Our priorities for the next three years
Our customers
Our Diversity Strategy will continue to direct our actions as will the need to improve our services and their accessibility. We are taking action in the following areas:
Monitoring
It is vital that we collect, manage and use information effectively. We are developing major computer systems to help us achieve this aim.
The Customer Information System, currently being developed, will be a central repository of our customer data - and eventually for other government departments and Local Authorities. It will bring together information in a single, uniform system, including the ethnicity of our customers. The first release of the system has already occurred and the second release is planned for between July 2005 and May 2006. All customers should start to see improved services during 2007-08 as a result of all the information being held in this single repository.
Impact assessment
Impact assessments are essential for ensuring that we meet our businesses' and legislative requirements. To improve their effectiveness, we will review how and where we use them. In future, senior staff will be made accountable for ensuring that they are used in customer service and workforce planning. A new procedure, meanwhile, will make sure that any potential impacts identified are properly acted on. This is due to happen in 2005 and 2006 and to be reviewed in 2007.
Finally, from May 2005 we began publishing all business impact assessments on our internet and internal websites.
Communications
Our new communications strategy should be completed this financial year. Diversity will be a central part of it - using the Ethnic Minority Language Review; the strategy will have a sub-strategy for each mainstream ethnic minority community.
During 2005 and 2006, we will be communicating common customer service standards for ethnic minority and disabled customers. We will monitor and report progress against them in the following years.
The next formal review of our Communications Standard for Ethnic Minority Language Translation is due in 2007. This will give us time to align the findings with the 2011 census.
Actions for the businesses
Individual customer-facing business units have also set their own priorities:
Jobcentre Plus will:
- publish details of race impact assessments in June 2005;
- reform procurement methods, improving the contract management process and tightening the self-assessment process. By September 2005, standard terms and conditions issued to suppliers will include a racial equality statement;
- pilot a new scheme in areas of high unemployment. From October 2005, ethnic minority families with only one working family member will be eligible for a new Work Search Payment to help them find a job;
- place Specialist Employment Advisors in areas of high ethnic minority unemployment to increase use of Jobcentre Plus' services and to promote the benefits of a diverse workforce to employers. This pilot project will run until March 2006 and then have its effectiveness reviewed; and
- review its interpreter services to make sure they are meeting the needs of ethnic minority customers. Recommendations will be implemented by November 2006.
Child Support Agency will:
- look at ways of recording the ethnicity of clients who telephone the Agency for general advice. It will start by monitoring complaints to review the standards of service it offers ethnic minority customers; and
- publish a diversity review of its performance in December 2005.
The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority will:
- train all its board members in diversity and equality awareness this year; and
- carry out extensive customer service training for staff, which will include a module on diversity.
The Appeals Service will:
- consult with Jobcentre Plus to explore how the bodies can work together to monitor the ethnicity of customers as they move through the system. This work will be completed by January 2006.
The Pension Service will:
- work with the Partnership Against Poverty and Ethnic Minority Forum to improve its service. This will be ongoing until 2008; and
- conduct 'mystery shopping' surveys to assess the accessibility of its services to all members of society. This will occur throughout the next three years.