Strategies & Action Plans - HOUSING EQUALITIES AND DIVERSITY ACTION PLAN - Introduction and Background
HOUSING EQUALITIES AND DIVERSITY ACTION PLAN (2005 – 2008)
Introduction
In December 2001, the Council and its Housing Association partners formed a BME/Equal Opportunities Group. The purpose of the forum was to ensure that that the Council’s Housing Service and partners would meet the new duties that would be established by the introduction of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. On 6th March 2002, EHDC adopted a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Housing Statement and Action Plan. The BME Housing Statement recommended policy objectives and set new targets for the Council to achieve during the period April 2002 – March 2005.
The Housing Equalities and Diversity Action Plan 2005 – 2008 is a new document that will provide a more holistic approach by the Council’s Housing Service and its partners to delivering services to a wide and multi-disciplined range of minority groups or individuals who live in our community.
East Hampshire – A Diverse Community
The resident population of East Hampshire is 110,000, of which 49% are male and 51% female. 1.6% of the population of East Hampshire are Black or Minority Ethnic, although this does not include other minority groups which are counted in the Census 2001, such as White Irish (0.6%) or Mixed White (0.6%). The predominant religion practised by residents is Christianity (77%), but there are small numbers of practising Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslim and Sikh dispersed amongst the district.
The Age Profile of East Hampshire:
Years 0-4 5-15 16-29 30-44 45-64 65-74 75-84 85+
5.8 14.6 14.6 22.7 26.5 8.2 5.5 2.1 (percentages)
The increase in population expected over the period 2001 – 2021 is 6.8% and the largest increases are expected to be in the older age groups, particularly the groups starting at 65 years old. The greatest rise proportionally in percentage terms occurring between 2016 and 2021 will be in the 85 years and over group which is expected to have more than doubled its number since 2001.
The Housing Needs Survey 2002 highlighted issues relating to households with one or members affected by a disability or long term illness. The survey found that 16% of households in the District were affected in some way. The Census 2001 demonstrated that nearly 4000 households receive either Disability Living Allowance and/or Attendance Allowance. These are the two main benefits associated with health that are paid to people needing help with personal care.
Fortunately, there are relatively low levels of crime in East Hampshire. During 2003/04 there were 13 racial incidents reported to the Police throughout the District, 2 of which required further action and investigation (source Hampshire Police). The Council wishes to encourage partner housing associations to record incidents of racial harassment so that a joint and consistent approach of dealing with both the victims and perpetrators can be undertaken. A multi agency reporting form was distributed amongst housing associations during 2003/04.
The Council is required to count racial incidents involving the Council’s services or staff (whether as victims, perpetrators or employees) for the Best Value Performance Indicators. However, this does not include complaints such as a racial attack in the street or a complaint about an outside body that does not relate to the Council’s services. Therefore, the count for East Hampshire District Council in 2003/04 was zero.
Legal Framework
There is a plethora of current legislation that covers discrimination against minority groups, however, the legislation can be confusing and unequal in application. The existing law is as follows:
- Equal Pay Act 1970
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Race Relations Act 1976 & Amendment Act 2000
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995 & Amendment Regulations 2003
- The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
- The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
- Civil Partnership Act (Royal Assent 18 November 2004)
- European Community Law on Age (expected 2006)
A Private Members Bill was heard in the House of Lords called the Equalities Bill on 12th May 2003. This new Bill intends to bring together the current, inconsistent, legislation and introduce a new way to administer equalities law and human rights. A new body will be created called the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) and it is anticipated that this new overseeing body will unify existing bodies, such as the Commission for Racial Equality and Disability Rights Commission, and become a champion for Equality and Human Rights. The CEHR will have powers to take action against those organisations who fail to meet their duties (many of which are encased in current law) and will be better equipped to overcome sectional interests and deal with cases of multiple discrimination.
It was announced during the Queen’s Speech in November 2004 that the new Commission would be discussed in the next parliament and that the Commission will be operational by 2007.
It was also announced that the following new Bills will also be discussed:
- Religious Hate Crime Bill
- Gender Equality Bill
- Disability Discrimination Bill
These new legislation will introduce a duty on public bodies to promote equality or a positive duty in each specific area. When these legislation changes are implemented, we will review our position with our housing association partners, together with any associated guidance and best practice by our regulatory bodies to ensure that we incorporating relevant and appropriate changes into our services.
Six Strands of Equality
The proposed Equalities Act joins together three existing ‘strands’ that are reasons for discrimination – Disability, Race, and Gender, with three other ‘strands’ which are not currently covered by legislation – Age, Religion, and Sexual Orientation.
The Council, working with housing providers in the district, will deliver services to residents that are non discriminatory (direct or in- direct), and will promote equalities and diversity within core practices, including services for customers, staff and partners (including contractors).
