enabling equality in the economy

The Single Equality Scheme of Advantage West Midlands

Equality and Diversity Strategic Engagement Group

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

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contents

1. Advantage West Midlands 3

2. Foreword 4

3. What we do 5

4. The West Midlands Economy 7

5. Our Case for Equality and Diversity 14

6. Our Equality Duties 18

7. Driving Equality and Diversity 20

8. Delivering Equality and Diversity 25

9. Development of the Single Equality Scheme 26

10. Actions 2011 - 2012 29

11. Consultation and publication 30

12. Legacy Actions of Equality 32

13. Appendix 1 36

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

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Advantage West Midlands
The Regional Development Agency (RDA) for the West Midlands Region
Advantage West Midlands (AWM) was
established in 1999; one of nine
Regional Development Agencies across
England set up to transform the English
regions through sustainable
development.

Since its establishment, it has worked

to build a stronger West Midlands
region, delivering real benefit to
businesses and communities.

Independent evaluation has concluded

that for every pound invested AWM
has realised a return of £8.14 for the
region and in a recent National Audit
Office review achieved the highest
score forscore
possible its performance.
The Agency has always been committed to the Business
Excellence model achieving consistently high scores and
is recognised by the Treasury as one of the ‘most efficient
RDAs’ demonstrating particularly low administration
costs.
In 2007, AWM led on the development of the three year
West Midlands Economic Strategy (WMES) “Connecting
to Success”.
The Agency has worked alongside a range of
organisations in public, private and the third sectors to
deliver this strategy, building upon the region’s many
strengths to develop solutions which address its unique
challenges.
The WMES stresses the significance of the region’s
diversity, seeking to ensure that it does not disadvantage
any particular group and actively promotes equality of
opportunity.
Whilst much has been achieved over the past 11 years,
the economic downturn and the election of the
coalition Government have signalled significant
changes to the way in which economic development in
the English regions will be undertaken in the future,
with AWM due to be closed by March 2012.
AWM has, however, long recognised that leadership
and commitment to equality and diversity are essential
to ensuring economic inclusion. The Single Equality
Scheme illustrates how AWM has always sought to
honour its commitment to equality and diversity and
focuses on the steps that have been taken to
incorporate diversity across all areas of Agency
responsibility.
The Single Equality Scheme will be applied to all
AWM’s work up to its closure, and believes it can form
the basis for ensuring equality and diversity are at the
centre of any new arrangements that replace AWM
and continue to be an asset in addressing and meeting
the region’s future strategic challenges .

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 foreword
This is the Single Equality Scheme of Advantage West
Midlands. We have consulted external and internal
groups and people to assist the Agency develop the
scheme. I encourage you to look at it and provide
constructive feedback by the 31st January 2011. It is our
intention to use that feedback to help produce the final
version ready for publication in March 2011.
Being the Champion for Equality and Diversity has been
one of the many varied and challenging parts of my role
as the Chief Executive at Advantage West Midlands. I
feel passionately about the need to pursue equality and
reap the benefits of diversity for the greater good of the
region and society as a whole.
Advantage West Midlands has worked with partners to
make a difference to the sustainable economic
performance of the region and understands that there
are barriers that must be overcome to achieve this aim.
The Agency has worked in partnership with regional
partners to remove or minimise these barriers and
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
reduce the output gap; twenty percent of which is
attributable to people being economically excluded our
leadership and commitment to equality and diversity are
essential to ensure the engagement in the economy of
those who are excluded, be that on the basis of gender,
race, disability, transgender, sexual orientation, religion
and belief, age, and/or social-economic background.
This Single Equality Scheme illustrates how we will
honour our commitment to equality and diversity and
focus on the steps we have taken and will continue to
take to incorporate diversity across our project
application and appraisal processes, our key strategies
and policies and our closure and transition process. The
involvement of key equality organisations and advocates
across the region will also be vital to the on-going
development and direction of this Single Equality
Scheme. The Agency will continue to co-ordinate the
activities of the Equality and Diversity Strategic
Engagement Group (launched March 2010) including
regular meetings for as long as regarded necessary.
The Single Equality Scheme will be an asset in meeting
the region’s strategic challenges, especially economic
inclusion but also skills, enterprise innovation and
transport, both for the Agency up to March 2012 and
any successor arrangements. I am delighted that AWM
has been able to develop the Scheme that will provide
positive steps towards a more economically inclusive
region in the future.
Mick Laverty
Chief Executive, Advantage West Midlands
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what we do
Advantage West Midlands is the Regional Development
Agency (RDA) for the West Midlands. We are one of nine
RDAs in England that were established to transform the
English regions through sustainable economic
development. The government announced in June 2010
that RDAs will cease to exist beyond March 2012 and that
economic development and regeneration will be led by
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). Given our closure,
our new mission is: "To close down the Agency in an
exemplary manner, ensuring the best possible outcome
for our staff, our region and the BIS [department for
Business Innovation and Skills], our sponsor department."

As the Agency works towards closure, its activities are

encompassed by the five following areas: Employer,
Strategy, Invest, Influence and Impact.

Employer Influence

Advantage West Midlands has provided a quality service
to current staff, potential and new recruits. We promoted
available development and training opportunities and
strived to be fair and transparent in our policies and
processes in providing opportunity for all.
Advantage West Midlands has encouraged and persuaded
our partners to work with us so that we align our
collective energy and resources behind the WMES.
Impact

Advantage West Midlands has sought to achieve

Strategy
maximum economic impact which was one of the highest
Advantage West Midlands has assessed the Region’s of any RDA.
performance and through the WMES, set out agreed
priorities for regional economic growth and incorporates
the underlying value of “pursuing equality and reaping the
benefits of diversity”.

Invest

Advantage West Midlands has invested our energy and

resources in delivering our share of the WMES through
the Corporate Plan which includes the underlying principle
for equality. The Agency has £240m to spend on projects
during 2010 – 11 and £100m in 2011-12.

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Routes to Opportunity (R2O) was set up to
help Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) not-
for-profit organisations to bid for public
service contracts. The programme was
managed by b:RAP (formerly Birmingham
Race Action Partnership) on behalf of
Advantage West Midlands.

Lee Blake (pictured) is Managing Director of

Birmingham-based T-shirt and clothing
company 50Fifty. The company received
support from the R2O programme and as a
result has set up Made by Young People, a
community interest company.

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the West Midlands economy
The key issue for the region’s economy is that there is
often more than one factor that impacts on the economic
potential for the West Midlands; it is too simplistic to
look at one factor such as age, gender, ethnicity/race,
education, health, parental status and disability in
isolation.
The West Midlands’ economy underperforms compared
to the UK average. The output per person is less in this
region than across the UK and the ‘output gap’ has been
growing over recent years.
The majority of the output gap is attributed to the
structure and productivity of the region’s economy but
Growth of the West Midlands Output Gap 1989 - 2007
The Agency uses a broad definition of worklessness as
endorsed by the Economic Inclusion Data Group and
adopted by the West Midlands Regional Observatory and
their research on economic inclusion in the West
Midlands. This definition includes people who are
unemployed and people who are economically inactive:
people who are sick or disabled, students, people looking
after the family and home, and retired people, for
example.
This definition of worklessness can be calculated as the
opposite of the employment rate. This means that people
who are claiming out-of-work benefits, as well as people
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
an estimated 20% is attributed to levels of economic
exclusion and worklessness in the region.
The level of skills amongst the region’s workforce is also
an important influence on the ‘output gap’ and levels of
worklessness. Increasing skill levels is important for
individuals and for the economy.
Low-skilled people and those with no qualifications have
higher rates of worklessness and lower incomes. There
are more people with no qualfications and fewer people
with higher qualifications in the West Midlands than in
any other region of England. The region has a higher rate
of worklessness than England’s average, and this gap has
worsened as a result of the recession.
who are out of work but are ineligible to claim benefits,
are included. Using this definition reveals that across the
West Midlands there are 900,000 people of working age
who are workless, over a quarter of the working age
population. ‘Worklessness’ is about much more than
unemployment; there are far greater numbers of people
who are workless than unemployed. To be defined as
unemployed, people need to be actively looking for work
and available to start work, but there are many more
people who are out of work yet do not fall into the
narrow category of being ‘unemployed’.
Source: wmro.wordpress.com
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Qualification Levels Amongst the Working Age Population, 2008

