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There is no equality of opportunity if difference is not recognised and valued

The North West is one of the most culturally diverse regions in England. In the urban centres of the regions in particular, cultural diversity is increasingly cited as a matter of pride and has become an emerging strength of the region's cities as they re-invent themselves as major growth magnets, places of culture, learning and enterprise.

• The region is rich with beautiful countryside and national parks.
• It is one of the biggest centres for lesbian, gay and bisexual populations in the UK.
• The Region has more premiership football teams than any other UK region.
• Manchester has the largest concentration of creative industries outside of London.

Given the cultural diversity of the region, it is not surprising that the North West is also socially and ethnically diverse:

• Over 7% of the population of Greater Manchester are of Asian, Black, Chinese, Mixed or other non-white heritage - representing as much as 20% of the population in the City of Manchester and between 10%-15% of many towns. 1.2% are Irish and a number will also be gypsies and travellers.
• About 15% are young people aged 14-25, and 34% are older people over 50.
• Around 20% are disabled (having a limiting long term condition).
• Estimates suggest around 5-7% are Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual.
• Over 80% consider themselves to have a faith. The majority are Christians but the region is home to many practising members of minority faiths including Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs and Buddhists.

The North West has an ageing population, increasing numbers of women in the workforce and BME groups are accounting for a larger proportion of population growth. Equality can no longer be seen as the concern of the few.

Defining Equality and Diversity

Equality is essentially about creating a fair organisation that reflects the diversity within society where everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. It is backed by the legislation designed to address unfair discrimination (past, present or potential) that is based on membership of a particular group. In some circumstances, positive action is encouraged to address discrimination.

It is often summarised in terms of:

• Equal Access
• Equal Treatment
• Equal Shares
• Equal Outcomes

Diversity is about the recognition and valuing of difference in its broadest sense. It is about creating a working culture and practices that recognise, respect, value and harness difference for the benefit of the organisation and the individual.

Equality and diversity are not inter-changeable but are inter-dependent. There is no equality of opportunity if difference is not recognised and valued.

Another factor is the emphasis on social inclusion rather than focus on race, gender and disability. Diversity is more about the collective mixture of individuals, cultures and organisational expertise - all the differences that make us unique and the commonalities that connect us for the benefit of the individual and the organisation.

Our Business Drivers
The National Framework sets out some of the main business drivers for fire and rescue services to adopt strategies relating to diversity which are

• Managing risk and reputation
• Appealing to an inclusive customer base
• Enhancing individual and business performance
• Developing a creative and innovative culture
• Attracting, retaining and developing staff
• The need to be a fair and equitable employer
• The Legal Imperative

Our Fire and Rescue Service performs a vital role in society but the challenges we face have changed over recent years. In the context of this change the Integrated Risk Management Plan looks at how we can continuously improve the service we deliver and how we can change the focus from response to prevention.  This means: 

• Focusing attention on saving lives by preventing fires before they happen. 
• Responding to emergencies as effectively as possible whether that is on a local, regional or national level. 
• Being equipped and prepared to respond to major terrorist incidents or environmental disasters. 
• Providing better value for money. 

We are committed to integrating and mainstreaming Equality and Diversity into all that we do. To assist in implementing our Equality and Diversity Strategy we have adopted the Equality Standard for Local Government. Working with the Standard and our Race Equality Scheme will allow us to introduce a comprehensive and systematic approach to dealing with equality and diversity in all aspects of policy making, service delivery and employment.

Key Challenges   

• Leadership and Organisational Culture Change 
• Building the capacity to deliver a workforce reflective of the community 
• Developing service delivery to recognise and meet the needs of a diverse community 
• Establishment forward planning and seeking to increase under represented groups through positive action in recruitment

The Way Forward
Key to meeting those challenges will be:

• Encouraging robust leadership at all levels of the organisation resulting in raised confidence and ownership amongst the workforce. There is little doubt that the most important component of any strategic change intervention is visible, demonstrable, top level commitment to that change.

The organisation has established a senior level champion in the CFO to   lead the Equality and Diversity Strategy.

Developing and cascading an Equality and Diversity vision statement.

Securing professional and specialist advice on Equality and Diversity legislation, practice and issues.

• Developing a comprehensive strategy that demonstrates that equality and diversity are integrated and mainstreamed into the business planning process.

Establishing the present position of the organisation in relation to compliance and diversity good practice.

Producing a risk analysis report for the senior level champion

• Developing a robust strategic approach that leads to the development of locally relevant Borough action plans and schemes. This should be accompanied by putting mechanisms in place to assess the impact on all staff groups and assess any barriers to effective service delivery and developing an inclusive workforce.

Developing a communication plan to support the implementation of the Equality and Diversity strategy.

Ensuring Equality and Diversity is a standard agenda item on Borough meetings

Increasing awareness amongst the workforce to understand Equality and Diversity, the strategy and how they will be involved in its implementation.

• Improving in the priority given to analysing equality and diversity workforce data collected and evidence of this data being used in the business planning process.
• Integrating equality and diversity issues in performance management, for example, by assessing managers understanding of equality and diversity at performance interviews and making them accountable for local action plans.

Mainstreaming Equality and Diversity through IPDS

• Local community involvement in our Equality and Diversity Overview Group - resulting in raised local confidence and a culture of partnership and ownership.

Consulting with local communities and under-represented groups on service delivery and employment and any proposed changes.

Overview Group to monitor progress.

• Developing partnerships with public, voluntary and community bodies to support service delivery.

Promoting GMFRS development and progress in the field of Equality and Diversity.

Factors to be considered

In taking this agenda forward consideration should be given to the potential impact of:  

• Legislative and statutory requirements and responsibilities including CPA
• Commitment to the Equality Standard and the Race Equality Scheme
• Existing policies, practices and procedures
• Overlap with other key strategic areas of the National Framework
• People and other resource issues
• Training and Education
• Effective Outreach activity

Conclusion
The route to quality service provision and employment provision within the North West Region is the mainstreaming of Equality and Diversity. This strategy recommends that Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service accepts the key challenges and the way forward integrating them with local IRMPs to produce robust action plans and stretching targets.
 

Mainstreaming requires that all those planning, implementing and evaluating service delivery and employment strategies properly consider the effects of policies and projects on disadvantaged groups.

The strategy will be implemented via the Equality and Diversity Action Plan