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Question 19

EQUALITY DUTY: PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION ON PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY SPECIFIC DUTIES

Question 19: Do you think it would help public authorities to monitor progress on equality and be more transparent if they were required to publish their ethnic minority employment rate and disability employment rate?

- YES

- NO

- DON’T KNOW

Please provide any additional comments. Why you think it would help public authorities or, why you think it would not help?

Please note: We agree that the ethnic minority employment and disability employment rates are still areas of concern. In 2008, the employment rate for ethnic minorities was 60.9% and for disabled people, 48.1%. This compares with an employment rate of 75.6% for thepopulation overall. We believe that public authorities do recognise the need for increasing the diversity of their workforce and understand that monitoring progress in these areas would help them to identify problem areas and track their own progress. The introduction of such a requirement would also mean that service users, stakeholders and employees could hold those who are performing poorly to account.