Employment Gaps with England

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 Worklessness Rates for Key Demographic Groups – West Midlands
Worklessness rates for key demographic groups – West Midlands

worklessness unemployment

60% 60%

% of economically active population

% of working age population
2009

40% 40%

20% 20%

239,000
979,000

731,000

315,000

267,000

100,000
46,000

46,000

95,000
0% 0%

Pakistani/Bangladeshi
White

problem/disability
WM average

Older people

No Qualifications
Indian ethnic group

Black or black British

Long-term health

young people
ethnic group

ethnic group
Source: Office for National Statistics (Labour Force Survey, 4 quarter average – 2007 and 2009)

Worklessness is not evenly spread among all sections stark absence of official data which highlights the level
of society, and certain key demographic groups such of inequality, discrimination and/or social and
as disabled, Black-British, Pakistani and Bangladeshi economic exclusion that exists. Therefore there is a
have far higher rates of worklessness than the clear need for further research due to the lack of socio-
average. For some groups like the Lesbian, Gay, Bi- economic data for the LGB (Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual)
sexual (LGB) and Transgender communities there is a and Transgender communities.

Multiple risk factors

Previous research has shown that various demographic The research found that people with none of these risk
characteristics such as being young, disabled or being factors have a low chance of being out of work - only 6%
from certain ethnic groups are linked to higher than for men and 14% for women. These people are no more
average levels of worklessness. This research has looked likely to be workless in the West Midlands than in the
in more depth at the impact of certain of these risk rest of England.
factors - alone and in combination with each other - on
Having any single risk factor raises the probability of
the probability of worklessness in the West Midlands and
being out of work substantially, to 18% for men and 34%
in England.
for women on average and sometimes much higher. The
The analysis has allowed us for the first time to look at highest chance of worklessness is seen amongst
the effects of risk factors in isolation, that is, when other Pakistani/Bangladeshi women who (with no other risk
factors are low risk, and also to isolate the effects of factors) have a 70% probability of being workless. Having
specific combinations of two risk factors. a long-term health problem/disability or being aged
under 25 also raises the probability of being workless
substantially, to over 30% for both men and women.

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 Table 2: Probability of worklessness for males and females in the West Midlands who have different
numbers of risk factors

Females Males

No risk factors 14% 6%

Average of the probabilities for a single risk factor 34% 18%

Average of the probabilities for two risk factors 61% 46%

On average, having two risk factors (but no more than Among those people with two risk factors, some specific
two) increases an individual’s chance of being workless to combinations of risk factors can be seen to increase the
61% for females and 46% for males. In most cases, people chances of being workless to above the level that might
with two risk factors are more likely to be workless than have been expected simply by combining the level of risk
in work. associated with either risk factor alone. This is particularly
true for:
Amongst people with two risk factors, the chance of
being workless increases still further. In most cases, Young people aged 16-24 who also have a second
people with two risk factors are more likely to be risk factor, and
workless than in work. The starkest example of this
effect is amongst Pakistani/Bangladeshi females who All individuals who do not have a formal
have no formal qualifications, who have a 91% probability qualification and who also have a second risk
of not working (even when they have no other risk factor.
factors). Other groups with high chances of being
workless are: young women with no qualifications (72%),
young lone parents (75%), young men with no
qualifications (61%) and people with long-term health
problems/disabilities and no qualifications (74% for
women, 63% for men).

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 How Multiple Factors Increase Risk

How multiple factors increase risk

No risk factors 1 risk factor 2 risk factors

Risk of Risk of Risk of
worklessness worklessness worklessness

(National: 0.5 in 10) (National: 3 in 10) (National: 6 in 10)

0.5 in 10 3 in 10 6.5 in 10

 Aged 25-54  Health problem/disability  Health problem/disability

 Not Black, Indian or  Aged 25-54  Has no qualifications

Pakistani/Bangladeshi
 No health
problem/disability
 Not a lone parent
 Has a qualification
 Not Black, Indian or
Pakistani/Bangladeshi
 Not a lone parent
 Has a qualification
 Aged 25-54
 Not Black, Indian or
Pakistani/Bangladeshi
 Not a lone parent

Source www.wmro.org

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endorsements: successful equality
Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Consortium

“Advantage West Midlands has the reach and reputation to influence policy and it fits into the remit of the
Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Consortium to work with equality partners from the West
Midlands to influence public and private sector in equality issues.”

“In 2009 Advantage West Midlands part sponsored and event organised by the Midlands LGBT Employee
Network that focused on looking at the employment and entrepreneurial rates amongst LGBT communities.
This event helped to raise the profile of the Consortium and was an excellent opportunity to promote the
work of the LGBT voluntary and community throughout the region.”

“The Consortium believes that one of the best things about working with Advantage West Midlands is that
it has a good reputation for economic regeneration in the West Midlands and organisations recognise its
legitimacy. It has the contacts to reach third sector organisations and bring them together to form the
equality group to develop a single equality scheme. The Consortium as a member of the Equality and
Diversity Strategic Engagement Group established by the Agency in March 2010, hopes that from the
knowledge and expertise in this group a good single equality scheme can be developed and become a
model for other organisations to use. “

There is no definitive accurate estimate of the number of LGBT people in Britain. Due to past and present
criminalisation and discrimination it is likely that many studies tend to underestimate numbers. However
government actuaries estimate that 6% of the population, around 3.6 million people, are lesbian, gay or
bisexual. Based on an estimate of 6% of the population, therefore, there are likely to be around 300,000
LBGT people in the West Midlands.

ImpactEquality

“Advantage West Midlands conducted equality impact assessments (EqIAs) on the 12 of its 13 strategic
functions. A strategic function is an area of work which is being taken forward in order to deliver AWMs
Investment and Performance Framework.

“Black Radley’s experienced equalities staff worked with small groups of senior AWM people, using the
online assessment tool ImpactEquality™. The groups considered the equality implications of the each of the
Functions, which brought together into clear plans the Agency’s external activities in 13 areas. Identifying
actions to reduce any negative impact and to promote or exploit any positive impact. ImpactEquality™
prompted the group to explore the key issues, providing a quick and easy method of recording the results of
the assessment to share with colleagues.

“The outcomes from the process were a first draft completed EqIA for publication, increased staff
awareness and understanding of the equality implications of their work, and the identification of the
positive work the Agency was doing in relation to promoting equality within the region.

“ImpactEquality™ has been developed by Black Radley after piloting with a number of large public sector
bodies who are taking a lead in showing best practice in the equalities field.”

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Gender Matters

Transgender (Trans) is an umbrella term for transsexuals, cross-dressers, transvestites, and anyone else
who identify as neither female nor male and/or neither a man or as a woman. Transgender is not a sexual
orientation; transgender people may have any sexual orientation.

