Briefing Paper
Embedding equality in Perth and
Kinross’ outcome approach
June 2012
Embedding equality in Perth and Kinross’ outcome approach
Project summary
The Improvement Service, the Equality and Human Rights Commission
and Scottish Government worked in partnership to deliver the action
research project, Improving Local Equality Data (ILED), over 12 months
from February 2011.
The project provided hands-on, tailored support to four local authorities/
CPPs to develop and use the equality evidence base to measure
progress towards equality within the outcomes approach.
Each local project team selected areas for support based on their unique
priorities and circumstances.
Equality was to be considered as an integral part of the outcomes
approach for each of the strategic priorities identified by Perth and
Kinross Council, to feed in to a revised Single Outcome Agreement.
Public protection was selected as the strategic priority in which to pilot
and develop an approach to mainstreaming equality through involvement
in ILED.
The ILED project management team supported Perth and Kinross to build
a picture of national evidence in relation to the key equality priorities they
identified, and to strengthen the position of equality within the Community
Safety Strategic Assessment.
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Embedding equality in Perth and Kinross’ outcome approach
Strengths of the approach
Work to mainstream equality into the strategic work of the council is
a long term process. The ILED project management team supported
one part of the process. The main strengths of the process to date are
detailed below.
•
Exploring how to develop equality in mainstream strategic planning.
•
Involvement of police helped to build knowledge and understanding
of partner agencies’ approach to equality measurement and
management.
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Embedding equality in Perth and Kinross’ outcome approach
What we did
Four strategic priorities were identified by the council prior to their
involvement in ILED. These would be reflected in a revised Single
Outcome Agreement for Perth and Kinross. The strategic priorities were:
•
Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC);
•
public protection;
•
health and social care integration;
•
regeneration.
Public protection was chosen as the area in which to pilot and develop
equality issues within an outcomes approach. This was selected because
the Perth & Kinross Community Equality Advisory Group (CEAG)
members have previously identified ‘fear of crime’ and ‘feeling safe’
as important issues to them. The CEAG brings together community
representatives with an interest and a focus on all nine equality protected
characteristics and related matters.
A review of national equality evidence in a public protection context was
produced by the Improvement Service to help to inform discussions.
A small working group comprising the council and the police reflected
on current public protection priorities and concerns for protected
characteristics within the Perth and Kinross area, particularly in relation
to:
•
young women and the criminal justice system;
•
domestic abuse experienced by minority ethnic women;
•
issues faced by young LGBT people – particularly bullying in schools,
and rural factors.
The group agreed that it would be helpful to collate local and national
evidence on these areas from a range of sources, to give context and
comparison for issues faced within Perth and Kinross. An evidencegathering template was developed to support consistency in gathering
and presenting evidence
At the same time, work was underway on a Community Safety Strategic
Assessment for Tayside Police. This would have a key role in shaping the
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Embedding equality in Perth and Kinross’ outcome approach
next Community Safety Strategy, and the outcomes that the police aimed
to achieve.
It was important to ensure that equality featured as a prominent part of
the Community Safety Strategic Assessment. The group agreed that the
evidence gathered through ILED should be integrated into the Community
Safety Strategic Assessment.
Support was provided by the Improvement Service to the Community
Safety Analyst to help identify and include equality issues in the Strategic
Assessment more generally, through sharing relevant research evidence
and providing feedback on developing the document.
The aim of the Strategic Assessment is to identify, assess and prioritise
the key issues which impact on community safety within Perth and
Kinross. It also takes account of other contextual factors which may
impact on delivery.
Through the area profile, and consideration of the research evidence, the
Strategic Assessment identified a number of public protection areas which
are a priority for the Perth and Kinross area:
•
violence against women;
•
alcohol;
•
serious and violent crime;
•
drugs;
•
anti-social behaviour;
•
road safety;
•
unintentional injuries;
•
wildlife crime;
•
bogus caller crime.
A Threat Risk Matrix was used to assess each area in turn in relation
to the priority that it should be given within the new Community Safety
Strategy. Five point scales were used to assess both:
Threat - Likelihood of occurrence, where 1 is highly unlikely and 5 is
almost certain to occur, and;
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Embedding equality in Perth and Kinross’ outcome approach
Risk - Level of harm, where 1 is nil/none and 5 is very high.
From these, a combined Threat x Risk score was produced.
