Equalities and Diversity

Why do we ask you for personal information?

It is important to us to provide excellent services to everyone. We collect data on the backgrounds and needs of our customers to assess whether our services are being delivered fairly for everyone in the borough.

Asking questions about you helps us to know who is using our services, who isn't, and how satisfied you are with them. We can then use the information to help make improvements allowing equal access to everyone.

The aim of equalities monitoring is to indicate whether or not we are providing fair access to all of the residents of the borough. In providing services, this means we are able to demonstrate we are meeting the needs of all individuals and communities. If not, we are using available data to improve our services to make them more accessible.

In employment, this means we are able to demonstrate that our workforce reflects the borough's diverse makeup, and that Human Resources practices and procedures are fairly applied to all groups. By collecting and analysing equalities data, it is possible to evaluate and review our services, and develop actions based on the outcomes.

Equalities monitoring information is generally collected at the following times:

When using a service for the first time (e.g. joining the housing register or through the social services Single Assessment Process)
When using a service on a one-off basis (e.g. making a complaint or applying for planning permission)
To gauge satisfaction with a service
To monitor service uptake; and
To identify specific customer needs

Should equalities data suggest there are any inequalities, either in the uptake of a service, or how the service is delivered to specific groups, we will then have evidence we can use to help to improve service delivery to those individuals or groups.

Equalities monitoring can show the following:

Whether there are differences in satisfaction levels or complaint rates for different groups
The number of people from a particular background using a service, and whether specific groups are over-using or under-using in that service
The ways in which people use a service, and how frequently they access it
In employment, whether people from a particular group are over-represented or under-represented in that service, in comparison to the demographic data for the borough
Whether a service user has a specific requirement that needs to be taken into account when delivering a service to that person; and
Whether changes made to a service - for example, as a result of an Equality Impact Assessment - have been effective

The data collected will also show:

The nature or extent of any inequality
Whether changes to the way a service is delivered can be justified
Specific areas of the delivery of a service where changes can be made; and
Whether more specific monitoring needs to be undertaken on a particular aspect of a service

Barking and Dagenham is a very diverse community, and it is essential that we make sure that all our citizens receive services that meet their needs. We aim to deliver high quality services to every resident of the borough.

Without useful data on the borough's diverse communities, or knowledge of its customers and what their needs are, we are unable to prove we are providing effective services to all communities. Our communities include people with specific needs, as well as people who are statistically more likely to be discriminated against.

We aim to be open about why we collect equalities monitoring data. If you have any questions about the information we collect, or why we are collecting it, please either ask the member of staff or service asking for the information, or contact the Equalities and Diversity team at the address shown.

Contact

James Oaten

Group Manager - Equalities and Diversity

Civic Centre

Rainham Road North

Dagenham

RM10 7BN

Tel: 020 8227 2105

Fax: 020 8227 2206

Textphone: 020 8227 2685

Email: james.oaten@lbbd.gov.uk|