“The transgender community is one of the most marginalised and under-represented groups in
today’s society, is the least understood and the most discriminated against.”

“Therefore, it was very rewarding to be able to hold the very first transgender awareness training day
in within “Diversity Week” 2008 as a result of funding from Advantage West Midlands, funding
without which as a charity Gender Matters would not have been able to afford such an event.”

The transgendered community is very misunderstood and advice and information is difficult to find.
In 2007 an on-line survey of 873 trans people revealed that 35% of them had attempted suicide at
least once. Those that succeeded did not complete the survey.

As part of their work, Gender Matters raises awareness of trans issues with businesses, statutory
services, other charities and groups.

“Events supported by Advantage West Midlands’ “Diversity Week” in 2008 and 2009 enabled our
organisation to make more inroads into raising awareness, offering training to help Employers to deal
better with trans customers, service users and trans staff.

“All in all, the aim of our events was to:

Help trans people to live happier, more productive lives;

Provide a better understanding of new legislation rights for trans people; and

Work with employers to comply with regulations and maintain their good reputation with
customers and staff and avoid severe penalties should they get it wrong.

“Diversity Week enabled Gender Matters to access a small amount of funding to make a big
difference on how organisations are looking into transgender equality issues and where to look for
extra help and support for themselves and the trans people they are in contact with.

“A big well done to Advantage West Midlands from Gender Matters, we hope that whatever takes
over from them will take equality forward and embed it into all services and businesses alike; for
every community and not just the more popular ones that are easier to reach.”

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our case for equality and diversity
It is widely accepted that there are three cases for
equality and diversity; the business case, the legal case
and the moral case. All cases apply to the Agency,
although now in its closure phase remaining legally
compliant to the end is the focus; prior to closure, the
Definitions
Equality
Equality relates to the fair and/or equal treatment of
people who can be defined or self-define to one or more
common group characteristic based on for example their
age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation,
transgender, religion or belief in relation to other people
who share one or more common group characteristic.
Equality (of opportunity) is often related to and
supported by a legal framework, which makes it illegal to
discriminate against people because they belong to one
or more defined or self-defined identity groups.
Diversity
Diversity relates to the individual differences that people
have and how these are understood and valued.
Understanding and valuing the difference that exists in all
of us as individuals and the groups we belong to is
important. Using diversity creatively and positively can
incur benefit for people, organisations and society.
Whilst there is a clear difference between Equality and
Diversity, they are nonetheless interconnected; therefore
the Agency and its eventual replacement needed to
respond simultaneously to equality legislation and be
pro-active in diversity in order to optimise the benefits
as, “Neither equality nor respect for difference (diversity)
is a sufficient value in itself. The two must be held
together, mutually challenging and supportive” (The
Runnymede Trust, Multi-Ethnic Britain, 2000).
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
business case was very much the driver for equality and
diversity within Advantage West Midlands. The ‘all-case’
approach by the Agency is supported in its working
definitions for equality, diversity and human rights.
Human Rights
The Human Rights Act was adopted in 1998. Human
rights and equality are inextricably linked. Equality is
treated as a fundamental human right in the core
international human rights treaties; and conceptually,
human rights and equality derive from the same
fundamental principle – fairness and respect for the
inherent dignity of all.
The business case for equality and
diversity
Although the legal case is now the primary driver for
equality and diversity as the Agency is in its close-down
phase, the business case remains a big factor, especially with
regard to:
 Leaving a legacy for good equality and diversity
policy and practice e.g. positive approach to flexible
working and the funding of ‘Diversity Week’ in 2008
and 2009
 Positive commitment from the top e.g. the
Leadership Team supporting 15 staff to pursue a
level 2 or 3 NCFE qualification in Equality and
Diversity has helped to mainstream equality and
diversity into the organisational culture of the
Agency

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  Good equality policies and practice, such as flexible
working has supported the Agency’s values and
behaviours and helped to enhance staff retention,
performance and productivity
The legal case for equality and diversity
Existing equality duties
As a public body, Advantage West Midlands has specific legal
duties to tackle discrimination and promote equality in the
areas of gender, race and disability. The specific duties (and
relevant Acts) are:
 Gender (Equality Act 2006) – responsibilities:
o Promote equality of opportunity between women and
men
o Proactively eliminate unlawful discrimination on the
grounds of gender
o Proactively eliminate harassment on the ground of
gender
 Race (Race Relations Act 1976, amended 2000) –
responsibilities:
o Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination
o Promote equality of opportunity
o Promote good race relations between people of
different racial groups
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
 Practical business benefits of equality and diversity
has helped to support and evidence the Agency’s
public sector obligations in the Equality Act 2010
 Disability (Disability Discrimination Act 2005) –
responsibilities:
o Promote equality of opportunity between
disabled people and other people
o Eliminate unlawful discrimination
o Eliminate harassment of disabled people that
is related to their disability
o Promote positive attitudes towards disabled
people
o Encourage participation by disabled people in
public life
o Take steps to meet disabled people’s needs,
even if this requires more favourable
treatment
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 The single equality duty

The purpose of the Government’s current legislation on
equality is to strengthen protection, advance equality and
streamline the law. It aims to introduce a new equality
duty on the public sector, end age discrimination, require
transparency, extend the scope of positive action and,
strengthen enforcement.
The Single Equality Duty is part of the Equality Act. The
new Duty brings together the three existing duties and
expands them to cover seven equalities ‘strands’: gender,
race, disability, sexual orientation, age, faith/belief, and
transgender. This new streamlined duty is expected to
be more effective, allowing public bodies to focus their
efforts on outcomes rather than producing plans and
documents.
The Agency’s early development of a Single Equality
Scheme, in advance of the legislative changes, is a clear
commitment that the promotion of equality and diversity
is a key to its values it has always held as an employer
and strategic regional partner.

Addressing the national challenges of inequality

The Equality Bill, Framework for a Fairer Future, set out a broad picture of inequality in Britain:

- A woman’s full time pay is on average 12.6% less per hour than a man’s. Women working part-time are paid
around 40% less per hour
- If you are disabled, you are two and a half times more likely to be out of work than a non-disabled person
- If you are from an ethnic minority, you are 15.5% less likely to find work than if you are white
- 62% of over-fifties feel that they are turned down for a job because they are considered too old, compared
with 5% of people in their thirties
- 6 out of 10 lesbian and gay schoolchildren experience homophobic bullying and half of those contemplate
killing themselves as a result

Unless progress is made, the Bill warned that:

- The pay gap between men and women will not close until 2085
- It will take almost 100 years for people from ethnic minorities to get the same job prospects as white people
- Disabled people will probably never get the same job prospects
- It will take 20 years for women to achieve equal representation in the Senior Civil Service
- It will take 80 years to elect a representative House of Commons in terms of the protected characteristics
indentified in the Equality Act 2010

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 Bizmatch is a social firm based in
Herefordshire providing disadvantaged and
disabled people with the opportunity to
learn employability skills and specific trades,
such as catering, furniture restoration and
bicycle recycling.

Ian Banks (pictured) is a member of the

Bizmatch team which received a grant
through the Nexus Scheme as part of
AWM’s Rural Regeneration Zone
programme.

