Memorandum by the Commission for Racial
Equality (CRE) (FIR 57)
SUMMARY
The CRE welcomes the white paper. The fire service
has made little impression on racial inequalities despite a considerable
effort and the issue deserves to be given the highest priority.
The white paper offers an opportunity through the modernisation
process to build equality and diversity into the new service.
It is vital that the opportunity is grasped by all stakeholders
in the service and that they act in partnership to realise the
aim of a service which, not just in terms of its personnel but
also in terms of the services it provides, its preventative work,
its role in the community and the way it conducts procurement
embeds a pro-active approach to equality and diversity. The CRE
is concerned that the white paper does not properly reflect the
race equality duty of fire authorities, the ODPM or the other
national institutions
RACE RELATIONS
(AMENDMENT) ACT
The starting point for the CRE lies in the important
changes made to the Race Relations Act by the Race Relations (Amendment)
Act 2000. The latter, which embodied the government's legislative
response to the findings of the Lawrence Inquiry placed on listed
public authorities a general duty in carrying our their functions
to eliminate racial discrimination and promote equality of opportunity
and good relations between people of different racial groups.
It also clarified the law by making it clear that the prohibition
on racial discrimination applies to all functions of public bodies.
Using powers in the Act, the Home Secretary has placed more specific
duties on a range of authorities to publish a Race Equality Scheme
and to carry out detailed ethnic monitoring of their employment
function. The RES requires authorities to list their functions
that are relevant to the general duty, to make arrangements to
assess and consult on policy proposals, monitor existing policies
for any adverse racial impact, publish the results of monitoring,
etc and train personnel on meeting the substantive duties. The
general duty came into effect in April 2001 and the specific duties
in May 2002.
All fire services are subject to the general
and specific duties, the majority directly and some that are integrally
part of a county council indirectly through the council. The recently
published report of research commissioned by the CRE into the
extent and quality of compliance with the race equality duty found
that while 93% of local authorities had produced a race equality
scheme, considerably fewer had defined a timetabled set of outcomes
that they wanted to achieve.
The public authorities that oversee, support
and inspect the Fire Service: the ODPM, HM Fire Service Inspectorate,
the Audit Commission and the Fire Service College (as an agency
of ODPM) are subject to the general and specific duties. The ODPM
is responsible for assessing any negative impact and consulting
on the new policies set out in the White Paper. It is important
that impact assessment is undertaken systematically considering
that the white paper itself contains no indication that any prior
impact assessment has been carried out.
ODPM's race equality scheme includes commitments
on the fire service. The action plan contains several items for
action by the National Community Fire Safety Centre including
development of the Centre's Toolbox to encourage brigades' involvement
with ethnic minority communities and publication of statistical
research of fire risk. In the employment field there are commitments
including to develop a national strategy to help brigades achieve
7% ethnic minority representation and other actions that are detailed
in the white paper (see below).
BACKGROUND ON
RACE EQUALITY
IN THE
FIRE SERVICE
Concern about equality of opportunity in the
fire service has a long history. In the 1980s urban fire authorities
made considerable efforts in greater London and in the metropolitan
county areas, with support from the Fire Brigades Union, to improve
representation in employment. Those efforts throw into stark relief
the gross under representation that continues to the present.
Action by the central institutions was slower gain pace but has
accelerated distinctly in recent years. Although there had been
earlier studies, the first systematic review was undertaken by
HM Fire Service Inspectorate in 1998-99. The report "Equality
and Fairness in the Fire Service" was based on inspections
of 10 brigades and a questionnaire survey of all fire authorities.
The inspectorate noted in its (September 1999) report that in
March 1998 "there were only 513 people from black and ethnic
minorities . . . employed in a service with a whole time uniformed
(excluding control room staff) strength of 33,597 and a retained
service of 14,483." As the report concluded,
"The findings of the review are critical
of many of the aspects of equality and fairness in the fire service.
They also point to the contribution to the unsatisfactory situation
made by the overriding culture within the service, including relationships
and leadership style. The criticisms apply across all the organisations
responsible for the fire service."
The report made 23 recommendations. One of these
was that there should be a further full thematic review planned
to report during 2003. Because of the industrial action in late
2002 and in 2003, this review was postponed and as a result there
has not been a systematic review of progress against the recommendations.
Several of the recommendations were directed
at the Equal Opportunities Task Group (EOTG), including recommendations
that the Group should provide guidance for brigades on good practice
in equal opportunities and on steps to be taken to achieve targets.
The EOTG subsequently produced two documents in the form of action
plans for the service, "Towards Diversity" covering
June 2000 to May 2001 and "Towards Diversity II", published
December 2001. The former set out a series of actions with completion
dates. The latter developed the "benchmarks and behaviours"
promoted by its predecessor aiming to carry forward many of the
same actions through some 28 exhortations directed to fire services.
