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Equality Scheme for the
Eastern Health and Social Services Council
4 Our responsibility
to the public
| a |
Every month (except July)
we hold a public meeting. The meetings are normally
held on the third Thursday of the month, in the afternoon
or evening at locations that are on public transport
routes and have access for people with disabilities.
We give the details of coming meetings in local newspapers.
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| b |
At each meeting members
of the public have the opportunity to make a contribution.
We can make arrangements for people with sight or hearing
problems if we are asked to do so and given enough notice.
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| c |
By law we must publish
and distribute an annual report that gives details of
our performance during the previous year. Copies of
our annual report are issued to the voluntary and public
sectors, and to community organisations. Copies are
available from public libraries and can be provided
in large print, on disk and on audiotape. |
| d |
We must keep to the HSS
Executive's Code of Practice on Openness in the HPSS
(issued in October 1996). Our members must also keep
to the HSS Executive's Code of Conduct for Health and
Social Services Council Members (issued December 1996).
This code covers matters such as impartiality, financial
accountability, confidentiality, discrimination, casual
gifts, hospitality and declaring interests. We keep
an up-to-date list of our members' interests and the
public may inspect that list. |
| e |
We have a procedure which
allows members of the public to complain about us. A
copy of our leaflet "How to make a Complaint about the
Eastern Health and Social Services Council" is attached
(appendix 6). The Chief Officer is the named person
who deals with complaints and details of how to make
contact are included in the leaflet. The point of contact
is listed in 5c. |
5 Our obligation under
section 75
| a |
Under section 75 of the
Northern Ireland Act (the act), when we are carrying
out our duties we must promote equal opportunities to
all regardless of age, sex, disability, religious belief,
political opinion, racial group, age, marital status,
sexuality, or any other personal or social circumstance.
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| b |
When carrying out our duties we will also promote
good relations between people with different religious
beliefs, political opinions or from different racial
groups if this seems appropriate. We are committed
to the principles of community relations and respect
people of diverse backgrounds, both within the organisation
and with our customers.
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| c |
We are committed to meeting our obligation under
section 75 of the act. Our members will be responsible
for deciding how we will achieve this. Statutory responsibility
for the effective implementation of this scheme lies
with the Council and the Chairman. However, the Chief
Officer will be responsible for introducing arrangements
for making sure we meet our obligation and will be
accountable to the Council for ensuring that we comply
with Section 75 duties. The Chief Officer is also
the point of contact for the Equality Commission and
for those affected by the duty. The point of contact
for this Equality Scheme is Mrs Jane Graham Eastern
Health and Social Services Council 19 Bedford Street
Belfast BT2 7EJ Telephone (028) 9032 1230 Fax: (028)
9032 1750
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| d |
The Council is fully committed
to the development and delivery of a planned programme
of communication and training on the Equality Scheme
to promote Section 75. |
| e |
Senior managers and the
Research Officer will be personally responsible for
implementing the Equality Scheme within their areas
of responsibility and for providing assurance to the
Chief Officer that they are complying with the Section
75 obligations as laid down in the scheme. An organisational
chart is included in appendix 11. |
6 Arrangements
for making sure we meet our obligation
| a |
In order to make sure we meet our obligation under
section 75 the Chief Officer will keep us informed
of our progress in promoting equal opportunities and
maintaining good community relations, by making our
obligations a clear and vital part of our annual programme
of work, and giving us a report every three months.
Objectives and targets relating to the statutory obligations
will be integrated into the work programme and will
be specified as individual staff objectives. These
will be subject to appraisal in annual performance
reviews. Progress on meeting the objectives will be
reported quarterly to Council.
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| b |
We recognise that the impact of policies can vary
depending on the demographics of a particular area,
but to provide a fair and consistent approach in Northern
Ireland we and the other three health and social services
councils in Northern Ireland have agreed to set up
a Section 75 Scrutiny Committee. This committee will
be made up of the chairmen and chief officers of the
four health and social services councils and will
meet every two months. It will be a subcommittee of
the Executive Committee of the Northern Ireland Association
of Health and Social Services Councils. It will be
responsible for:
- making sure that all health and social services
councils meet their obligation under section 75
in a fair and consistent way;
- developing, sharing and highlighting best practice;
- reviewing progress in meeting the obligations
under section 75;
- considering policies which need assessing; and
- working with the Equality Commission.
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| c |
The chairmen of the health
and social services councils will take it in turn to
be chairperson and the Chief Officer of each Council
will provide a report on the implementation of the scheme
on a two monthly basis. |
| d |
We will set up a focus
group or consumer panel with membership from the nine
groups referred to in the legislation to assist us in
the processes of screening, impact assessments and consultation.
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