§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress230W toward the public service agreement target for promoting an inclusive society with equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for all. [16928]
§ Mr. BlunkettThe Government are committed to promoting and improving race equality in a number of ways and the promotion of race equality within the provision of services to the public is a key priority. In support of this priority, the Government are driving forward a programme of initiatives to provide a new legislative and administrative framework to deliver improvements to race equality in the public sector.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 provided new laws for race equality and strengthened the Race Relations Act 1976, outlawing race discrimination in all public functions, with only limited exceptions. Orders laid before Parliament on 24 October extend the list of bodies to which the general duty applies and impose specific duties on key public bodies to ensure their better compliance with the general duty.
The Government will publish their third edition of Race Equality indicators on public services early next year. Race Equality in Public Services is an annual publication which brings together key performance management data from across the range of government departments. The basket of indicators included in the document will be used to measure progress in achieving race equality.
The first edition was published in March 2000, the second in February 2001. The third edition is due to be published in February/March 2002.
The Government believe that these measures provide a framework for increasing the representation of minority ethnic communities in public life.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target for reducing staff sickness rates in his Department. [16917]
§ Mr. BlunkettThe Civil Service Sickness Absence Report 1998 recorded the Department's baseline figure as 10.4 working days. The Prison Service baseline figure is 13.9 days.
The Home Office and its agencies have introduced new guidelines, policies and procedures with a view to reducing sickness absence. The Department's Service Delivery Targets for April 2001 to March 2004, which include a target for sickness absence, were published on Friday, 3 November 2000 and are available on the Home Office website. The targets are to reduce sickness absence, and sustain this improvement thereafter in the:
Home Office and its agencies (excluding the Prison Service) to an average of 6.9 working days by the end of March 2003.Prison Service to an average of 9.0 days per member of staff by 2004.The current sickness absence rate in the Home Office and its agencies (excluding the Prison Service) is 8.5 working days. In the Prison Service it is 13.7 working days.