Both gave significant emphasis to promoting cultural change. Although
these documents contain many valuable pointers, and were in many
respects incorporated in the expectations of the Inspectorate,
the perception is that they did not succeed in bringing about
substantial change they aimed for. One element that was especially
lacking was that they did not marshal an overall strategy with
clear Government leadership, which would mobilise the efforts
of key central bodies within a framework of strategic objectives.
Employment is the one area in which strategic
objectives have been established for race equality in the fire
service. In July 1999, when the service came under the Home Office,
the Secretary of State, after consultation, set a series of targets
for recruitment, retention and progression in the fire service
(as well as the police, probation and prison services and other
agencies) to be achieved by 2009. The recruitment targets were
calibrated according to the ethnic minority population of the
areas covered by brigades. A milestone review was planned for
2002. In the fire service, the targets were supported in 2001-03
by £10 million in supplementary credit approvals for projects
promoting equality and diversity. The Home Office published reviews
of progress in 2000 and 2001, and a milestone study in January
2003. Although the fire service had been transferred to the DTLR
(and later to the ODPM), the 2001 review included coverage of
the data, etc for the service. Of the four main services, the
fire service was the only one to record no progress in ethnic
minority representation from 2000 to 2001. No milestone check
has been published for the fire service for 2002. Unpublished
figures from ODPM indicate a very slow rate of increase: 31 of
the 49 services showing—mostly very small—advances
in the representation of ethic minority people in whole time,
retained and control staffing.
THE WHITE
PAPER
The vision
The White Paper sets out a vision for the Fire
Service, which includes acting "in support of the Government's
wider agenda of social inclusion . . ." More specifically
the vision includes a diverse workforce, which clearly includes
diversity in terms of ethnicity. A "culture change"
to one focused firmly on prevention "will make [the Service]
more attractive to a wider and more diverse range of people".
While the CRE warmly welcomes the broad intentions of the way
the vision is expressed, it would be additionally welcome if in
its statements on its vision the Government were to make it clear
that race equality objectives are explicitly included.
It is easy to fall into the assumption that
the only important race equality objectives for the fire service
are in the employment field. While shifting the workforce profile
of the service locally and nationally is perhaps the leading race
equality challenge, the White Paper is right to connect this issue
with the provision of services and the wider community role. There
is a virtuous circle to be found: making a success of the new
role will help in employing a diverse workforce which in its turn
will help the service more effectively to deliver its new role.
THE NEW
ROLE FOR
THE SERVICE
The CRE welcomes the emphasis in the White Paper
on moving the Service to a more preventative role and increasing
its engagement with local communities. The White Paper points
out that ethnic minority households are less likely to have fire
alarms, putting them at greater risk from domestic fires. In general
terms, the concentration of ethnic minority households in socially
deprived areas, which suffer higher levels of accidental or deliberate
fires, means they are more likely to be victims of fire than the
population at large. Promoting a fire-safe environment through
community fire safety, particularly if initiatives are targeted
at areas of greatest social deprivation, is likely to reduce deaths
and injuries from fire suffered by ethnic minority communities.
However, it will be important first to ensure that initiatives
are also carefully tailored to the circumstances, including language
needs, of such communities. Secondly, there must be careful monitoring
of the actual impact of these policies on ethnic minority households
in practice.
NATIONAL, REGIONAL
AND LOCAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
The white paper proposes that there will be
a new "National Framework" for the service. The Framework
is to provide the context for the overall work and direction of
the service. It will set out the outcomes the Government expects
the service to achieve, how it will undertake specific functions,
such as aspects of procurement, and the financial and other support
that the Government will provide. If race equality aims and targets
are to be achieved it is in our view essential that they are built
into the National Framework. This is most obviously the case with
the targets for a workforce that is more representative at all
levels and in all occupations of the ethnic background of the
communities served. But in addition, the Framework should include
the broader measure of performance in terms of compliance with
the race equality duty of fire authorities set out in Best Value
performance indicator 2b. What is needed is a broad framework
of race equality goals on the lines of the existing employment
targets within which, as the white paper points out, authorities
would decide how best to deliver their contribution. The CRE looks
forward to seeing race equality clearly profiled in the Government's
forthcoming consultation on the content of the National Framework.
In addition to the proposed national framework,
the white paper also proposes that certain functions should be
handled at regional level and eventually that there should be
regional fire authorities. Among those there are two which are
particularly relevant to race equality: human resources and the
procurement function. In respect of HR, the CRE accepts that interventions
to improve the recruitment of ethnic minority personnel would
be more effectively pursued at a level at which greater expertise
can be deployed than is available to many of the present local
services. In respect of procurement, we have recently published
detailed guidance for public authorities on the way they can meet
their race equality duty in this functional area. It is likely
in our view that the skills needed to reap the benefits that good
race equality procurement can offer would also be more effectively
provided at the regional level.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM
The CRE supports the proposals for clearer roles
and responsibilities and more cohesive working of the main institutions.
