definition (continued)

Action Public duty Who By when

We will place responsibility for the monitoring All Chief executive Year 1
of this equality scheme with the operations
committee of commissioners.
We will produce a tool-kit for conducting equality All Inclusive Year 1
impact assessments. design advisor
We will start a programme of priority equality
impact assessments.
We will publish this equality scheme on the CABE All Director, Year 1
website, and promote it through other media. campaigns
and education
We will form a group of staff from within each All Directors Year 1
of CABE’s functions to support, advise on and
monitor this action plan.
We will promote good employment practice by: Sexuality HR manager Year 1
– joining Stonewall’s diversity champions scheme Disability
– complying with the ‘two-ticks’ disability standard All
– gaining Investors in People accreditation.
(high priority)
We will set up a project ‘green light’ system All Directors Year 2
to ensure that equality and inclusion are part HR manager
of the scoping of all project plans and train staff
to integrate equality and inclusion into their
project methodology.
We will strengthen all our procurement and All Director of Year 3
commissioning processes to promote equality, resources
inclusion and diversity.

Equality scheme action plan 9

1.2 Influencing partners and stakeholders

Action Public duty Who By when

We will set up a programme of year-on-year action Race Chief executive Year 1
on the findings of the research Minority Ethnic Gender Director,
Representation in the Built Environment knowledge
Professions. and skills
Skills team
Inclusive
design advisor

1.3 Influencing through education, skills and research

Action Public duty Who By when

We will draft guidelines to ensure that every Disability Directors, Year 1
CABE event is inclusive. All knowledge
We will monitor participation in our education and skills
events and use imaginative positive action ideas Enabling
to make it more diverse. Skills team
We will use the urban design summer school
2009 to pilot the above.
We will conduct an equality impact assessment
on the urban design summer school.
We will draft guidance for the commissioning All Head of research Year 2
of case studies across CABE’s functions.
We will draw on a more diverse pool of All Head of research Year 3
researchers and explore how our research activities
can advance the equality and inclusion objectives
of CABE.

Equality scheme action plan 10

2 People in places and spaces
Action Public duty Who By when
We will conduct an equality impact assessment Disability Director, Year 1
on the redesigned website. All campaigns
and education
We will include in the redrafted CABE identity All Director, Year 1
guidelines guidance on the depicting and campaigns
descriptions of diverse people in places and education
and spaces. Inclusive
design advisor
We will increase the diversity of our editors’, All Director, Year 1
photographers’ and graphic designers’ panels, campaigns
against targets. and education
We will conduct an equality impact assessment All Director, Year 2
on CABE publications, graphics and photography. campaigns
and education

3 Strengthening inclusion
Action Public duty Who By when
We will set up the inclusion by design group to Disability Chief executive Year 1
advise CABE. All Inclusive
design advisor
We will draw up a database of accessible venues Disability Director, Year 1
for CABE events. campaigns
and education
We will ensure that all those projects which Disability Inclusive Year 3
come to CABE through design review, enabling, All design advisor
education programmes, regional activities, work
with and through partners, website and
publications – include consultation with and
involvement of disabled people and other
marginalised groups.
We will enhance CABE’s influencing role by Disability Directors Year 3
developing good practice guidance for staff All
and others on consultation and involvement of
disabled people and other marginalised groups.
We will underpin this with training and support.

Equality scheme action plan 11

4 Representativeness
Action Public duty Who By when
We will draw up a plan to widen the diversity All Chief executive Year 1
of the staff and CABE family. The strategy Directors
will include the setting of targets over a Inclusive
three-year period. design advisor
We will revise this action plan annually in the All Senior Year 1
light of the monitoring data. management
team
Inclusive
design advisor
We will set up a system for monitoring the social All HR manager Year 1
identity of our commissioners, staff, and CABE
family members in line with, and beyond the
requirements of the public duties.
We will revise the contracts of employment/ All HR manager Year 3
engagement for all staff and members of the
CABE family to include their contractual
obligations on equality and inclusion.

