§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has established a baseline for policy appraisal against which to measure progress on equal treatment; and what progress has been achieved. [66606]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 2 July 2002]In 1998, the Home Office, Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Cabinet Office Women's Unit issued Policy Appraisal for Equal Treatment (PAFET) guidelines to all Government Departments. PAFET covers the responsibility officials have for assessing how their work is likely to affect different groups and to take action to ensure this is taken into account from the beginning of the policy process and its evaluation.
Guidance has been circulated to all senior managers at Grade 7 level and above within the Home Department to ensure that the effects of any policy changes on all sections of the population are considered at the earliest stage of policy development.
In addition, as a result of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, listed public bodies are now required to consult on the potential impact of new policies, and to monitor existing policies, to ensure that there is no differential and adverse impact on people from minority ethnic communities.