The Equality PSA
The Government’s priorities for 2008-11 were announced by
Alastair Darling as part of his 2007 Pre-Budget Report. These
priorities are referred to as Public Service Agreements (PSAs).
There are 30 PSAs in all, spanning the whole of the Government’s
work from improving skills to tackling climate change. Many of
these PSAs contain commitments to tackle inequalities. For example,
PSA 8 seeks to narrow employment gaps for disadvantaged groups,
while other PSAs seek to address inequalities in health, criminal
justice and other areas.
GEO is the lead department for PSA 15 – the Equality PSA. Over
the three years to March 2011, this PSA aims to:
- Narrow the gender pay
gap
- Increase disabled people’s choice and
control
- Address inequalities in civic
participation
- Tackle discrimination in employment
and
- Improve our understanding of and ability to
address unfair treatment
For each of the above commitments, there is a related
statistical indicator. Details of these and the methodology for
measuring progress were set out in the Delivery Agreement published
by Treasury at the time of the Pre-Budget
Report.
As lead Department, the GEO is responsible for the overall
programme-management of the PSA, including chairing a management
board which meets regularly to drive progress on the PSA
priorities, monitoring progress on the statistical indicators,
managing risks and co-ordinating action across Government. The
Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit report twice-yearly to the Prime
Minister and Cabinet on delivery of PSA commitments.
However, responsibility for achieving the PSA is not down to GEO
alone. Successful delivery requires concerted effort across
Government. In addition, the Office for Disability Issues in the
Department for Work and Pensions lead on work to increase disabled
people’s choice and control, while Communities and Local Government
lead on civic participation.
A summary of the delivery plans for the PSA were published in
September 2009, which you can download by clicking the link
below:
Making
Progress: Delivering the Equality PSA (Oct 2009)