Equality scheme action plan 12

5 Human resources and management
Action Public duty Who By when
We will enhance our line management scheme, All HR Year 1
setting standards for line management and manager
integrating equality into line management process.
We will define our preferred style of management
in line with our values and conducive to the
promotion of equality.
We will train line managers to integrate equality
into their activities.
We will review our portfolio of HR policies, adding All HR Year 2
to them where necessary, to ensure they are manager
consistent in style and approach, and strengthen
their equalities and inclusion content.
We will re-launch our HR policies and train
staff and managers in their application.
We will conduct an equality impact assessment on All HR Year 2
the current recruitment and selection procedures manager
and outcomes across staff and the CABE family.
We will set up an informal support service for staff All HR Year 3
– separate from HR. manager
We will provide evidence that our job evaluation Gender HR Year 3
scheme, rewards system and remuneration manager
system promote equal pay between women and
men and are bias free on all equality strands.

Equality scheme action plan 13

6 CABE activities
6.1 Design review
Action Public duty Who By when
We will pilot with one regional panel a project Disability Director, Year 1
to broaden the diversity of panel members. All design review
We will also strengthen the panel’s expectations Head of
of schemes’ consultation with and involvement design review
of disabled people. programmes
We will conduct a training session to build the All Director Year 1
capacity of design review panel members to
promote equality, inclusion and cohesive
communities.
We will use the position paper and advocacy tool All Directors, Year 1
to build equality and inclusion more explicitly into knowledge and
the design review process. skills and design
review, plus head
of research
We will conduct an equality impact assessment All Director, design Year 2
on the design review function. review

Equality scheme action plan 14

6.2 Enabling

Action Public duty Who By when

We will broaden representativeness of the All Director, enabling Year 1
enabling panel.
We will set equality targets for the panel.
We will amend the enablers’ handbook to include
content on equality and inclusion.
Enabling and CABE Space All Directors, CABE Year 1
We will publish a best practice paper on equality, Space and
inclusion and cohesive communities for enablers enabling
and CABE Space enablers.
Enabling and CABE Space All Director, enabling Year 1
We will build the capacity of enablers and Disability Skills team
CABE Space enablers to mainstream equality
and inclusion into their role, based on the best
practice paper.
Enabling and CABE Space and skills All Director, enabling Year 1
We will survey enablers on their preferred way Skills team
of doing professional development and design
appropriate learning materials and tools.
We will conduct an equality impact assessment All Director, enabling Year 2
on the enabling function.
We will explore ways to promote the equality All Director, enabling Year 3
and inclusion agenda with other partners in
the enabling process, eg local authorities.

Equality scheme action plan 15

6.3 CABE Space

Action Public duty Who By when

We will make a presentation to our advisory All Director, Year 1
committee on the connections between equality, CABE Space
inclusion and CABE Space activities.
We will integrate equality and inclusion into the Race Director, Year 1
setting up of the new Young SpaceShapers initiative. Disability CABE Space
All
CABE Space and enabling All Directors, Year 1
We will publish a best practice paper on equality, CABE Space
inclusion and cohesive communities for enablers and enabling
(see above).
We will build the capacity of enablers to
mainstream equality and inclusion into their role
based on the best practiced paper (see above).
CABE Space and research and futures All Director, Year 1
We will pilot a process to integrate equality and CABE Space
inclusion into projects – using the ‘Not so green Head of research
and pleasant…’ project as a pilot.
We will broaden representativeness of the panel All Head of public Year 1
We will set equality targets for the panel. space
We will conduct an equality impact assessment All Director, Year 2
on CABE Space. CABE Space

6.4 Regional programmes

Action Public duty Who By when

We will conduct an equality impact assessment on All Director, Year 1
two architecture and built environment centres as an knowledge
action learning project with the Architecture Centre and skills
Network. Head of regional
programmes
We will devise a programme of support and All Head of regional Year 2
capacity building with regional representatives programmes
and enablers on equality, inclusion, and cohesive
communities.

