Marshall ACM in the media: Press Release - 3rd August 2007
New system to simplify legal compliance for Race Equality Impact Assessment fires up public sector
- "One prospective customer described it as 'definitely topical with capital letters and flashing lights. Our managers are struggling with Equality Impact Assessments'."
- "Equality Impact Assessment will help organisations deliver on the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000".
- "The Commission for Racial Equality welcomes this new system and the role it may play in helping public authorities to undertake effective EIAs and fulfil their legal duty to promote race equality." www.cre.gov.uk.
A new online process to solve race discrimination legislation is being piloted by 3 public sector organisations and has been pre-ordered by each. The Equality Impact Assessment System from Marshall ACM will help organisations deliver on the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, meaning they can implement effective online procedures to eliminate discrimination and produce positive outcomes for equality. The system was initially developed for The Arts Institute of Bournemouth, and Kingston and Surrey universities have now joined the pilot.
"Every public sector organisation has a requirement to deliver on legal duties under the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, but it is very difficult and complicated for them to fulfil, which is why so few have acted upon it," explains David Marshall, CEO of Marshall ACM. "Subsequent legislation means organisations are compelled to also impact assess against disability and gender. Although the Central Government, some police forces and other criminal justice agencies are mostly doing better than average, the NHS, local governments and universities are not close to hitting targets."
A Commission for Racial Equality Spokesperson said, "Policies do not affect everyone in the same way. A Race Equality Impact Assessment System is a vital tool in making sure that all public authorities serve everyone equally well, irrespective of race, colour, nationality, or ethnic or national background.
"The CRE welcomes this new system and the role it may play in helping public authorities to undertake effective EIAs and fulfil their legal duty to promote race equality."
Marshall ACM's training programme and electronic tool ensures staff are confident and competent in relation to impact assessment activity, plus will create a transparent IA process. The tool can be used to impact assess against all six strands; race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age and religion.
Marshall continues, "We've developed the Equality Impact Assessment System as an online training programme and electronic tool as a systematic analysis of the potential or actual effects of a policy so establishing whether they have a differential impact on different groups of people.
"One prospective customer has described it as definitely topical for the NHS 'with capital letters and flashing lights. Although we have undertaken some training in this area our managers are struggling with equality impact assessments'."
Marshall ACM's EIAS includes an online training programme for managers and an electronic tool to provide a framework for staff to input information, record decisions and produce reports. As well as providing this framework for individual managers carrying out assessments, the product is also an electronic EIA management tool for the organisation. It has been developed for all public sector organisations with consultant, Ann Allcock, who was formerly the diversity manager at Brighton University. Detail will vary slightly from organisation to organisation, so the system can be customised.
Marshall ACM delivers a managed e-learning service to over 140 organisations across the public and private sector in the UK and Republic of Ireland. It can be contacted via its website www.marshallacm.co.uk, by calling +44 (0)845 123 3909 or emailing contact@marshallacm.co.uk.
For more press information, contact: Kay Phelps, The PR Department for Marshall ACM, T: + 44 1932 789524; M: + 44 7710 043244; or kay.phelps@theprdepartment.net
More info about the Commission for Racial Equality on www.cre.gov.uk
About Marshall ACM
Set up in 2002 by David Marshall, formerly Head of Research at Penna Consulting, Marshall ACM has 140 public and private sector organisations using its online training making it an established leader in e-diversity training. It focuses on quality, speed and innovation and demonstrates value to clients over a sustained period of time. It is based in Southwark, in the heart of London, working all over the UK and increasingly internationally.