Building in equalities
Consideration of equalities issues should underpin all work in regeneration areas. Outcome agreements are no exception, and consideration should be given to the different perspectives and needs within society at all stages of the planning and implementation cycle. Needs, expectations and access to services may differ on the basis of gender, race, disability, age, religion/faith beliefs and sexual orientation.
Mainstreaming equalities refers to the need for all mainstream strategies, policies and programmes to have consideration for different groups in society. Researchers, policy makers and those delivering services need to make sure that services reflect the needs of different groups in the design and delivery of services.
Where there is evidence of equalities issues, the groups involved should be clearly identified and defined using the legislative framework for equalities work. They should also be consulted about what they think the issues are. The Community Engagement….How to Guide can help with this.
Mainstreaming is about BUILDING IN not building ON. So the needs of equalities groups should be taken into consideration from the outset. Communities Scotland have published a report on Using Evidence to Mainstream Equalities in Regeneration, which includes a number of sources of information and tools for analysis.
A commitment to equalities needs to be reflected throughout an outcome agreement, in:
• The analysis of need
• Targeting and setting of outcomes and outputs
• Allocation of budgets.
Key questions that can help in this respect are:
• Does the strategic context of the outcome agreement show a commitment to equalities?
• Does it define what is meant by equalities?
• Does it include all 6 of the equality strands?
• Is the commitment to equality followed through into the analysis of need, targeting and setting of outcome and outputs and the monitoring framework? In other words, are any of the six equalities groups disproportionately affected by specific issues such as health or education or access to specific services? If so, can regeneration outcomes help focus partners attention on the issue(s)?
• Is this commitment reflected in terms of budget allocation?
• What level of commitment is given by CPP members to equalities?
• What political support is there within partnerships to take equalities forward?
• Can equalities champions be identified in each organisation and within the CPP?
Services should also be appropriate, accessible and welcoming to all. The Scottish Centre for Regeneration’s Equalities Learning Point on Equalities in Community Regeneration highlights issues that need to be tackled to ensure that equalities are mainstreamed.
The limited availability of equalities’ evidence at the local level is highlighted in ‘Review of evidence in the CRF’ which will be published in the near future. This resulted in limited attention being given to equalities issues in the 2005-08 Regeneration Outcome Agreements (ROAs). The report advocates the use of regional and national evidence and the findings from stakeholder consultations to fill gaps in local data.