Equality scheme action plan 16

The equality report
CABE – what we do
CABE is the government’s advisor on architecture,
design and public space. It is the centre of excellence
for advice to clients, decision makers, professionals
and the public on how to create well-designed
buildings, places and spaces.
CABE:
– encourages people to understand, learn about
and value great architecture, landscape architecture
and urban design
– raises the standard of the design, management
and maintenance of the whole built environment.
CABE wants to be known for:
– Inspiration Being at the cutting edge, setting
the agenda and showing leadership
– Integrity Providing well informed, honest expertise
based on knowledge and evidence
– Independence Having an independent voice
– Impact Working where the risk is highest and the
impact is greatest.
CABE’s thinking and advice is based on observation
of practice and research into future possibilities.
It brings together the people who shape the built
environment to work in the public interest. It has
unique access to what is happening on the ground
through its programmes and the CABE family network.
CABE wants people who make decisions about the
design, management and maintenance of the built
environment to recognise, prioritise and choose
good design. CABE wants to achieve:
– Great places for people, built on excellent,
creative architecture, landscape architecture
and urban design. Places that are sustainable,
inclusive, well managed and maintained. Places
that improve health and well-being.
– Greater design knowledge and skills amongst
decision makers and professionals, developing and
sharing CABE’s knowledge, and working with others
to improve and develop built environment education,
especially for young people.
CABE activities
Design review
Design review is a free advice service provided
by CABE, offering expert independent assessments
of design schemes at an early stage. This includes
schemes of national importance or which have a
significant impact on the local environment, or set
standards for future development.
Relevance of equalities to design review
– In commenting on design, CABE considers issues
that will make proposals well-designed places for
everyone – those who use the buildings, those
who visit, and the surrounding community
– Discussions take into account the nature and make
up of the communities in the location of the scheme
and how successfully social cohesion is a
consideration in the new scheme
– CABE’s design review panel is made up of
experts from a wide variety of built environment
backgrounds and the specialist knowledge of
many panel members can encompass a variety
of equality issues.
Enabling
CABE’s enabling programme provides free advice
direct to public sector organisations that are
commissioning new buildings, masterplans and
urban frameworks. Advice is provided by leading
professionals working as consultants for CABE,
as well as by CABE staff.
Relevance of equality to enabling
Projects where enablers give advice are nearly
always part of publicly funded building programmes
devised to help tackle need and inequality. Sometimes
the implementation of these programmes can raise
challenges, particularly within large-scale regeneration
programmes. Agencies are often faced with the
dilemmas of trying to revive the economic fortunes and
physical environments of whole areas by making them
attractive to a wider social spectrum (ie more affluent,
economically active, usually younger people) whilst
trying to avoid marginalising existing residents.
Enabling also promotes best practice in other ways.
CABE publishes guidance, for example, on what
makes a well-designed building, housing development
or urban masterplan, as well as best practice case
studies and briefings.
The equality report 17
CABE Space
The CABE Space enabling team provides expert
support and advice for clients working on a variety
of public realm projects and schemes. Assistance
is given at a range of levels from strategic planning
to specific streets and squares. The management
and best practice team produces guidance to both
professionals and community groups working to
improve the way public spaces are planned,
designed, managed and maintained.
Relevance of equalities to CABE Space
Guidance and support is given to encourage spaces
and networks of spaces that are welcoming and
functional for everyone. Resources are targeted
at deprived areas, where the impact of the quality,
quantity and accessibility of public space on local
people is felt the most. The involvement of local
people in public space projects can ensure that
the space meets the diverse needs of its users.
Knowledge and skills
The knowledge and skills team consists of:
– regional programmes, working with CABE’s
regional partners to build capacity to deliver good
design – for example, supporting 19 architecture
and built environment centres across the country
– research and futures, building the evidence
to prove the need for, and benefits of, a better
designed built environment, for example, developing
an online resource to help cities make decisions
about sustainable development goals
– skills, developing the learning of those working
in the sector – for example, the annual CABE
urban design summer school.
Relevance of equality to knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills holds the brief for driving
CABE’s efforts on both sustainable development
goals, the inclusive environment theme of the
corporate strategy, and this equality scheme.
CABE’s work on equalities and the inclusive
environment should be seen as rooted in the
overall objectives of sustainable development.
Campaigns and education
CABE’s campaigns and education directorate leads
the organisation’s work on inspiring and influencing.
It represents the public voice of the organisation,
leading on CABE’s media, publishing, lobbying
and campaigning work.
The directorate is divided into three teams:
– communications, including a press office that
manages all of CABE’s contact with print, broadcast
and online media; and a publishing team
– public affairs, managing CABE’s relations with
central and local government, other public sector
agencies and with the construction industry
– education, championing CABE’s work with schools.
It covers both primary and secondary education,
providing resources for teachers on the built
environment. These resources include publications
such as the built environment education magazine
360 and online educational materials helping pupils
to understand their built environment.
Relevance of equality to campaigns
and education
As a publishing organisation, CABE needs to consider
how it represents different sections of society and
how it communicates to these different sections of the
community. This means ensuring that CABE does not
pander to stereotypes in any of its communication
on race, social background, gender, sexuality, religion
or age. Through CABE’s corporate identity and other
advice, it ensures that equalities issues are considered
in communication, through brand guidance that
advises on representation and a house style guide that
advises on language. Accessibility guidance requires
print material to be as legible as possible and on all
publications available in alternative formats.
CABE’s work often focuses on the areas that are
failing – the unrealised parts of cities, for instance,
where homes, schools, hospitals and parks have
suffered from neglect and underinvestment. These
areas can be the most underprivileged, with lower
incomes, higher rates of unemployment and other
social inequalities. CABE often makes these areas
the focus of its visual and written communication.
The equality report 18
CABE’s management – human resources
People who come to work for CABE join a progressive
and inspiring organisation that believes in providing a
working environment in which people can thrive and
develop both personally and professionally.
The 2008 staff team comprises around 120 people,
led by a senior management team and directed by
16 commissioners.
The wider CABE family, however, is around 350
strong, including the professionals who provide an
advisory and review service and who represent CABE
in the regions. Recruitment is carried out using a
competence-based approach and selection for all
permanent roles and most fixed terms roles is through
a system of open competition.
People who work at CABE are supported through a
structured management system. Direct management
is provided by a line manager who looks after the
development of each member of their team.
CABE also provides a range of training designed to
support CABE’s corporate objectives, and provides
opportunities for people to acquire new skills.
Line managers receive training to help them
perform their role and guidance is provided by
HR on managing performance and conducting
performance appraisals.