We believe that the reforms have the potential to focus more effectively
on the delivery of race equality than has been the case in recent
years. It is important that race equality is appropriately on
the agenda of each of the institutions that are established. The
group of advisers charged with giving strategic policy advice
should review, perhaps on an annual basis, the level of performance
and achievement of the service in race equality and advise on
the general direction of policy. The Service Improvement Team,
which will be responsible for delivering the National Framework
and for ensuring that the institutions work together in a coherent
way, will need to focus on developing a programme of action to
deliver the race equality agenda.
The CRE is keenly interested in the white paper
proposals for ensuring quality assurance and inspection. The CRE
has a statutory power to enforce compliance with the specific
duties through a notice procedure. However, considering alone
the sheer numbers of public authorities, in order to ensure the
rapid achievement of the goals of the legislation, the Government
made clear from the beginning its expectation that the inspection
and audit bodies would provide the first line of challenge to
the performance of public authorities. The Commission has worked
with the inspectorates to develop guidance on inspecting for race
equality so that the race equality duty is built into their inspection
methodologies, and to reach agreement on working in cooperation
to enhance the performance of inspected bodies. HM Fire Service
Inspectorate has been part of this process. The white paper sets
out the intention for quality assurance and inspection of the
fire service to be taken over by the Audit Commission and to work
towards the introduction of Comprehensive Performance Assessment
for the service. The CRE appreciates the value of the CPA process
for local authorities. However, we have been critical of the rather
abbreviated way in which the Audit Commission incorporated the
race equality duty into the CPA for multi-purpose and top-tier
authorities. In our view it did not provide a means to judge whether
authorities assessed as well performing were performing to such
a standard in respect of race equality. We are working with the
Audit Commission and the ODPM to strengthen the CPA methodology.
It will be important that the HM Fire Service Inspectorate engage
with the Audit Commission to ensure input of their knowledge and
experience of inspecting for race equality.
An important role is envisaged for the Fire
Service College in the modernisation process. It is clear that
there will be a need to supply the learning needs of a service
in which race equality is increasingly central and the College
should ensure this is built into its programmes. In particular,
the role identified in to the white paper to develop the future
leaders of the service is one which will be critical to the one
of the key race equality goals: to achieve proper ethnic minority
representation at all levels of the service.
EMPLOYMENT ISSUES
Chapter 8 of the white paper states that
"The service does not represent the community
it serves. In 2002, women accounted for only 1.7% of the operational
workforce, while ethnic minority staff accounted for just 1.8%
of the total workforce."
Taking a broad approach, the paper identifies
a number of factors that contribute to this situation: anachronistic
discipline regulations; restrictive appointments and promotions
regulations; and limited opportunities for staff development.
Key proposals to address the problem include implementing the
Integrated Personal Development System, simplifying the rank structure,
introducing multi-level entry and accelerated development, introducing
new selection tests and reviewing the medical standards required
for employment. Echoing a main finding of the Inspectorate's thematic
review, the white paper criticises the "closed working culture",
including bullying and harassment, as "not tolerable"
and promises "action, working with the employers and the
unions to promote a more diverse culture". Bringing these
points together it undertakes that,
As part of the National Framework we will further
develop the existing diversity strategy to support the service:
to raise awareness of the career opportunities on offer to all
sections of the community; to use more effective recruitment techniques;
to tackle barriers to promotion and progression; and to address
the issues affecting staff retention
The CRE welcomes these commitments, particularly
in respect of the National Framework. It is essential that rigorous
impact assessments are conducted of these new or developing policies
so that any possible adverse impacts are identified. The benefits
of new policies in increasing equality of opportunity and contributing
to the achievement of employment targets should also be identified
so that their effects can be placed alongside policies of positive
action.
SUMMARY OF
KEY POINTS
— The white paper should itself have
been subject to impact assessment in accordance with the Government's
race equality duty.
— The new and developing policies set
out in the white paper should be subject to rigorous impact assessment.
— The modernisation process offers
a unique opportunity to mainstream race equality in the fire service
and achieve critical outcomes.
— In conveying the vision set out in
the white paper the Government, the ODPM and others should articulate
it in terms of race equality specifically not just equality and
diversity in general.
— The National Framework should set
out a clear and credible strategy for race equality, incorporating
the employment targets, bringing together the contributions of
all relevant agencies and committing the necessary resources.
— The development of the reformed institutional
framework should be scrutinised so that race equality is designed
in from the outset with a clear allocation of roles and responsibilities
at all levels.
Daniel Silverstone
Chief Executive
October 2003
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