Leading the way in an inclusive, progressive society

Breaking Through is all about properly reflecting the nation we serve, making the most of our people and investing in all of our futures. The business case for this could not be stronger:

Changes in demography

As a nation, we are changing. The 50 million-strong population of England is set to grow by 6 million over the next 10 years (ONS). The non-BME population is having fewer children – around 1.5 on average, while people from BME backgrounds have around 2.75 children. The population is also aging, with half the population over 50 years old.

With fewer young people and a higher percentage from ehtnic backgrounds, the NHS needs to work harder than ever to ensure it is an employer of choice for all.

To get an overview of diversity across the UK click here.

Being patient led

Free at the point of delivery and accessible to all – NHS principles that are fundamental to how we operate. It’s essential that our services stay abreast of the changing needs of an increasingly diverse population. A diverse leadership would be best placed to develop policies and design services that meet the needs of all communities.

Workforce planning

Evidence shows that a valued workforce is more motivated and delivers better standards and services. People who are valued are also less likely to leave, and as it is costly to replace highly skilled staff, it makes sense to nurture and support people already in the post. And it’s also true that individuals can better visualise their own career progression if they see people like themselves at senior level. So, we‘re committed to making our BME workforce feel it’s possible to reach the very highest levels.

The cost

The cost of replacing highly trained and skilled staff is high, as is the cost of employment tribunals. By having many more BME people at senior levels, accusations of racism can be stemmed and the issues of practice and performance tackled instead.

The moral case

We all know that human beings are equal. We all know that ensuring that everyone, regardless of race, colour and religion, has equal access to services and opportunities, is the right thing to do. And we know that, morally, the right thing to do is to be fair. And so we expect everyone to adhere to that same code.

Legal requirements

The Race Relations Act (RRA) makes it unlawful to treat a person less favourably than another on racial grounds. These cover grounds of race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), and national or ethnic origin. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act outlawed discrimination (direct and indirect) and victimisation in all public authority functions not previously covered by the RRA, with only limited exceptions. It also placed a general duty on specified public authorities to promote race equality and good race relations. There are also specific duties for listed organisations including the production of Race Equality Schemes.

Positive discrimination

Positive discrimination, sometimes called affirmative action, is illegal in the UK. There is a common confusion between (illegal) positive discrimination and (legal) positive action.

Preferential treatment for any group at the point of selection is illegal.The Race Relations Act does not allow positive discrimination or affirmative action - in other words, an employer cannot try to change the balance of the workforce by selecting someone mainly because she or he is from a particular racial group. This would be discrimination on racial grounds, and unlawful.

Positive action [Sections 35, 37 and 38 of the RRA]

The term 'positive action' refers to measures that may lawfully be taken to meet special needs or to train or encourage people from a racial group that is under-represented in particular work.

Section 37 allows training or encouragement to be provided for a particular racial group that is under-represented in particular work.
Where there is national under-representation - that is, where, during the previous 12 months, no one from a particular racial group has done the work in question in Great Britain, or where the proportion of people from that group doing that work was small compared to its proportion of the population of Great Britain. In this case, training or encouragement can be provided exclusively for the racial group (or groups) in question.