31 May 2002
The local government watchdog said that the councils have not even reached level one of the Commission for Racial Equality's five-tier good practice standard, which requires that a comprehensive strategy is approved and implemented.
It published its findings just two days before the May 31 deadline for all public bodies to publish a race equality scheme, as stipulated in the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
The situation is particularly bleak in Wales, where just one in three authorities had drawn up an anti-racism strategy.
But a spokeswoman for the Home Office, which sponsors the Act, said the report had taken a year to compile. 'When new local government performance data becomes available from the Audit Commission later this year, we will expect that local authorities will have made real progress in achieving race equality for their staff and for members of the local community they serve,' she added.
The commission report, Equality and diversity, also found that less than 25% of English council buildings were accessible to disabled people, although it noted that improvements had gathered pace in recent years. In Wales, that figure drops to just 15%.
Women also continue to fare badly when it comes to climbing the local government career ladder, making up just 22% of senior town hall managers. In Welsh authorities, women fill just 15% of senior managerial positions.
The commission has called on authorities to ensure five crucial factors are in place. These are: commitment from top-level managers; involving service users; including equalities considerations when planning service provision; monitoring performance data; and ensuring efforts are sustained.
Public sector unions were quick to endorse the commission's findings. Jack Dromey, the T&G's national organiser, described them as a 'damning indictment' of local government. Heather Wakefield, Unison's new national secretary for local government, agreed. 'What incentive is there for women to want to start and stay working in local government, faced with these sorts of inequalities?' she said.
Commission controller Sir Andrew Foster said: 'After 30 years of work on equal opportunities, some parts of local government are still at the start of the road.'
PFmay2002
