PSA 7: Reduce race inequalities and build
community cohesion
Scope
This target applies to England and Wales
Definitions and Measurement Systems
This target will be achieved through:
- A decrease in perceptions of racial discrimination
by a range of organisations and in the labour market as measured
through the Home Office Citizenship Survey[59].
The Citizenship Survey is carried out every other year. It has
a minority ethnic booster sample that provides robust results
by ethnicity.
- Building community cohesion is achieved through
an increase in perceptions of community cohesion, as measured
through the Citizenship Survey Local Area Boost. For the baseline
year, 10 areas will be selected on the basis of risk of disturbances.
Baseline
The baseline periods are:
- 2001 for the perceptions of racial discrimination
by a range of organisations.
- 2003 for perceptions of racial discrimination
in the labour market (the first time this data will be available).
- 2005 for community cohesion. For the purposes
of this PSA, the high risk areas will be determined in 2005 and
these will remain throughout the PSA period.
Success Criteria
The target will have been achieved if there is
both:
- a decrease in perceptions of racial discrimination
in the majority of organisations where perceptions are high[60]
and in the labour market[61]
by 2007; and
- an increase in perceptions of community cohesion
in the majority of areas where the risk of disturbance is high,
by 2007.
Additional Notes
This PSA forms part of the Government-wide community
cohesion and race equality strategy.
Race equality
In addition to this PSA, SR2004 includes PSA targets
for DWP to:
Over the three years to Spring 2008, and taking
account of the economic cycle:
- demonstrate progress on increasing the employment
rate;
- increase the employment rate of disadvantaged
groups (lone parents, ethnic minorities, people aged 50 or over,
those with the lowest qualifications and those living in the Local
Authority wards with the poorest initial labour market position);
and
- significantly reduce the difference between
the employment rates of the disadvantaged groups and the overall
rate (DWP PSA 4).
And for the DTI to:
By 2008, promote ethnic diversity, cooperative
employment relations and greater choice and commitment in the
workplace, while maintaining a flexible labour market (DTI PSA
10).
In addition to these three PSAs, there are six other
PSAs where departments will monitor progress in tackling race
inequalities, specifically:
DfES: (PSA 10) Key Stage
4. By 2008, 60% of those aged 16 achieve the equivalent of 5 GCSEs
at grades A* to C); and in all schools at least 20% of pupils
achieve this standard by 2004, rising to 25% by 2006 and 30% by
2008.
DfES: (PSA 14) by 2010,
increase participation in Higher Education towards 50% of those
aged 18 to 30. Also, make significant progress year on year towards
fair access, and bear down on rates of non-completion.
DoH: (PSA 2) reduce health
inequalities by 10% by 2010 as measured by infant mortality and
life
expectancy at birth.
CJS: (PSA 2) reassure
the public, reducing the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour,
and build confidence in the criminal justice system without compromising
fairness.
ODPM: (PSA 5) achieve
a better balance between housing availability and the demand for
housing, including improving affordability, in all English regions
while protecting valuable countryside around our towns, cities
and in the green belt and the sustainability of towns and cities.
ODPM: (PSA 7) by 2010,
bring all social housing into a decent condition with most of
this improvement taking place in deprived areas, and for vulnerable
households in the private sector, including families with children,
increase the proportion who live in homes that are in decent condition.
Reporting
Progress in reducing race inequalities and increasing
community cohesion as part of the Government's wider strategy
(including the race equality dimension to relevant PSAs) will
be reported annually as part of the Government's Race Equality
and Community Cohesion
Strategy, which is
led by the Home Office.
59 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pubsintro1.html Back
60
These organisations include police service, prison service, courts,
Crown Prosecution Service, probation service, immigration authorities,
Home Office, council housing departments / housing associations,private
landlords / letting agencies. Back
61
This constitutes 11 measures - 9 organisational measures plus
2 labour market measures. This element of the PSA will be met
if there is a reduction in 6 of these 11 measures, with at least
one of these 6 being a labour market measure. Back
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