Beginning
of participatory democracy.
From IRISH NEWS June 23rd, 2000
By Rosie UFFINDELL
IT may have been a bit of a quiet revolution but health boards, trusts and
numerous other bodies have been grappling with a piece of legislation which
is set to have a direct impact on thousands of lives across Northern Ireland.
The new statutory duty on equality is designed to place equality issues
right at the heart of public policy and at this minute it has resulted in
more than 100 organisations consulting on the way they intend to meet their
obligations. Under the Northern Ireland act public authorities are now required
to have 'due regard' of the need to promote equality of opportunity between
people of different religions, sexes, political opinion, racial groups,
ages, marital status, sexual orientations, abilities/disabilities or with
or without dependents.
For the first time organisations are required not just to have good intentions
but to comply with a statutory obligation to treat people equally. It means
views of individuals and entire communities can no longer be ignored. Transport,
housing and many other publicly-run services are set to be affected but
it is the health service which could face some of the biggest ramifications.
The legislation forces certain organisations to assess any new policy in
terms of its impact on equal opportunities. If it adversely impacts on any
particular group outlined in the legislation, by law the organisation will
have to try to mitigate that impact or even tear up the proposal and start
again - and it is these impact assessments which could dramatically move
the goal-posts in the acute hospital row.
It is no longer enough just to cite medical or safety reasons for closing
services. Now health boards and the department of health will have to consider
whether, by closing one particular hospital's acute services, they are cutting
access for either a majority of Catholics or a majority of Protestants.
If so they will have to consider alternative ways of approaching the problem
or lessening their policy's impact. So far so good, but, as with a lot of
good intentions, there are teething problems.
The Equality Commission's deadline of next Friday means that groups across
the north are grappling with consulting on scores of schemes all at the
same time. That leaves little scope for measured, in-depth responses by
the community and voluntary sector.
Meanwhile not all public bodies have yet been designated to be included
in the scheme, which means organisations like the Social Security Agency
aren't included. All the same there is tremendous scope in the new legislation,
but consultation will be the key to whether it makes any actual difference
on the ground. The legislation requires the designated organisations to
consult with the groups who may be affected by any policy.
Unfortunately, many in the health sector would argue that consultation can
be a token exercise - you only have to look at the history of the closure
of the Jubilee hospital to know that consultation isn't necessarily always
what it's cracked up to be. Meanwhile the equality legislation's forerunner
- the Policy Appraisal for Fair Treatment (PAFT) guidelines - were widely
criticised for enabling public bodies to get away with little more than
token gestures.
No, the true test will be whether consultation does in fact result in change,
real change, or whether in fact it is merely a smoke-screen behind which
public bodies can claim they've complied with their statutory obligations.
Organisations will have to show how they have taken the views of those consulted
into account, which means the onus will be on politicians and the community
and voluntary sector to make sure that process was indeed all it was cracked
up to be. |
