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Loading ...Over half of councils are now signed up to a scheme to tackle racial inequalities in their social care workforces.
Skills for Care has confirmed that 85 of the 153 English authorities were taking part in the social care workforce race equality standard (SC-WRES) improvement programme this year, four times as many as did so last year (23).
This is up from just over 50 who were signed up to the scheme last month.
Through the SC-WRES, councils collect data on nine metrics measuring the experiences of their black, Asian and minority ethnic staff against those of white counterparts, and then submit this to Skills for Care. They are also expected to draw up action plans to address the findings.
In return, they receive advice and guidance on tackling racial inequalities, including through monthly virtual community of practice sessions.
Significant workforce racial disparities
Last year’s data revealed significant racial disparities in the workforces of the participating councils. It showed that, compared with white staff, black, Asian and minority ethnic social care workers had, in the previous 12 months, been:
- half as likely to be appointed to a job from a shortlisting;
- 40% more likely to enter formal disciplinary processes;
- more than twice as likely, as a regulated professional, to enter fitness to practise processes;
- 20% more likely to experience harassment, bullying or abuse from people who use social care, relatives or the public;
- 30% more likely to experience harassment, bullying or abuse from a colleague and 90% more likely to have experienced this from a manager;
- 10% more likely to leave their organisation.
No government funding
The SC-WRES is based on a similar scheme in the NHS, but is different in two critical respects:
- The NHS workforce race equality standard is a requirement for NHS commissioners and providers. There is no such requirement in social care.
- The NHS standard is, in effect, government-funded, with NHS England directly resourcing the scheme. But while, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funded the SC-WRES in 2021-22, it subsequently stopped doing so. As a result, Skills for Care decided to fund the scheme from its own resources.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 
Hampshire County Council 
Oxfordshire County Council 
South Gloucestershire Council 
Wokingham Borough Council 
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It’s simply remarkable to see that Wayne Reid and others efforts to bring racial issues to the forefront over the last several years has influenced the broader discourse on race equality to this extent. A rare triumph for social care!
As a veteran Head of Service at one of the largest local authorities in England, I can categorically confirm we only engaged in the WRES as a result of the anti-racism work by Wayne Reid and BASW. The WRES is crucial for recruitment and retention and we are a better employer for it.
Collecting data with the same themes year in year out is just an exercise not effectively tackling disparities and changing those outcomes. Here’s my prediction for free. Next year we’ll still be told that racial disparities are as prevalent as they are now, that discrimination and career blocks are as evident and the rest. Feeling good about identifying disparities isn’t the same as being good at tackling them. That’s not a triumph for me.
Hundred percent in agreement. Managers and self elected champions congratulating themselves for their year on year failure.
Failure?! Glass half-empty…
If you are denied career opportunities, if you are more likely to be disciplined, if SWE disproportionately sanctions you, if you are more likely to be bullied by your manager, if your mental health is damaged by your employer disproportionately and all that because you are not a white employee, I wouldn’t call that glass half empty. I’d call that discrimination with impunity. Specially as it’s the same picture time and again. Talk is cheap and the sad thing is most social workers are prepared to ignore their own workplace experiences to accomodate this pretence at action. Nowt glass half empty about that either.
Activism = Self-election ✅