A number of extra weighting factors (based on a three point scale) were
also considered:
•
linked with national outcomes;
•
partnership responsibilities;
•
partnership reputation;
•
information available;
•
community concern.
This generated an Extra Weighting score that was combined with the
Threat x Risk score to give an Overall Score.
This helped to give a very clear sense of the relative priority that should
be given to different aspects of public protection and the extent to which
they should be considered very high priority, high priority or medium
priority for Perth and Kinross Community Safety Partnership to address.
Violence against women is given a very high priority in the strategic
assessment. The assessment notes that women from minority ethnic
groups may be more isolated, and there are religious and cultural barriers
to be overcome. The rural dimension to this is also recognised.
Serious and violent crime is also given a very high priority, with a typical
offender likely to be an unemployed male in his late teens or early
twenties. Alcohol and substance misuse is another factor here.
Alcohol is given a very high priority in its own right, particularly in relation
to concerns about private space drinking, and the influence of alcohol on
both victims and offenders in the commission of crime.
The Community Safety Strategic assessment was published in spring
2012.
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Embedding equality in Perth and Kinross’ outcome approach
What impact the project had
•
Analysis and inclusion of equality issues within the Community Safety
Strategic Assessment.
•
Raised awareness of the importance of considering equality aspects
of thematic areas of work.
•
Helped prompt preliminary discussions on what equality outcomes
may look like for the council and CPP
•
Raised awareness and understanding within the council and partners
(e.g. Police) of the process and challenges around setting equality
outcomes
•
Raised further awareness of the range of data, both national and
local, required to set meaningful evidence based outcomes.
•
Prompted decisions to be taken that, wherever possible, there will be
maximum coordination across the CPP on sharing equality outcomes
and including them in the revised SOA.
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Embedding equality in Perth and Kinross’ outcome approach
Issues or challenges
8
•
The outcomes approach involves several stages, and these can be
fairly complex especially when developing equality outcomes. For
example: gathering a range of evidence; analysing the evidence in
order to draw out key findings and prioritise potential areas to develop
outcomes; engaging with key internal and external stakeholders
including community groups to help identify key equality issues and
develop outcomes; and identifying how outcomes link or contribute
to strategic outcomes in CPP Single Outcome Agreement or the
council’s corporate priorities. The resource and time required to work
through this process should not be underestimated.
•
Moving towards an outcome approach can seem ambitious. It is
important to have clear aims and objectives throughout the process,
to help focus and manage the work.
•
It is important to involve key partners from the outset. Involving
colleagues from other services and organisations to bring a range
of different perspectives, knowledge and expertise, which can help
to enhance and enrich the overall project. Involving the right mix of
people from the outset also helps to encourage buy-in and support for
the project.
•
Community groups and individuals can provide rich qualitative
information to help build the evidence base available to councils
and their partners. In order to get the most from the community, it is
important to have a consistent, meaningful and robust approach to
community engagement.
Embedding equality in Perth and Kinross’ outcome approach
Lessons learned
•
The importance of involving a range of stakeholders throughout the
outcomes setting process helps to offer different perspectives and
expertise. It can also highlight different opportunities to enhance
the overall work of a project. For example, in Perth and Kinross, the
involvement of the police meant that there were more opportunities
to link into the ongoing work on the community safety strategic
assessment. This provided another opportunity where local equality
evidence could be used to help shape and influence a key area of
strategic policy.
•
Prioritisation is a key part of the process when developing outcomes.
Prioritisation is a complex task and in order to be most effective,
involves analysing and using a range of evidence in conjunction with
local knowledge about work that is already taking place to address
specific issues and challenges. Drawing on the combination of
evidence and knowledge of local work helps to highlight areas where
the outcomes that will have the best impact on citizens should be set.
•
In a field of competing priorities and requirements, national leadership
can play an important role in helping to focus areas of work.
•
Interpretations of the ‘outcomes’ language can often vary and it is
important to ensure stakeholders have a shared understanding of
terminology before embarking on work to develop outcomes.
Further information
Paul Graham, [email protected]
9
Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland
Freepost
RSAB-YJEJ-EXUJ
PO Box 26961
Glasgow
G2 9DU
Tel. 0845 604 5510
Email. [email protected]
Improvement Service
Westerton House
East Mains Industrial Estate
Broxburn
EH52 5AU
Tel. 01506 775558
Email. [email protected]