Local Government: Equality

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role her Department had in the drafting of the Equality Standard for Local Government.

John Healey
The “Equality Standard for Local Government” was developed by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) together with the three Equality Commissions with input from the Audit Commission. A new “Equality Standard for Local Government” was published recently.

Mrs. Spelman
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding regional improvement and efficiency partnerships have allocated to the development of the Equality Standard for Local Government in the last 12 months.

John Healey
The Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) are devolved partnerships of councils and other local services. Information on funding allocations to the development strategy for local government is not held centrally.