The equality report 19

Approach to the scheme Cohesive communities – a shared sense
of belonging
Assessment criteria
An independent consultancy, Equality Works, was Our principles of cohesive communities for the
employed by CABE to help produce its equality purposes of the equality scheme are:
scheme and action plan. In assessing the state of Within a framework of social justice and equity:
play on equality and inclusion, Equality Works used
four over-arching criteria: – involvement of all local people in change and
development
– to what extent CABE shares an analysis of equality
– organisations acting transparently and fairly
– to what extent there is a clear understanding
of the relationship between equality and the – recognition of the contributions of all, from those
built environment who are newly arrived and to those with deep roots
in an area
– to what extent this analysis is embedded into
the CABE’s activities – significant and continuous contact between people
from different backgrounds and social identities
– to what extent CABE is compliant with its
public duties on race, gender and disability. – inclusion and involvement of people of all
generations
A single equality scheme
Equality strands and other factors – shared spaces (eg shops, parks, leisure centres)
CABE chose to have a unified, single scheme covering and transport networks that are safe and encourage
all seven equality strands – age, social class, gender mixing and interaction
including transgender, race and ethnicity, religion, – design that is permeable.
sexuality and disability, as well as social and economic
background. Disability includes sensory and physical The public duties on race, gender and disability
impairment, learning ability and mental health and We assessed the degree to which CABE is complying
well-being. with the three public duties under the race, sex and
disability legislation (see legal context above).
Race, gender and disability are covered by equality
public duties – see section above on the legal context.
The government may extend the public duties to
cover age, sexuality and religion in the coming
parliamentary session.
CABE and Equality Works agreed that discrimination
and disadvantage are often caused by an over-layering
of and interplay between strands, as well as other
factors.
Other issues – poverty and relative impoverishment,
safety in public spaces, and health and well-being
which are critical factors for most of the groups who
experience institutional discrimination – have also
been taken into account. Equality Works assessed
the capacity of CABE to act both on this holistic
analysis or to profile a single equality strand, as
and when necessary.