To achieve this, this three year plan will contain objectives and targets for each strand of equalities. The targets have been agreed by the BME/Equal Opportunities Group and will be monitored by the Council’s Housing Panel during the life of the Action Plan.
Links to other Strategies and Action Plans
The Housing Equalities and Diversity Action plan will not operate in isolation, but will compliment other strategies and action plans that address cross cutting issues:
Community Strategy
The Community Strategy is agreed by the Community Partnership, of which the Council is a member. Objectives within the Community Strategy include a vision that East Hampshire will be a desirable place to live, and to encourage a sense of belonging in every locality and support involvement by all members of the community.
Community Safety Partnership
The East Hampshire Community Safety Partnership is a multi agency approach for dealing with local crime, disorder and nuisance that was established in 1998. It is a key priority of the Community Safety partnership to develop a culture of reporting incidents of hate crime and provide better access to services. Hate Crime includes Domestic Violence, Racial Harassment and Homophobic Harassment.
In 2004, the Council signed up to the East Hampshire Community Safety Partnership: A Guide to tackling Anti Social Behaviour in The Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership. This is a document for housing associations to implement a common approach to ensure that victims and perpetrators of anti social behaviour are treated equally.
Housing Strategy 2003 – 2008
Our Housing Strategy has been awarded ‘Fit for Purpose’ by the Government Office South East. The Housing Strategy underpins all of the work of the Housing Team to deliver high quality and effective services. The Housing Strategy subscribes to the vision that all residents can access decent quality housing.
Social Inclusion Action Plan
The aim of the Social Inclusion Action Plan is to ensure that East Hampshire is a district in which social progress is achieved and which recognises the needs of everyone by developing strong communities free from high levels of crime and discrimination, with ready access to jobs, education, homes, services and amenities; diverse opportunities for everyone to live fulfilled and healthy lives and to realise their full potential.
This is particularly important in rural and dispersed communities where there may not be the types of services that minority groups experience in larger towns and cities.
Monitoring and Evaluation
EHDC and Housing Association partners are monitored by the Audit Commission. The Council was inspected under Comprehensive Performance Assessment (September 2004) and whilst the overall performance of the Council was judged to be ‘good’, the Audit Commission found the Council’s approach to consultation with BME Communities and the economically disadvantaged is not as well developed across the whole council. The Council recognises the need to improve in this area.
It is a legal requirement for the Council to implement an Equalities Standard, and whilst equality relates to the whole community, the Council has a particular duty under the Race Relations Act (2000) to:
- Eliminate racial discrimination
- Promote equality of opportunity
- Promote good race relations
The Council published it’s Equality Standard in May 2002 to ensure scrutiny of its functions and policies.
The Community Partnership Survey was undertaken in October 2004 and more than a quarter of residents in East Hampshire were unable to comment on whether their community is a place where people respect ethnic differences. Of those that did, two thirds (58%) agreed that within their community ethnic differences are respected and more than one in ten (13%) thought that there were no differences. Nearly half of residents (47%) consider work to be the best opportunity to meet people from different ethnic groups, however, this result does not indicate if the work place is within the East Hampshire district. The Council has formed a Race Advisory Group to look at ways to engage with BME households in this district to ensure that we are consulting and communicating effectively.
The Housing Corporation have introduced their own BME Action Plan and Code of conduct and the Council will monitor our housing association partners to ensure that they compliant. The Housing Corporation regulate and inspect housing associations and failure to comply would lead to a housing association being placed under supervision and not be eligible to receive social housing grant on new housing development.
Cross Boundary/Sub Regional Issues
Communities are not necessarily defined by geographical boundaries. The South East Regional Housing Strategy 2006-2009 raises the questions of how we ensure fair access to affordable housing for disadvantaged people and how should providers provide services in areas with relatively small BME populations.
The new obligations of the Housing Act 2004 place a duty on local authorities to assess the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers. These issues are not confined within East Hampshire and we must look to work with our neighbouring authorities and investigate the need for a Hampshire-wide, joined up, fair and consistent approach to tackle these issues.
Consultation
The Equalities and Diversity Action Plan was agreed with the following representatives:
- EHDC Housing Panel
- EHDC BME/Equal Opportunities Group
- South Downs Association for Disabled
- Equalities and Diversity Consultant
Signing up to the Action Plan
Members of the East Hampshire BME/Equal Opportunities Group have ‘signed up’ to the Equalities and Diversity Action Plan. The membership includes our preferred partner housing associations and housing associations with housing stock in our district. They will assist the Council in delivering the targets. Also included are agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureaux, Victim Support, Voluntary Action for East Hampshire and the Police. These members act in a supportive role only and are not accountable for actions and targets.
Owner: Housing Development Manager (Policy Created: 1st April 2005)