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our equality duties
Our philosophy – going beyond our
duties
Advantage West Midlands has always accepted that
responding to the changing needs of our diverse society
means more than meeting our legal duties. We have
embraced the essence of the previous equality duties on
race, gender and disability – working towards the
elimination of unlawful discrimination; promoting
positive relationships between different people and
involving people to shape the decisions that affect them.
AWM appreciate that we are unable to deliver our
equality commitments alone. Prior to the Agency’s
The equality duties
At the time of writing this Single Equality Scheme there
are three equality duties covering race, disability and
gender equality and the Agency has a published scheme
for each on its website. These are the:
Race Equality Duty – implemented in April 2001
Disability Equality Duty – implemented in
December 2006
Gender Equality Duty – implemented in April
2007
The Race, Disability and Gender equality duties aim to
drive improvements in the delivery of public services to
diverse communities.
The SES will replace all existing equality schemes.
Feedback from public consultation will incorporate
appropriate changes for final publication in March 2011.
The equality duties apply to all public authorities. This
includes regional development agencies, local authorities,
government departments, police and fire authorities,
inspectorates and regulatory bodies such as the Audit
Commission and the Tenants Services Authority.
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
closure in 2012 we will continue to maximise our
contribution to achieving our objectives.
Our statutory drivers
As a public body, Advantage West Midlands has had a
legal duty to work towards the elimination of unlawful
discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and
positive attitudes towards diverse communities.
General and specific duties
The equality duties are made up of two elements, the
General Duties and the Specific Duty. The General Duties
apply to all public authorities, and covers general
principles concerning the elimination of unlawful
discrimination and the promotion of equality and positive
relationships. We have identified these General Duties as
core equality principles that we will work towards as a
central commitment to race, gender, disability, sexuality,
age and religion.
To supplement the General Duties, certain named public
authorities – of which Advantage West Midlands is one –
are required to go further and meet the Specific Duties.
The Specific Duties focus on the arrangements and
processes of how public authorities implement their
plans for delivery.
While AWM is in existence it will take the necessary and
reasonable steps to meet its general and specific equality
duties until superseded by the SES when published in
2011.
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 General duties
GENDER DUTY CORE EQUALITY PRINCIPLES
Eliminate unlawful Eliminate unlawful discrimination
harassment
Promote equality of opportunity for
disabled people, between men and
women and different racial groups.
Promote good relations between
people of different racial groups,
disabled people and others.
DISABILITY DUTY
Eliminate harassment of disabled
people that is related to their
disabilities.
Take steps to take account of disabled
people’s disabilities even where that
involves treating them more
favourably than others.
Promote positive attitudes towards
disabled people.

Encourage participation by disabled

people in public life.

Specific duties
GENDER DUTY RACE DUTY DISABILITY DUTY
Take action to Monitor policies for adverse impact on Involvement of disabled people
reduce the Gender promoting race equality.
Pay Gap.
Collection and use of Assess and consult on the impact of Assess the impact.
information. proposed policies on race equality.

Consult Publish the results of assessments, Implementation

consultation and monitoring.

Assess the impact Ensure that the public have access to Collection and use of information.
information and services.

Implementation Provide appropriate training to staff Reporting

on the general and specific duties

Reporting

In addition, AWM is committed to promoting a positive
attitude towards diverse communities where applicable.
However, our commitment goes beyond meeting our
legal requirements of race, disability and gender and will
include people who are diverse as a result of faith and
religion, age, transgender and sexuality in line with the
emerging public duties, within our clear focus on
addressing those who are economically excluded, often
through multiple disadvantages. Our arrangements for
supporting an inclusive approach to equality and diversity
for non statutory areas is applied on the basis of
proportionality, availability of credible data and
information and relevance to the mission, vision and
values of the Agency.

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

19
 driving equality and diversity
The Agency’s work is managed by a non-executive Board
that determines our strategic direction. Working to the
Board is an executive Leadership team led by the Chief
Executive and comprised of five Corporate Directors in
charge of directorates. The Leadership Team work in
partnership with the internal facing Diversity Champions
Group and external facing Equality and Diversity Strategic
The Strategic Engagement Group is made up of regional
representatives of each of the equality strands to be
covered by the emerging Single Equalities Act. This group
enables AWM to have an ongoing dialogue with key
regional stakeholders at a strategic level.
The Terms of Reference are:
1. To act as a critical friend to AWM;
2. To support the development, delivery and monitoring
of AWMs Single Equalities Scheme and contribute to
other areas of strategic activity e.g. SES Action Plan,
advice on procurement, quality impact assessment
and provide input into other relevant strategies; and
3. To collectively provide expert advice on the Single
Equality Act, the socio-economic duty, all seven
equality strands and protected characteristics included
in the Equality Act thereby adding value to the Agency
within its role and responsibilities.
Contractors and Delivers
Private Sector or Stakeholders
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
Engagement; both chaired by the Director for Sustainable
Communities. These internal and external facing groups
in turn involve the Agency’s recognised Trade Union and
Staff Consultative Forum for verification before delivery
and implementation with staff, contractors, external
partners and stakeholders.
The Diversity Champions Group is an internally
constituted group with the principle aim to provide
the Agency with a powerful influencing voice in the
area of equality and diversity, providing advice and
leadership, agreeing strategy and overseeing progress
on the equality and diversity agenda.
Chaired by the Director for Sustainable Communities
and supported by the Equality and Diversity Manager,
the group has members from all directorates and
meets up to six times per year.
The group championed the case for offering a formal
qualification in equality and diversity and facilitated
several ‘lunch and learn events since its inception in
2007.
Third Sector
Public Sector or Partners
20
 Equality and Diversity Legacy: The Diversity Champions Group

In light of the Agency closing in 2012, the Diversity Champions Group (DCG) met in January 2011 to thank
members for their input and support over the years as well as providing an opportunity to discuss the legacy
and learning points of the group, using the ‘SWOT’ model to reflect on the relative merits of Advantage West
Midlands supporting its existence.

There were common reasons why members from all levels and directorates across the Agency joined the
group, namely:

Had a genuine interest in equality and diversity

Belief that the group would improve their confidence and knowledge in the area of equality and
diversity

Outside of the common reasons, one member highlighted that a previous bad experience with equality and
diversity in a previous organisation had prompted joining the group in an attempt to ‘restore faith’ in equality
and diversity…which it did!

Members of the group agreed that there were many things that were beneficial from being in the Diversity
Champions Group, for example:

Enabled more discussion of equality and diversity at team meetings

Members were seen as Ambassadors for equality and diversity
The group’s existence helped to break down silos via ‘lunch and learn’ type events
The DCG supported academic achievement e.g. some members studied for a level 2 or 3 in equality
and diversity
More engagement with the Leadership Team as a result of the Diversity Champions Group being in
place
Members were involved in shaping policy and organisational culture in terms of equality and diversity
Some good, high-profile events shaped and championed by the DCG e.g. the “Diversity Dinner” in 2008
and “Diversity Week” in 2008 and 2009

The group agreed that the DCG was a good source for equality and diversity information and learning and that
it would serve to be a positive legacy for the Agency for the following reasons:

It used the strengths of staff within AWM and didn’t ‘pigeon-hole’ people
The support and involvement of a Senior Manager as Chair of the group was critical to how the DCG
was viewed and how it performed. The DCG was chaired by the Director for Sustainable Communities
The group had good Terms of Reference and clear objectives
The DCG did not sit in isolation and linked into mainstream projects, policy and overall organisational
culture e.g. Board reports, Staff Consultative Forum and the Agency’s project application and appraisal
process
The DCG supported discretionary and mandatory activity e.g. ‘lunch and learns’ and online Equality
and Diversity policy acceptance respectively

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

21
When discussing whether the Agency was right to support the existence of the Diversity Champions Group, a
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) model was used to capture thoughts:

