From where did the Race Equality Scheme originate?
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report (1999) highlighted the fact that many public authorities were failing to adequately address the problems of racial discrimination and inequality.
Consequently, the Race Relations Act (1976) was amended by Parliament in 2000 - requiring public authorities like Northamptonshire County Council to publish a Race Equality Scheme.
This amendment imposed new duties on public authorities to have due regard for the need to:
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Eliminate unlawful discrimination
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Promote equality of opportunity
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Proactively promote good race relations
To view the Commission for Racial Equality's guide to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act please click on the link below:
What is a Race Equality Scheme?
A race equality scheme is a statement of how a public authority, such as Northamptonshire County Council, plans to meet its duty to promote equality of opportunity under the amended Race Relations Act.
It is intended to help public authorities make sure that they address their general duty at a corporate level and ensure that racial equality is addressed in all the activities carried out by Northamptonshire County Council.
Our Race Equality Scheme commits Northamptonshire County Council to:
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Consult appropriately when developing new policies, practices or procedures
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Make assessments of the likely impact of these policies, practices or procedures on different communities
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Monitor how we implement policy and service delivery
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Take action to remedy any unjustified or unexpected outcomes which adversely affect Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities
This Race Equality Scheme, our first, covers all service areas in the county council and includes an Improvement Action Plan identifying what actions we will undertake in the first year.
Our Annual Report
Our work to date has engaged all service areas in order to demonstrate our commitment to meeting the requirements of the duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
We have recently published the findings of our first Annual Report on our Race Equality Scheme.
The main conclusions of our Annual Report were:
- The need to take better account of race equality, and equality considerations generally, in our policies and in the way we develop new policies
- It is necessary to provide improved training and support for our staff so they are aware of their responsibilities under the Race Relations Act
- We need to use the results of our monitoring and evaluation in order to make improvements
- Improvement is required in the way we monitor our employment, recruitment and personnel policies and practices, to better reflect the needs and aspirations of our staff, and the people of Northamptonshire
Race Equality Scheme Annual Report 2002-2004 (pdf format 186kb)
Consultation and Feedback
Following the implementation of our Race Equality Scheme and production of our Annual Report (2002-04), we are now consulting on our current scheme because it is important that we receive your views and comments on our work.
Please complete the questionnaire below and tell us your views on our Race Equality Scheme and the progress we have made.
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