The equality report 20

Developing the scheme
The brief for the equality scheme was that it should
set in motion a continued process of culture and ethos
change at CABE, ‘placing equality and inclusion at
the heart of all our activities’.
A five-track process
The scheme was developed through five areas
of research:
– benchmarking against other organisations
– leadership by and consultation with the senior
management team and commissioners
– involvement and engagement of all staff
– seeking suggestions for ‘start-up’ activities from
each of CABE’s teams
– involvement of and consultation with the inclusive
environment group.
Findings from the process
Overall
Practice and procedure within CABE has been
measured against the four over-arching criteria
defined above:
To what extent CABE shares an analysis
of equality
– CABE has a high level of commitment to equality
and to disability access issues.
And CABE would benefit from:
– expanding its coverage of disability issues beyond
mobility and sensory impairment, to include other
issues such as learning ability and mental health
and well-being
– strengthening its shared understanding of equality
across all seven strands (age, gender including
transgender, race and ethnicity, religion, sexuality,
disability as well as social and economic
background) and related issues
– providing strong and sustained leadership on
equality and inclusion both internally and through
its influencing role.
To what extent there is a clear understanding
of the relationship between equality and the
built environment
– CABE is mainstreaming sustainability into its work
– CABE is addressing inclusive environments in its
corporate strategy and encouraging others to do so.
And CABE would benefit from:
– Providing clear definition and leadership on the
links between equality and the built environment
– Initiating discussion, thinking and research to
explore the links between equality and the cost
of bad design
– Expanding the equality agenda and making links
across to and between sustainability, environmental
equity, climate change and equality.
The equality report 21
To what extent this analysis is embedded into
CABE’s activities
There are many examples of good practice across
CABE, including:
– drawing attention to economic and cultural
deprivation and social exclusion through its
various activities
– championing the inclusive design agenda.
And CABE would benefit from:
– a systematic embedding of equality into its activities,
– using its influencing effectively to promote the
equality agenda and enabling others to comply
with the letter and spirit of the public duties in
the context of the built environment professions
– strengthened consultation with and involvement
of disabled people and other marginalised groups
– strengthening its internal policies and management
processes.
To what extent CABE is compliant with the
public duties on race, gender and disability
– CABE has started on its path to compliance with
the public duties, and in some areas of its work it
does so implicitly rather than explicitly.
And CABE would benefit from:
– significantly increasing the monitoring data it has
on its workforce and family, and on the impact
of its activities
– including a consistent approach to equalities
in its internal policies and procedures
– using its procurement and commissioning
procedures to promote its equality and
inclusion agenda
– having a more diverse and representative workforce,
panels, experts and commissioners – particularly
more black and minority ethnic staff, staff from more
diverse social backgrounds and disabled staff. And
more women on panels
– using its programme of equality impact assessments
to further refine where action is needed and to
monitor progress towards change.
CABE management
Based on the research methodology outlined above,
the findings for each directorate are as follows.
Human resources and management
CABE has two critical priorities if it wishes to lead
the field in equality and inclusion:
1 Using its procurement and commissioning to
promote the equality and inclusion agenda, starting
this process by benchmarking itself against the
best and most progressive procurement policies
2 Diversifying its staff, CABE family and others
commissioned to carry out work on behalf of CABE.
Human resources has drafted and reviewed a set of
employment/human resources policies over the last
12 months, and most of them include relevant
considerations of equality. Work on monitoring is
progressing.
However, CABE needs to address, as a priority, the
public duties on monitoring with which it does not
yet comply.
The culture at CABE is described by many by staff as
friendly and supportive. There is much good practice
on the management of staff.
There is some inconsistency in the conducting
of appraisals. The team performance related pay
structure is not sufficiently transparent and equitable.
Senior managers and human resources can
strengthen CABE’s performance on equality by:
1 Defining the role of equality and diversity and
showing how it relates to management and HR
2 Setting out a clear set of management values and