Strengths Weaknesses

DCG was a strong symbol of the Agency’s Some thought it was a ‘talking shop’
support for equality and diversity
Promoted meaningful discussion
Good from an HR/recruitment perspective
Promoted good practice
Potential cost saving via the investment
made on equality and diversity training
Provided strong evidence for the Agency’s
submissions for Investors in Excellence,
Investors in People and the annual internal
audit for E+D
Good source of information for the
Leadership Team, Board and staff

Opportunities Threats

The DCG encouraged dialogue between the
Leadership Team and staff
The Leadership team did clearly see the
group as an opportunity to demonstrate
their leadership and commitment in equality
and diversity e.g. funding of 11 staff to do a
level 2 qualification and 4 staff to do the
level 3
The DCG provided good support for the
Board Champion for equality and diversity
There was an initial perceived threat that the
DCG may create a “them and us” situation if
the group was not supported by the
Leadership Team
An initial belief that the DCG would not
achieve anything

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

22
Stakeholder Survey
Advantage West Midlands is committed to continuous
improvement. Since 2006 an independent survey has
been undertaken to obtain the views of our stakeholders
and partners on our performance. The feedback we
receive helps us to identify the areas where we are
performing well and also the areas where we need to
make further improvements.
Source: Advantage West Midlands Stakeholder Survey 2009
Staff Survey
In June 2010, Advantage West Midlands carried out its
fourth annual Staff Survey. The survey covers a wide
variety of categories from overall satisfaction with the
Agency and recommendation as a good place to work, to
how the Agency demonstrates its commitment to
equality and diversity and performance management of
staff. Overall the results for 2010 were very positive.
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
Below are some of the key results from the 2009 survey,
compared with results from previous years. The results
show significant progress has been made in certain areas
and that we are addressing some areas for improvement
that have previously been identified.
Key results highlighted that 95% of staff were satisfied
with the Agency as an employer, 93% of staff would
recommend the Agency as a good place to work and over
90% of staff agreed that the Agency demonstrates its
commitment to equality and diversity. The survey is
carried out annually allowing for benchmarks to be
assessed and continuous improvement to take place.
23
endorsements: successful equality
The Coming of Age Partnership Ambassador Programme

Andy Finnie, MD of Aged2Excel Ltd, Coming of Age Partnership - CoAP Ops and Programme Director,
TAEN Regional Manager is the CoAP Ambassador team manager. He comments, “Our ambassadors are
unique individuals who give freely of their time to present the key messages of the age and employment
agenda and to push home the business benefits of employing an age diverse workforce. The West
Midlands has taken the lead in this economically important area. CoAP is extremely grateful to AWM for
their funding and support of this programme”

“In the relatively short time the ambassadors have been in action, they have already engaged with over
400 individuals and have a schedule of speaking events that is growing by the day. The events range
from internal management meetings to large conferences where the audiences are drawn from a range
of backgrounds, from HR managers to company owners, from policy advisors to leaders in the public and
private sectors.

“The key to success in the West Midlands is that ambassadors are later life volunteers, whose profile is
usually senior management from industry or the public sector; in essence people who can empathise
with individuals in the local communities, employers and who understand the need for social awareness.

“The AWM funding and support, enabled the recruitment, training and development and tools for the
Ambassador programme to flourish. This innovation is ongoing and represents real opportunities to
engage the employer community, the local communities and more recently has expanded its reach to
include the various faith groups in a way that has been tried and tested.”

Brap – Routes to Opportunity

“brap managed the £1million Routes to Opportunity (R20) PROGRAMME. Funded by Advantage West
Midlands, the programme helped to develop and strengthen BME-led third sector organisations so that
they can complete more effectively for public sector contracts and become more sustainable.

“The AFB Heritage Community Organisation Ltd (AFB Heritage) is one of the organisations to have
benefitted from support through R20. As an established charity, AFB Heritage has been providing social
welfare and community activities in Sparkbrook, Sparkhill and the surrounding areas for over 30 years.

“Catering predominantly for people of African Caribbean origins, AFB Heritage is the ‘charitable arm’ of
the Assemblies of the First Born Church and has delivered a plan which developed and extended its
community-based welfare provision , including an after school club, Saturday school and allotment
gardens.

“A key part of the plan was the rebuilding of the facilities next to the church which has provided all the
community services to be accessible and take place under one roof.”

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

24
 delivering equality and diversity
Employer

The Agency’s employee profile is summarised in the table
below. As of April 2009 the Agency had an ‘employment
freeze’ in place and is not recruiting staff unless there is
an overwhelming business case to do so. Given the
Agency’s closure in March 2012, the recruitment freeze is
unlikely to be lifted and the Agency has conducted an
equality impact assessment in light of the closure. Our
Equal Pay Audits conducted every two years have
consistently indicated no discrepancy in pay between
women and men doing the same job. Furthermore, the
Department of Business, Innovation and Skills have
advised that given the imminent closure of RDAs there
would be little to gain in the Agency conducting any
further equal pay audits.

Advantage West Midlands workforce profile

th
Staff employed as of 15 March 2010. N=340

Gender
Women : 49%
Men: 51%
Ethnicity
Black Minority Ethnic: 15.8%
White: 84.2%
Disability
Declared Disabled – 0.6%
Sexuality and Disability Disclosure
The Agency monitors for Lesbian, Gay , Bisexual, Transgender and Heterosexual, however, no one has used the LGB and T
boxes. Disclosure is also very poor for disability, suggesting that action is needed as part of this Scheme.

Strategy Impact

Advantage West Midlands has assessed the Region’s
performance and through the WMES, set out agreed
priorities for regional economic growth.
Invest
Advantage West Midlands has invested energy and
resources in delivering our share of the WMES in line with
our procurement policy and practice which has equality
features embedded within it.
Influence
Advantage West Midlands has encouraged and
persuaded its partners to work with us so that we align
our collective energy and resources behind the WMES so
that delivery is in line with the evidence.
As well as incorporating equality impact into our project
application and appraisal processes and applying an
equality impact assessment tool for key policies and
functions, Advantage West Midlands has sought to
achieve maximum economic impact for its interventions
and investments; (currently £8.14 for every £1 invested in
the regions.
The impact from an equality and economic perspective all
support our efforts in Aiming for Excellence and the
Independent Supplementary Review where the Agency
obtained the maximum ‘4’ score in 2010.

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

25
development of the Single Equality Scheme
A=Scheme
Advantage West Midland’s Single Equality Scheme
provides an all-embracing policy on the prevention of
discrimination and promotion of equality and diversity.
It builds on the Agency’s existing schemes, and seeks to
widen its scope to encompass other equality strands.
The development of the Single Equality Scheme has
drawn substantially on the Agency’s existing schemes,
and the consultation evidence provided during their
development. Moreover, the Single Equality Scheme has
involved people from within and beyond the Agency in
highlighting achievements, good practice and any
priorities and themes moving forward.
The Agency’s Initial development of this Single Equality
Scheme supported by Consulting in Place involved
discussions with external equalities groups as well as
staff, managers and Board members at the Agency.
This input has helped to shape the Scheme in advance of
further development with the Agency’s Equality and
Diversity Strategic Engagement Group (constituted by
external partners and equality organisations) and the
Diversity Champions Group, made up from staff across all
directorates and all levels of responsibility.
Specifically, this scheme has been shaped by the following
consultations:
 Interviews with a number of regional equalities
groups
 meeting with senior Agency managers on 3
December 2009
 A meeting with the Agency Diversity Champions
Group on 14 January 2010Meeting with Agency
Board Members on 26th January 2010
 Meeting with Agency Board members on 26th
January 2010

Consultation Findings – Internal

Managers and Board Members believed that there was a fundamentally strong business case for promoting equality
and diversity, both within the Agency and the wider region.

