Single Equality Scheme

‘Promoting Equality in Prisons and Probation: the National Offender Management Service Single Equality Scheme 2009 – 2012' (the SES), describes the way in which we are meeting our equality duties.

The SES expresses our commitment to go beyond our current legal obligations, and to work to ensure that we provide a fair service to all.

ThThe SES includes an Action Plan containing a large programme of work at a national level to establish the key delivery mechanisms and to make available the tools that staff in establishments will use to effect the changes required by the SES.

Progress on the SES Action Plan is reported regularly to the NOMS Agency Management Board, the NOMS Equality Delivery Board and to the newly created Independent Equalities Advisory Group. Annual reports, which will include monitoring data and updates on the progress of the Action Plan, will also be published.

You can view the NOMS Single Equality Scheme on the Ministry of Justice website. A Welsh version of the SES is also available.

We are committed to responding positively where possible to requests for documents to be provided in alternative formats and languages.

Please contact the Race and Equalities Action Group on 020 7217 2522 or email REAG@hmps.gsi.gov.uk to discuss your requirements.

As part of our duties, we are committed to assessing our functions, policies and practices for their impact on disability, gender and race equality. We are committed also to doing this across all other equality strands - age, religion or belief, sexual orientation and gender identity - and are taking a unified approach through a cross-cutting Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) process.

Completed EIAs are published monthly on the HMPS website. A list of contact points for obtaining establishment EIAs is at annex I of the NOMS Single Equality Scheme.