defining the role of managers more clearly, while
integrating equality into both
3 Moving ahead on the collection of monitoring data
across the whole CABE family
4 Using this data to draw up an action plan which will
feed into the annual review of the equality scheme
action plan
5 Bringing consistency of equality coverage
to the set of HR policies, and in some cases
strengthening them, while giving the set a
coherent CABE identity
The equality report 22
6 Reviewing the contracts/terms and conditions
of employment across the CABE family to include
a description of their responsibilities in relation
to equality, inclusion and cohesive communities
7 Redrafting the equality and diversity policy.
Drafting a dignity at work policy covering
harassment and bullying
8 Providing external informal support to staff
separate from the current welfare support system
9 Training managers in the integration of equality and
inclusion into their various activities – managing
staff and performance, project management,
managing out harassment
10 Conducting an equality impact assessment on
the recruitment and selection process for staff
and members of the CABE family.
Design review
The design review process could strengthen its
equality and inclusion agenda significantly by defining
for its panel members the links between equality and
good design, and by:
1 Addressing the representativeness of its panels –
particularly increasing the numbers of black and
minority ethnic, disabled and women members, and
members from more diverse social backgrounds
2 Influencing more strongly the equality and inclusion
requirements of schemes that come to panels
3 Strengthening the support for CABE staff
conducting panels to ensure more equity of
contribution from panel members
4 Placing people, inclusive design and diverse
groups and their needs, more explicitly into
the process.
Enabling
CABE’s enabling function could strengthen its equality
and inclusion agenda significantly by enhancing the
influencing role of its enablers, and by:
1 Addressing the representativeness of the enablers
panel – particularly increasing the numbers of black
and minority ethnic, disabled and women members,
and members from more diverse social
backgrounds
2 Placing people, and diverse groups and their
needs, more explicitly at the heart of the enabling
process
3 Placing more emphasis within the enabling role on
involving and consulting with disabled people and
other marginalised groups
4 Drafting a best practice briefing paper on equality
and inclusion for enablers and providing training
and support to enablers.
CABE Space
CABE Space could significantly strengthen the
influencing role of its enablers and promote the
equality and inclusion agenda by:
1 Addressing the representativeness of its enablers,
SpaceShaper facilitators and others involved in
their projects – particularly increasing the numbers
of black and minority ethnic, disabled and women
members, and people from diverse social
backgrounds
2 Continuing to work on the SpaceShaper project
and make it even more inclusive
3 Drafting a best practice paper on equality and
inclusion for SpaceShaper enablers and providing
training and support to enablers.
The equality report 23
Regional programmes
The regional programme and network of
architecture centres are well placed to promote
CABE’s equality and inclusion agenda, and this
could be strengthened by:
1 Supporting and capacity building with regional
staff in their equality and inclusion role, ensuring
regional centres understand the links between
the public duties and the built environment and
good design
2 Conducting equality impact assessments on
architecture and built environment centres to
explore how to strengthen their consultation and
involvement activities, and their influencing role
with partners such as local authorities.
Knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills could strengthen their promotion
of the equality and inclusion agenda by:
1 Drafting guidelines to ensure that all CABE learning
events are 100 per cent accessible and inclusive
2 Examining and defining how research could
support CABE’s equality, inclusion and cohesive
communities agenda
3 Defining a set of skills and knowledge on equality,
inclusion and the built environment/open spaces
to be integrated into learning events
4 Using the commissioning process to ensure all
learning events mainstream equality and inclusion
into how and who they recruit as participants, the
learning processes and learning outcomes
5 Using the commissioning process to ensure diverse
representativeness of researchers and education
providers.
Campaigns and education
Campaigns and education could strengthen
how CABE uses its influence by placing equality
and inclusion even more firmly at the core of its
activities by:
1 Integrating an analysis of equalities into public
policy consultation responses, speech writing,
and briefings
2 Identifying opportunities to promote CABE’s
perspective on equalities to public policy audiences
3 Continuing to apply the highest accessibility
standards to printed materials and the website
4 Considering further how to depict a diverse range