Internal Finding Response of Consultees

The Single Equality Scheme is a potentially Both external and internal consultees noted that, for equality schemes to
important vehicle for making the business work effectively, strong leadership was crucial
case for equality and diversity

AWM senior management and the Board Similarly, all consultees stressed the need for Agency staff to be given the
should provide a strong element of necessary training to enable them to respond to equality and diversity
leadership and ownership for the Single issues with confidence
Equality Scheme

The Single Equality Scheme should ensure Economic inclusion was believed to be a key driver of the Agency’s work,
that AWM receive appropriate equality and this SES must reflect this as much as the seven strands
and diversity training

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

26
 Internal Finding Response of Consultees

The Single Equality Scheme should relate
to the work of the Economic Inclusion
Panel
The Diversity Champions Group had a focused meeting in April 2010 to
provide their input into the Single Equality Scheme which can be
summarised as:
Re-alignment and amendments to text
Inclusion of references and footnotes
Need to re-consider the Agency’s influencing role giving future of
the Agency
The Diversity Champions Group to be included in the SES review
cycle

Source: Consulting in Place, 2010

Consultation Findings – External

The Single Equality Scheme is widely considered to be a sensible and valuable way of rationalising existing equality and
diversity policy within public sector organisations, according to external consultees. However, some of those
representing groups who are covered by existing public sector duties (race, disability, gender) expressed concern that
the broadening of the equalities agenda might impact adversely on the focus afforded to them.
External Finding Response of Consultees

The Single Equality Scheme should not In contrast, some of the ‘newer’ equalities groups (i.e. those not covered
reduce the value or importance of work to by existing specific legislation) felt that they sometimes lacked the scale
promote equality for those groups already and capacity to make their voice heard
covered by existing legislation

The Single Equality Scheme should reflect
issues that relate to all equalities strands,
not just the most vocal
AWM will need to monitor potential
competing priorities as they arise, and deal
with individual issues sensitively and
carefully
It was suggested that the combining of several equalities strands
together could provide challenges for the Scheme in steering an
equitable path between competing priorities of different groups (for
example the views of some religious/faith groups towards issues of
sexual orientation)
The SES was seen as a way for the Agency to embed equality and
diversity into both its internal culture and external roles. This was only
felt to be able to happen if the SES was more than a document, but a
living, changing interaction between staff, stakeholders and communities

The SES must impact on all core functions
of the Agency
The Agency is widely regarded as having both a ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ influence
within the West Midlands: ‘hard’, in terms of its financial investment,
‘soft’ in terms of its role as a strategic influencer. Consultees were keen
to see the Agency use both of these mechanisms to promote equality
and diversity within the region

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

27
 External Finding Response of Consultees

The Single Equality Scheme should ensure
that Advantage West Midlands maximises
its opportunities to influence other bodies
including private sector companies within
the region in terms of promoting equality
and diversity
While the Agency was recognised as moving in the right direction with its
equality and diversity work, consultees considered that was a need to
publicise what it was doing to relevant communities and organisations to
ensure transparency and generate feedback. There was also an identified
need to publicise the importance of equality and diversity internally
within its own staff structures at all levels

Publicise SES to communities and groups
by publishing on the internet, and using
existing networks to seek feedback. Ensure
that all staff are aware of the SES and
understand why it is relevant to their roles.
The importance of ensuring ownership and accountability for equality
actions was stressed by all. Some consultees thought that an external
monitoring function would help to ensure accountability, and all
consultees believed that partnership with relevant organisations such as
the EHRC was vital to its success

The Single Equality Scheme should include See text below

a mechanism for external review

Source: Consulting in Place, 2009

NB. Further input on this scheme to be provided by the Equality and Diversity Strategic Engagement Group and the
Diversity Champions Group especially in light of the Agency’s closure in 2012.

Disability equality scheme involvement and consultation

(2009 & 2010)

Involvement of disabled people is a specific requirement
of the disability equality duty and the Agency worked in
partnership with the Council for Disabled People and the
Regional Disability Network to involve disabled people in
the shaping and development of its Disability Equality
Scheme with a series of events across the region in 2009
(phase 1) and 2010 (phase 2).
The phase 1 events were focused in mainly urban
locations and the phase 2 events in rural locations.
Phase1 involvement engaged 74 disability organisations
who each in turn involved about 100 people through
their networks; therefore we can approximate that about
7,400 individual disabled people were involved across
five sub regions. The full set of phase 1
recommendations and the Agency’s response can be
found in Appendix 1.
Phase 2 began in June 2010 and was completed in
August 2010. Six events have been delivered that
directly engaged 90 different groups, each of whom
involved approximately 60 people through their rural
networks, therefore about 5,400 disabled people
across the rural areas of the region.

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

28
next
actions
steps
2011 - 2012
Agency Activity - Employer

Action When Measure

To report on how staff have December 2011 Published report

contributed to equality and diversity
via the ‘personal’ competency
section of their annual review

Agency Activity - Strategy

To publish equality actions March 2011 Actions for 2011 – 12 as featured in

the SES
Taking part in the consultation process

If you would like to provide comments as part of the

To continue to facilitate meeting of Up to June 2011 consultation contact KwabenaofOsayande,
Reflection activities Equality and
in six monthly
the Equality and Diversity Strategic Diversity Manager at Advantage
report West Midlands
to the Leadership Teamonand
0121
Engagement Group 503 3243 or kwabenaosayande@advantagewm.co.uk
Board .

Agency Activity - Investment

The Agency has £240m to spend on March 2012 Available budget spend as allocated
projects during 2010-11 and £100m
in 2011-12

Agency Activity - Influence

Publish Single Equality Scheme April 2011 Published scheme on website

Agency Activity - Impact

Conduct evaluation of the equality By April 2011 Report to Leadership Team and Board
impact of Strategic Functions

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

29
 consultation and publication
The SES was published as a draft on the Agency’s website
for wider public consultation for three months from
November 2010. This was then submitted to the Agency’s
Leadership team and Board for formal endorsement in
February 2011 and finally published in March 2011.
Development activities to date:
June 2010 – initial internal working group to establish
shape and style based on feedback from Equality and
Diversity Strategic Engagement Group
July-September 2010 – further development of the
Single Equality Scheme with Equality and Diversity
Strategic Engagement Group and the Agency internal
Diversity Champions Group
Milestones to final publication were as follows:
October 2010 – final version prepared and
consultation process agreed
November 2010 – January 2011 - public consultation
period
February 2011 - final document prepared for sign off
by the Agency Leadership Team and Board.
March 2011- Single Equality Scheme launched and
published on Advantage West Midlands website

Communicating Equality and Diversity

Communication Why How When Outcome

Latest on the New legislation Equality and Diversity Training June 2010 -April Informed Staff
Single Equality Workshops, Leadership Team, 2011
Duty Diversity Champions Group,
staff intranet and e-bulletins

The business case Meets general duty Agency website, Equality and July 2010 – April Increased awareness of
for equality and to promote equality Diversity Strategic 2011 business case especially
diversity and eliminate Engagement Group to SMEs
discrimination

Public Good practice to Agency’s website October 2010 to Full consultation on

Consultation consult and meets January 2011 Single Equality Scheme
period for Single public duty to do so
Equality Scheme

Progress report Comes to end in To the Agency’s Leadership January 2011 Increased Leadership
on Equality and 2011 Team and Board, Board Team and Board
Diversity Action Remuneration Committee awareness
Plan 2007-11

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

30
The 2010 Civil Service Award for
Equality in Procurement was won by
the West Midlands Economic
Inclusion Panel for its work in
developing a Procurement
Framework for Jobs and Skills – a way
to provide job opportunities through
procurement for people not in work.

