Equality And Diversity Report

This Conference is appalled at the Government’s decision to scrap the annual Equality & Diversity Report and the national equality targets which were aimed at employing more of the under represented groups into the operational workforce of the English Fire and Rescue Service (FRS). This responsibility has now been handed over to the local FRSs who, before the targets were introduced, had never seriously attempted to make their workforces reflective of the communities they served. The decision to scrap the report and the targets did not have an Equality Impact Assessment and will have a detrimental effect on the recruitment of the under represented groups in the FRS. We call upon the Executive Council to: ● Continue to lobby Government to reinstate the National Equality & Diversity Report and the equality targets; ● Put in place an FBU strategy for ensuring that we monitor the recruitment of the under represented groups in the FRS; ● Assist our local officials in demanding that FRSs commit to previous local targets set, to ensure that workforces are indeed reflective of our communities. This to be implemented by May 2012 and a Brigade Officials circular issued to update on progression.