of people in places and spaces, in ways which
express the links between sociability, people
and places
5 Ensuring the re-designed website promotes
CABE’s equality and inclusion agenda
6 Drafting guidance on communications in a
diverse society
7 Setting out guidance on the use of good
practice case studies
8 Ensuring our education work with younger
people targets under-represented and
marginalised groups.
All the above themes are picked up in the
equality scheme action plan.
The equality report 24
Appendix
Detail of the legal context for the equality
scheme
CABE is under a legal obligation to identify and
assess which of its functions, policies and proposed
policies are relevant in meeting its statutory equality
duties to:
– eliminate unlawful direct and indirect discrimination,
harassment, victimisation and promote equality in
the areas of race and ethnicity, gender, disability
as well as age, sexual orientation, religion or belief
– promote good relations between people of different
racial groups, women and men, disabled people and
non-disabled people
– promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
and take into account and anticipate their current
and future needs
– encourage the participation of disabled people in
public life.
These obligations are known as the ‘general equality
duties’ and CABE’s decision to prepare a single
equality scheme indicates its commitment to apply the
general duties to all equality target groups protected
by equality legislation.
These legal obligations require CABE to publish an
equality scheme and a three-year action plan which
is in effect a programme of change, which focuses
on existing organisational policies, procedures and
practices in order to address systematic institutional
discrimination.
Employment practice
CABE is required to:
– set equality objectives designed to reduce the
gender pay gap, analyse women’s disproportionate
share of caring responsibilities and eliminate
occupational segregation
– identify employment barriers that prevent the
participation of different minority groups in the
recruitment, selection and appointment of staff
based on objective criteria
– analyse by target group, access to, and experience
of promotion, training, grievance and disciplinary
procedures and arrangements for dismissal or
redundancy
– devise plans for training staff on how to meet
their legal obligations
– address under-representation in its workforce
through applying positive action measures
– develop arrangements for supporting staff
with special or additional requirements and
make reasonable adjustments or reasonable
accommodations to meet and mitigate any
disadvantage in the performance of job roles
– produce a harassment policy and procedure to
prevent or mitigate unlawful behaviour or conduct
in the workplace
– integrate procedures to eliminate victimisation
into existing grievance and disciplinary policy
and procedures.
Appendix 25
Impact assessment Procurement
CABE is required to: CABE is required to:
– develop arrangements for assessing and consulting – ensure that its procurement arrangements for
on the likely impact of proposed policies, decisions purchasing goods, services, staff and expertise
and practices include terms and conditions, targets and indicators,
so that performance on addressing inequalities can
– arrange for the monitoring of policies, decisions and
be monitored
practices for adverse impact and publish any results
– review all contracts that govern any relationship
– take steps to collect and analyse relevant
between CABE and its employees, consultants,
information on inequalities and discrimination and
suppliers or partners in order to mainstream
use the evidence obtained to inform their decisions
equalities throughout the CABE family
– develop an equality impact assessment guide for
– utilise its funding and resources to influence the
managers and draw up a programme of relevant
equality agendas of partner and other organisations
policies or functions that require immediate
who it works with, and the relevant professions, to
attention.
underpin CABE’s vision and strategic priorities.
Service delivery
CABE is required to:
– ensure the public are able to access information,
services and premises
– prepare an involvement plan setting out
the arrangements for consulting and involving
disabled people in particular, and people from
other target groups
– conduct an access audit of services to ensure
that the needs of all users are addressed
through CABE’s programmes and initiatives.

Appendix 26
This publication sets out CABE’s equality CABE

scheme and three-year action plan, as part

of its statutory equality responsibilities as
a public body. The action plan focuses on
CABE providing clear leadership on equality
and inclusion, and using its influencing role
to promote these issues in its work on the
built environment. The plan seeks, when
completed, to ensure both legal compliance
and a demonstration of best practice in the
field. The publication will be of interest to
design professionals and people working
in equalities, as well as people working
for CABE.