The Panel was set up and supported

by Advantage West Midlands.

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

31
legacy actions of equality
Since 2001 The Agency has delivered on many areas of equality and diversity activity such as a major national conference, “The Profit of Diversity” in 2004 which
helped the Agency to gain a national diversity award in 2005 and become ‘most improved’ organisation in 2006 in the Race for Opportunity benchmarking
programme. The main areas of activity for the Agency now centre on impact, influence, investment, strategy and as our role as an employer; below is a summary of
the key equality actions delivered over the last three years.

Agency Activity - Employer

Action When Measure Impact

To increase the internal Equality and
Diversity expertise
Every new employee to receive Equality Ongoing
and Diversity awareness training
By December 2009 14 of 15 staff completed a NCFE level 2
or 3 in Equality and Diversity
Over 90% staff have accepted the
Equality and Diversity Policy 2009 and
all new employees attend the Equality
and Diversity Induction workshop
within the first six months of
employment
Increased knowledge and expertise
that the Agency can draw upon.
Enhanced learning and
development of employees
Supports and evidences internal
audit recommendation and
demonstrates the Agency’s strong
commitment to Equality and
Diversity

Equality and Diversity integrated into Ongoing/Annual All employees are assessed in their Demonstrates the Agency’s strong
the Personnel Management and annual reviews for their competency in commitment to Equality and
Review Process Equality and Diversity Diversity

Introduction of a Staff Support Package By September 2010 Daily use of the Resource Centre and Benefit to staff and Agency in
in light Agency closure in 2012 other support measures as offered transition to closure

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

32
Agency Activity - Strategy
Action When Measure Imapct

To ensure that the region has a robust 2010 Economic Inclusion evidence based Increase of relevant data for the
and up to date evidence base to developed by West Midlands Regional region
inform policies and programmes Observatory published 2009

Worklessness Multiple Risk Factor data

and report developed by West
Midlands Regional Observatory
published 2010

To equality impact assess the West By 2007 Completed and published on the Positive - No negative impact
Midlands Economic Strategy (led by Agency’s website identified
the Regional Equality and Diversity
Partnership)

Agency Activity - Investment

Action When Measure Impact

To increase the level of procurement By March 2009 £1m Routes to Opportunity Programme Increased capacity of 155 third
in the West Midlands to minority successfully delivered sector Black and Minority Ethnic
groups and third sector companies organisations

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

33
 Agency Activity - Influence
Action
Promote good practice in Equality
and Diversity through leadership
To equality impact assess all key
Agency policy and strategy
documents in line with public duty
To promote good practice in
procurement
When Measure Impact
By 2010 Agency sponsored Business in the Increase understanding of business, legal and moral case
Community’s ‘Big Tick’ Awards in 2009 for Equality and Diversity
and 2010. Supported RegenWM’s
good practice in Equality and Diversity
in 2008 /2009. In partnership with the
West Midlands Employer Coalition
enabled ‘Diversity Week’ to take place
in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, 34 events
took place attracting 1,200 people
By July 2010 12 of 13 Strategic Functions equality Published Equality Impact Assessments for the Strategic
impact assessed using an online tool. Functions on Agency website
The Economic Strategy, Corporate Plan
and Project Review Process all
assessed for equality impact
By July 2010 The Procurement Framework for Jobs Increased profile of Equality and Diversity in procurement
and Skills, developed by the West within the region
Midlands Economic Inclusion Panel,
has been short-listed for the 'Equality
in Procurement Award' in the Civil
Service Diversity and Equality Awards
2010.
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
34
 To develop external involvement
mechanism for all strands of
equality and diversity
To deliver involvement events
for the Agency’s Disability
Equality Scheme
Agency Activity - Impact
Action
To incorporate Equality Impact
Assessment into project
processes
Monitoring of the West Midlands
Economic Strategy against a set
of outcome indicators
By April 2010 Equality and Diversity Strategic External expert input into the
Engagement Group set up March development of Equality and
2010 Diversity of AWM
By August 2010 Six involvement events delivered in Increased awareness of the Agency’s
urban areas in 2009 (see Appendix 1) work and good practice taken into
and six in rural areas in 2010 in the development of the SES
partnership with the Council for
Disabled People and Regional
Disability Network
When Measure Impact
By December 2009 The elements of an Equality Impact Mainstreamed Equality and Diversity
Assessment incorporated into the practice
Agency’s project application and
appraisal processes
Annual - difference between employment N/A as Agency is now in closure
rates for white and BME groups mode
- difference in employment rates for
those above and below the age of 50
- difference in employment rates for
disabled and non-disabled people.
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
35
appendix 1
Recommendations from DES involvement phase 1 and the Agency’s response
15 December 2009

The phase one report of involvement by the Council for Disabled People and the Regional Disability Network made a number of recommendations and the Agency’s
response was provided on behalf of the Agency for the Director for Sustainable Communities.

Recommendation Agency’s Response

Promotional material across the West Advantage West Midlands only has control of the material that it publishes directly it does not have any control over
Midlands to be in multi-accessible formats materials produced by other organisations in the West Midlands my response is therefore restricted to Advantage West
as standard Midlands materials.

In line with the “Disability Discrimination Act 1995 part 3” Advantage West Midlands will undertake to make reasonable
adjustments in terms of providing information in alternative formats where appropriate and where requested. It is not
feasible however to provide all documents that the Agency produces in all formats as “standard” due to the cost of such
an exercise at a time when public sector spending is being reduced. The final Single Equalities Scheme and its executive
summary will be provided in both word and PDF formats.

Measurement of the Disability Equality Advantage West Midlands will ensure that clear measures are included in any revisions to the scheme.
Schemes

Input into Advantage West Midlands Regional Development Agencies are sponsored by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills and has its
Strategic Aims overarching role, priorities and outputs set by the department at national level.

Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme

36
 Recommendation
Barriers to enabling Disabled people to
engage with the region’s economy
Absorption of costs by Disability
organisations
Agency’s Response
Advantage West Midlands translates the requirements placed upon it by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills
into the West Midlands Economic Strategy and its Corporate Plan. The West Midlands Economic Strategy which was
launched in December 2007 was subject to a more extensive consultation exercise than any other economic strategy in
any other region. Consultation events were delivered both at preferred options stage and final option stage across the
sub regions. The consultation events were open to everybody in the West Midlands.
The Agency will ensure that The Regional Disability Network and Council for Disabled People are fully informed of future
consultation events in order to ensure that relevant organisations receive notification of such consultations.
The points raised in this section refer to care support and accessible housing support. Advantage West Midlands has no
control over either of these activities so is not able to deliver any specific action against this. The Agency will pass the
comments raised to: Local Authorities, the Homes and Communities Agency and the Strategic Health Authority but it
should be understood that the Agency has no authority to ensure that any of these organisations respond to the
comments.
This point needs to be raised with the relevant government departments all of whom will have their own Disability
Equality Schemes or Single Equality Schemes.
The overarching role of Advantage West Midlands is to help to “create the conditions for growth in the region” if there is
a specific example where Disability organisations believe that they are absorbing the costs that Advantage West Midlands
should be absorbing please bring these to attention of the Agency.
Advantage West Midlands Single Equality Scheme
37
 Recommendation
The negative impact of the recession
Second phase of involvement
Rural involvement
Wider range of impairment to be
investigated
Agency’s Response
Advantage West Midlands on behalf of the West Midlands Economic Task Force produced a booklet on sources of
finance for third sector organisations both during and outside of recession. The Agency is happy to share this booklet for
information.
Advantage West Midlands funds Regional Action West Midlands to act as the voice of the third sector in the West
Midlands and to provide information on support available to the sector. The Agency will ask the Chief Executive of
Regional Action West Midlands to contact you with regards to any additional advice in terms of sources of support
available during the recession.
Advantage West Midlands itself has been and continues to be affected by the recession and as a result has had its
budget reduced and anticipates further reductions as part of the governments overall efficiency exercise.
The Agency can confirm that it will support a second phase of involvement through the Council of Disabled People in
order that the information that we have received is considered representative. The Agency’s Equality and Diversity
Manager will contact The Council for Disabled People to organise this to take place in 2010. As a consequence it will be
premature for Advantage West Midlands to publish a revision of the Disability Scheme until the involvement activity is
complete.
The Council of Disabled People will ensure that the second phase of involvement includes a wider rural representation.
This will be funded by Advantage West Midlands.
The Council of Disabled People will ensure that the second phase of involvement includes a wider range of impairment.
This will be funded by Advantage West Midlands.
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 Recommendation
Repeat involvement in areas already
covered in phase 1
Better Communication links
Accessibility of information
Agency’s Response
The Agency believes that the coverage in phase 1 is already extensive and far higher than involvement activity carried
out by other organisations and therefore will not be revisiting these areas. The second phase of involvement will
therefore focus on those geographies and groups not already covered.
The Agency is happy to meet with the Council of Disabled People and/or Regional Disability Network to discuss how
the activities of the Agency are best communicated to Disability organisations moving forward within the resources
available. Advantage West Midlands does have a website successfully audited for accessibility and contains most of
the information on the Agency. That said, the Agency is willing to discuss further any accessibility issues that you may
wish to bring to our attention.
The Agency does not intend to repeat the in depth involvement exercises with over a 100 groups as in phase 1 and 2
in the future as resources are not available to do this on a regular basis. The Agency will however establish an ongoing
Equality and Diversity Strategic Involvement Group for all strands which will meet the public disability duty to build
upon the involvement activity.
Advantage West Midlands only has control of the material that it publishes directly it does not have any control over
materials produced by other organisations in the West Midlands my response is therefore restricted to Advantage
West Midlands materials.
In line with the “Disability Discrimination Act 1995 part 3” Advantage West Midlands will undertake to make
reasonable adjustments in terms of providing information in alternative formats where appropriate and where
requested. It is not feasible however to provide all documents that the Agency produces in all formats as “standard”
due to the cost of such an exercise at a time when public sector spending is being reduced.
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 Recommendation
Care Support and Housing
Future consultation events
Benchmarks and measures
Agency’s Response
The final Single Equalities Scheme and its executive summary will be provided in both word and PDF formats.
The Agency is happy to discuss this area with you further and to identify specific publications that are required in
alternative formats so that we can work together on this.
The points raised in this section refer to care support and accessible housing support. Advantage West Midlands has no
control over either of these activities so is not able deliver any specific action. The Agency will however pass the
comments raised to: Local Authorities, the Homes and Communities Agency and the Strategic Health Authority but you
should understand that the Agency has no authority to ensure that any of these organisations respond to the
comments.
The Agency will ensure that the Equality and Diversity Manager and/or Director for Sustainable Communities will attend
all future involvement events and will also undertake to invite other organisations to attend though the Agency has no
authority to enforce this.
If there are specific partners you would like the Agency to approach please let us know so that we can invite them to
participate in future involvement events.
Establishing benchmarks and measures is an integral element of our emerging Single Equalities Scheme which will
undergo a 12 week consultation exercise commencing in October 2010 and will be published on the Advantage West
Midlands website.
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 Recommendation
Involvement in planning projects
Numbers of Disabled People in their
organisations involved in consultations
Agency’s Response
Majority of the projects that Advantage West Midlands funds are developed at local, sub regional or regional level by
other organisations who then submit applications for funding to Advantage West Midlands. Projects are rarely
developed directly by the Agency. Applications submitted are required to meet the specific element of the West
Midlands Economic Strategy that Advantage West Midlands funds directly which is around 5% of the total funding
captured in the West Midlands Economic Strategy.
The Agency application form currently includes a requirement for applicants to show how they have “designed in”
equality and diversity from concept stage. Moving forward the application form will also include an integral rather than
stand alone “equality impact assessment”.
The measure requested will therefore be difficult to measure specifically as community engagement is undertaken by
applicants across their communities and across all seven strands. The Agency will however consider how the question on
equality and diversity may be further revised when the application form is next reissued to capture further information.
Where the applicant is a public sector organisation they will of course be subject to the same public duties as Advantage
West Midlands and they will describe how they will undertake involvement in their own Disability Equality Schemes.
The Agency will undertake to measure the number of disabled organisations involved in future consultation exercises. It
will only be possible to measure the number of disabled “people” however if they are willing to disclose a disability.
It is unrealistic for Advantage West Midlands to measure involvement in the consultation exercises of delivery partners.
In the 33 local authorities alone there will be many consultation exercises and Advantage West Midlands simply does not
have the resource to measure this. All public sector delivery partners will however be subject to the same public duties
as Advantage West Midlands and should therefore be undertaking these duties directly so for Advantage West Midlands
to attempt to do this will be duplication.
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 Recommendation Agency’s Response

Number of enquiries from Disabled This information will be captured as requested.

peoples organisations regarding potential
support available to them from Advantage
West Midlands

Number of Disabled people employed by Advantage West Midlands in common with many other bodies does have difficulty in establishing the actual number of
AWM disabled people employed through disclosure at application and appointment stage.

Many individuals that we are “informally” aware of that have conditions that may be classed as a disability, particularly
hidden disabilities, choose not to formally disclose them officially as they themselves do not consider they have a
disability.

The information is often therefore known and discussed informally with line managers on a regular basis in order to
ensure any adjustments can be made but not officially disclosed on a register.

The Agency will review how this informal information can be captured more formally moving forward.

Numbers of staff and management This will be captured though will include training and development that captures a wider range of equality and diversity
receiving Disability Equality Training including mandatory induction and mandatory Single Equality Scheme sessions.

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Acknowledgements

Marie Greer, Director of Sustainable Communities and Chair

of the Equality and Diversity Strategic Engagement Group
Kwabena Osayande, Equality and Diversity Manager,
Advantage West Midlands
Lynsey Kerr, Communications Manager, Advantage West
Midlands
Claire Robinson, Rural Policy Manager, Advantage West
Midlands
Iain Neville, Head of Economic Inclusion, Advantage West
Midlands
All members of the Equality and Diversity Strategic
Engagement Group 2010-11
All members of the Diversity Champions Group 2010
The West Midlands Regional Observatory
The West Midlands Employer Coalition
Consulting in Place

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 3 Priestley Wharf – Holt Street – Birmingham Science Park Aston – Birmingham B7 4BN

Tel: +44(0)121 380 3500 – Fax: +44(0)121 380 3501

www.advantagewm.co.uk

Text-only versions of this brochure can be provided in large print, Braille

and other languages.

Please contact the Communications Team on 0121 380 3500

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