Equality & Economic Inclusion
The Northwest is a culturally diverse region, which means
equality needs to be at the forefront of our Regional Economic
Strategy. We must capitalise on the valuable diversity of the
Northwest's people and communities if we are to: secure our
economic goals; develop an entrepreneurial culture; and boost
productivity. Equality & Economic Inclusion also has a vital
role to play in the development of the single Regional Strategy
(RS2010).
The NWDA has representatives on the Equality Strategy Group,
alongside 4NW,
GONW, the Equality
& Human Rights Commission and the Chair of the Northwest
Equality & Diversity Group. The Equality Strategy Group is
responsible for delivering the Northwest Equality & Diversity
Strategy.
The NWDA is responsible for delivering the part of the strategy
about "Economic Participation for All", which it does through its
Single Equality Scheme. The NWDA actively promotes equality and
economic inclusion through a number of projects and programmes,
including its work on the Single Equality Scheme.
Single Equality Scheme
To tackle equality and economic inclusion issues, the NWDA has
developed a Single Equality Scheme, which is our framework for
mainstream equality and diversity for our projects, programmes,
policies, processes and procedures as well as our behaviours. It
covers: race; disability; gender (incorporating transgender); age;
sexual orientation; and religion or belief.
Economic inclusion is low in parts of the region with around 25%
of the regions output gap
attributable to too few people being in work. This worklessness is
concentrated in particular areas
and among particular communities.
The work the NWDA does regarding the Single Equality Scheme
includes working with the Northwest’s Sub-Regional Partnerships.
These Partnerships are responsible for setting economic development
priorities in their sub-regions, including making sure these
development priorities are accessible to all people living within
their sub-regions.
Examples of the work the NWDA is doing through the Single
Equality Scheme are working with the Northwest Women's Enterprise
Forum and the Ethnic Minority Business Forum Northwest and funding
5050 Vision.
The NWDA provides the core funding to 5050 Vision: the Northwest
Forum on Ageing, which promotes the understanding of issues
relating to demographic change in the over 50s. In April 2009, 5050
Vision launched
Everybody’s Future: A Framework for Ageing in the
Northwest, which promotes abolishing
the retirement age and retaining more over-50s in the
workforce.
Our work with faith communities goes much further than the role
of religious belief within the Single Equality Scheme. Faith
communities make a valuable contribution to the regional economy
and the drive to improve our local communities.
We are also doing considerable work to build up a strong evidence base
to support our Single Equality Scheme work.
Celebr8
Celebr8 is a calendar of events which aim to highlight the
cultural, social and economic benefits that diversity brings to the
Northwest. The NWDA is leading development of the 2009 Celebr8
festival, with a focus on Business & Enterprise, Arts &
Culture and Community.
Each of the three themes will be promoted through a range of
activities, with the NWDA leading on the Business & Enterprise
strand. Our work on this festival will also give us an opportunity
to highlight the breadth of work we are doing as part of the
Equality Strategy Group.
LGB&T population in the Northwest
There is currently a lack of data available on the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities. This lack of data means that
regional policy makers lack a detailed understanding of LGBT
people's needs as well as the nature and scope of the
discrimination that these communities face. This research
will help to address gaps in understanding and build the evidence
base as part of the work on understanding the wider population of
the Northwest.
Women & Work Taskforce
The Women & Work Taskforce was offically launched at the 2nd
Northwest Equality & Diversity Conference in Liverpool. The
Taskforce will have three primary aims:
1. To investigate and develop evidence-based conclusions on
women’s leadership in the region, and make recommendations for
inclusion in the Regional Strategy 2010, Government Office North
West’s BME Advisory Group’s leadership proposals, and the refresh
of the North West Equality & Diversity Strategy.
2. To investigate barriers to women’s participation in the North
West economy in target sectors and aspects of the economy
(entrepreneurship, bio-medical, engineering and digital and
creative) and identify sustainable solutions for inclusion of women
at senior executive levels.
3. To consider women’s potential for leadership in the region’s
economy, taking into account the diversity of issues, backgrounds
and barriers encountered by women from many different walks of
life, and outline opportunities for encouraging women into
non-executive roles in the private and public sectors.
Find out more about the Women
and Work Taskforce
Third Sector (inc Voluntary & Community) Organisations
Third sector organisations - such as Voluntary and Community
organisations - are non-governmental organisations that are value
driven and which reinvest their surpluses to further social,
environmental or cultural objectives. Examples of such
organisations are faith groups, charities, social enterprises and
cooperatives.
Third sector organisations often provide a platform for
economically disadvantaged or under represented groups. The NWDA is
committed to working with the third sector in partners to tackle
inequalities and drive forward sustainable economic growth amongst
all our communities in the region.
Health Strategy
The NWDA is involved in health policy and planning at a
strategic level. We work in partnership with the region’s strategic
health authority NHS Northwest through the NWDA/NHS Partnership
Board. The Board’s aim is to increase the region’s health and
wellbeing and address health inequalities. The Partnership Board is
made up of senior executives of the NWDA and NHS Northwest. The
Board acts as a forum for strategic level decision making.
The NWDA and NHS Northwest held a Conference on Health
Inequalities and Impact on the Economy in April 2009, to explore
issues affecting the region. The Conference provided the
opportunity to hear from Professor Michael Marmot about the Marmot
Health Inequalities Review. The issues raised at the conference are
being fed into the development of RS2010. A
report collating the information covered at the conference has also
been produced.
Health inequalities and the economy in the Northwest.
The Northwest has been chosen and agreed to be a pilot region
working alongside the MARMOT Strategic
Review of Health Inequalities in England Post
2010.
The NWDA is carrying out equality impact assessments and health
impact assessments to ensure that equality and economic inclusion
and health inequality are key elements of RS2010. These assessments
also fulfill the requirements of the Government’s Sustainability
Appraisal.
We have approved an investment of almost £5 million for the
development of Northwest e-Health - a project which aims to develop
healthcare from advanced analysis of anonymised health records
(records with personal details removed). Northwest e-Health will
enable NHS professionals and researchers to gain new insights into
how individual treatments or whole services are working.
Working collaboratively with NHS Northwest, we are focusing on
reducing economic and health inequalities and increasing wellbeing
and workplace health. The NWDA has also supported the Good
Corporate Citizen programme in the Northwest, which is a
partnership between the NHS and the Sustainable Development
Commission.
The Agency supported the Healthier Horizons for the North West
report - published NHS Northwest in August 2008 - which states that
health inequalities need to be addressed as a priority and calls on
the NHS to focus more on promoting good health and wellbeing and
the prevention of ill-health. The report sets out a vision for
health and healthcare services for the Northwest for the next 10
years.