Summary of SU recommendations
Building employability
Department for Education and Skills (DfES) should factor ethnicity into education floor targets where data reveals persistence of attainment gaps. DfES
Where attainment gap is of serious concern Ofsted should identify this in summary report to parents. DfES/Ofsted
DfES funding arrangements should be reviewed –
- i)Ethnic Minority Achievement grant linked to need
- ii)flexibility to help Local Education Authorities/schools through periods of high turnover DfES
Review of use of information on best practice DfES
Parental engagement processes
- i)schools should identify ethnically related drivers of disengagement
- ii)methods of engagement should be tailored to specific needs
- iii)schools should analyse disengagement by ethnicity DfES
DfES should draw up communications strategy for ethnic minority parents DfES
DfES should conduct research to answer key questions:
- i)what problems do migrant pupils face?
- ii)what skills sets do ethnic minority graduates have?
- iii)to what extent do ethnic minority parents understand the education system?
- iv) what is the demand for English language tuition amongst adults?
- v) are ethnic minority pupils placed in lower sets than appears just?
- vi) What can analysis of value-added data show about differential ethnic attainment levels? DfES
Connecting people with work
Jobcentre Plus Action Plan to improve performance for ethnic minorities should be developed DWP
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should review Jobcentre Plus target points system DWP
DWP should use evaluation of current round of New Deal ‘Tailored Pathway’ pilots to review effect of increased programme flexibility DWP
Consideration should be given to rolling out the Employment Zone model to New Deal for Young People clients DWP
In the 30 + 30 areas, DWP should encourage Jobcentre Plus to develop employment interventions in partnership with social housing providers DWP
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) should begin the roll-out of the Housing and Employment Mobility Service. ODPM
Analysis of low levels of formal childcare use DfES & Inland Revenue
The Small Business Service (SBS) should adopt a range of measures to increase effectiveness of support, including:
- i) developing strategy to enable each Business Link operator to draw on data on its ethnic minority customer base
- ii)a strategy to deliver focused/tailored information on its services to ethnic minority entrepreneurs
- iii) each Business Link operator should set year on year improvement targets to improve proportion of ethnic minority businesses served DTI & SBS
Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU) should report on how funds used in deprived neighbourhoods are benefiting ethnic minority communities DTI & NRU Equal opportunities in the workplace
In order to provide better information & support to employers:
- i) The Advisory Conciliatory and Arbitration Service (ACAS) should double size of the Race and Equality Advisory Service (REAS)
- ii) Jobcentre Plus should be pro-active in delivering information & raising awareness of race equality issues
- iii) The Commission for Racial Equality should disseminate best practice in implementation of the Race Relations (Amendment) Activ) SBS should raise awareness among small business owners of importance of race equality policies DTI, ACAS, DWP, & SBS
DTI and DWP should conduct an independent review of how support systems to employers can be strengthened DTI & DWP
CRE should update its Code of Practice in Employment Home Office & CRE
CRE should examine options for high-profile award and recognition schemes Home Office & CRE
DWP and the National Employment Panel (NEP) should examine feasibility of Job Opportunity Compacts in five cities with highest proportion of ethnic minorities DWP & NEP
In order to ensure that patterns and trends in Employment Tribunal cases are noted and addressed, DTI should:
- i) collect and publish data on repeat offences by specific employers
- ii) mandate Presidents of Tribunals to monitor racial discrimination cases and report findings to DTI Secretary of State DTI
DTI should carry out a review of most effective means to tackle systematic racial discrimination amongst employers DTI
DWP and DTI should develop research programme to improve understanding of the nature, causes and extent of racial discrimination in the workplace DWP & DTI
CRE should examine ways to make greater use of its general enquiry powers to gather evidence of underlying patterns of discrimination and disadvantage Home Office & CRE
Clear guidance on race equality issues in public procurement is required. Home Office, the Office of Government Commerce and ODPM should consider how this can be achieved. Guidance should:
- i) explain what is and is not permissible at each stage of procurement process
- ii) exercise full extent of UK and EU law
- iii) explicitly encourage public authorities to use this scope
- iv) include several model approachesGuidance should be disseminated to relevant public authorities Home Office, CRE, OGC and ODPM
i) Home Office and CRE should commission research to determine whether awareness campaigns are an effective instrument for changing negative attitudes
ii) Research should include an examination on how to design, implement and assess such campaigns Home Office & CRE
