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Dept for Work and Pensions

Answer

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of a person's ethnicity on their access to public services within the responsibilities of his Department. [143573] Maria Eagle: DWP has a range of measures in place to assess the effect of ethnicity on access to public services. We are looking towards improving the way we assess the impact of our services on ethnic minorities, and for this reason have worked in partnership with Home Office and Commission for Racial Equality to develop a system which will help us to achieve this. There is a corporate monitoring project being undertaken in the Department to identify the gaps in information we have on the ethnicity of our customers. Jobcentre Plus currently monitor the ethnicity of all customers who attend work focused interviews. Customer satisfaction surveys are carried out by Jobcentre Plus, Pensions Service, Child Support Agency, Disability and Carers Directorate and Appeals Service which include questions on ethnicity. The results of these surveys help us to assess our services and act on any shortcomings. Ethnic minority outreach programmes are in place across the Department and feedback from customers involved in these can help to inform us whether our services are accessible to ethnic minority groups. The Department has set up the Ethnic Minority Working Party, with which we consult regularly on issues which affect ethnic minority groups. We also meet regularly with the Black and Minority Ethnic Elders Group. A range of research has been commissioned to explore the question of ethnicity and barriers to take up of various benefits and services. Full assessments have not yet been made on the results of these, but action is being taken in response to some of the findings. These include: Research into experiences of lone parents from ethnic minority communities. Opportunities and barriers in employment and training for refugees. Diversity in disability. Delivering benefits and services to black and minority ethnic older people. Research into the languages currently used by the Department, to determine whether these are appropriate for our changing customer base. Copies of the research publications are available in the Library.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

143573; 426 c1878-9W;426 c1882-3W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Access Department for Work and Pensions Equality Government departments Ethnic groups Public sector Minority groups

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk