Access and equality in relation to BME groups

Transcription

1 AIC/16/21 Agenda item 10 7 September 2016 Access and equality in relation to BME groups The paper summarises findings of an initial review of the current policy environment in relation to the education and employment outcomes of Black and Minority Ethnic groups, in advance of a review of intakes and outcomes by ethnicity. Recommendations We are recommending to the Committee that SFC investigate further the representation and outcomes for students from minority ethnic groups in Scottish Colleges and Universities and use the evidence to support the work of the Gender Action Plan, Scotland s Youth Employment Strategy and the Scottish Government Race Equality Framework. We recommend that the Executive carry out a review and bring back information to the Committee for further consideration. This will include: Evidence gathering and analysis of SFC held ethnicity data and available external data, for example from the Equality Challenge Unit, and where possible identify any challenges for particular minority groups, and any intersections with other protected characteristics like Gender and socioeconomic disadvantage which may shine a light on challenges for specific groups Feedback of initial discussions with the Scottish Government team responsible for implementing the Race Equality Framework both to ensure we learn from their experiences and evidence gathered through their extensive consultations and discussions with ethnic minority stakeholders and to ensure SFC, Colleges and Universities are aware of responsibilities to meet the ambitions within the Framework Learning from the SFC experience of the development of the Gender Action plan Learning from the wealth of extensive research materials on this issue and best practice from Scotland, the UK and internationally Learning from other funding bodies, for example HEFCE, on how they have identified and are currently tackling the identified issues. Financial implications There are no financial implications

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3 Access and equality in relation to BME groups Purpose 1. The paper is for the committee to note and summarises initial findings of a review of the current policy environment in relation to the education and employment outcomes of Black and Minority Ethnic groups. It is the executive s intention to review the student intakes and outcomes by ethnicity at both Colleges and Universities, particularly focusing on any evidence where there is an intersection with Gender and socio-economic disadvantage. We would welcome advice from the committee at this initial stage of review. Background 2. There are recently published and converging frameworks and strategies being put in place in relation to improving identified education and employment outcomes for Scotland s Black and minority ethnic group, with resulting implications and actions for SFC. These are summarised below. 3. Demographic data for Scotland s minority ethnic communities is attached at annex A. Some initial high level SFC figures for College and University BME representation and successful completion/retention rates are attached at annex B and minority ethnic labour market participation rates are at annex C. Scotland s Youth Employment Strategy and SFC Gender Action Plan 4. In December 2014, the Scottish Government published Developing the Young Workforce - Scotland's Youth Employment Strategy 1, a seven-year programme that aims to better prepare children and young people from the ages of 3 18 for the world of work. The headline objective is to reduce youth unemployment by 40% by A key component in the strategy is to develop the talents of all young people. Within that strategy the Scottish Government committed SFC to develop a Gender Action Plan to address gender imbalances at a subject level within colleges, in partnership with Skills Development Scotland and other partners. The SFC GAP builds on these expectations and brings together ambitions for both colleges and universities. SFC published the final GAP 2 in August 2016 and within it commits SFC to: By 2018 Building on ECU s analysis on intersections by protected characteristics and socio-economic background within HE as well as other work in this area, SFC will work with ECU and the sectors to identify what further resources and guidance are required to support institutions to nder_action_plan.pdf 1

4 develop intersectional approaches to recruiting and supporting students. By summer 2018 aligned with the focus of DYW and the Scottish Government s Race Equality Framework for Scotland, SFC will consult with relevant ethnicity and disability representatives to improve our understanding of the issues faced by such minority groups and how they differ by gender. Building on work with ECU, as identified above, SFC will seek to identify what further guidance is required. From 2018 onwards the SFC will have developed our replacement for Learning for All, SFC s annual report on progress with widening access to chart our progress on access, inclusion and equality. This will include a section on our ambition for gender equality including the intersectionality of gender alongside protected characteristics as well as deprivation and care experience. Scottish Government Race Equality Framework for Scotland 2016 and In March 2016 the Scottish Government published its Race Equality Framework for Scotland This framework for Scotland sets out the Scottish Government s long term ambition and their approach to promoting race equality and tackling racism and inequality between 2016 and This Framework applies to the areas of devolved policy, including Education which the Scottish Government is responsible for. The Framework outlines how they will work in partnership with their agencies and key stakeholders and public sector bodies. It should also inform SFC s work on race equality and should be particularly useful for setting of the SFC Equality Outcomes to be published in The Framework has 6 areas of work and identified ambitions they aim to achieve. The most relevant for SFC is the area of work 4, Education and Lifelong Learning, where the Scottish Government s vision is that: Everyone has the opportunity to learn in an inclusive environment without disadvantage in relation to racial inequality or racism 7. Within that vision 4, goal 19 is that: Minority ethnic people experience better outcomes in completing further and higher education, and in transitioning to the labour market after completion. 8. The Race Equality Framework states that despite high attainment at school and rates of entry into further and higher education after school, statistically, 3 2

5 minority ethnic people are not receiving the labour market advantages which should be expected from their positive educational outcomes. It states unemployment and underemployment are relatively high for minority ethnic groups, including minority ethnic graduates. 9. It also reports that lack of access to high quality jobs for minority ethnic people impacts on a range of other inequalities, in particular the higher rates of poverty experienced by these groups. And that ensuring that further and higher educational attainment leads to labour market advantages is essential to address racial inequality. To achieve their goal, it states they will: Through college and university Outcome Agreements, ensure that minority ethnic people do not face barriers to full participation and successful outcomes across Further (FE) and Higher Education (HE) that other students might not face Ensure that minority ethnic people continue to be represented across FE and HE proportionately to the general population, and continue to experience positive outcomes in completing courses Ensure access to effective careers guidance and employability support for minority ethnic people in FE and HE to enable positive transitioning to the labour market after completion. Scottish Government Fairer Scotland National discussion and Social Justice Action Plan 10. Over 2015, the Scottish Government also held a national discussion about what a Fairer Scotland would look like in The aim was to create opportunities for the widest possible range of voices to be heard. This included a series of events over Autumn 2015 which brought people from across the country to discuss what practical steps we need to take to create a fairer Scotland. The views and ideas 4 will contribute to the development of a Social Justice Action Plan - to be published in As part of that work they engaged minority ethnic communities in a range of events which took place all over Scotland including Dundee, Glasgow and Fife and which involved people from a range of African, refugee and Muslim communities and many others. They state these views also influenced the development of their Race Equality Framework. Commission on Widening Access 11. In March 2016 the Commission on Widening Access published its final report A 4 A summary report detailing the key issues discussed as part of Fairer Scotland is available at 3

6 Blueprint for Fairness 5 which referenced the importance of considering the additional barriers faced by people with protected characteristics and the need of not losing sight of important groups of learners in the next phase of access work in Scotland. Related to that is recommendation 33 which states: The Commissioner for Fair Access should: Consider what further work is required to support equal access for other groups of learners and within specific degree subjects. 12. The Scottish Government has accepted all the Commission recommendations and we are currently waiting on the Scottish Government to appoint the Commissioner for Access. Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee Inquiry and report Removing Barriers: race, ethnicity and employment 13. In addition, the Scottish Parliament states that despite forty years of legislation, training initiatives and equality policies, the world of work still fails to represent the communities and people of Scotland - according to a race, ethnicity and employment report 6 by the Scottish Parliament s Equal Opportunities Committee. The report in January 2016 was the result of a six-month Committee inquiry, which examined barriers faced by Scotland s ethnic minorities in accessing training and employment and ways these can be tackled. 14. The Committee heard evidence that Scotland s ethnic minorities are on average more likely to be unemployed or in low-paid work. They found that despite largely performing better academically than white Scots, people from an ethnic minority background are also underrepresented in senior management positions. 15. The report calls on the Scottish Government to show leadership in tackling the deep-seated issues which emerged in its inquiry, and commit to long-term, practical action. SFC s equality framework and Outcome Agreements 16. SFC s Equality policy framework already seeks to develop our leadership of equality and diversity and strategic planning to support our ambition for equality of opportunity regardless of background or protected characteristic to improve people s life chances and eliminate disadvantages arising from individual characteristics. In particular, we are committed to doing more to advance equality and diversity within our Programme for Change set out

7 within our Strategic Plan ( ) 7 - and equality and diversity is at the heart of what we do. 17. In 2015 we outlined how we would work with the sectors towards our equality and diversity ambitions for Scottish Higher and Further Education (HE and FE) in our Mainstreaming Report 8 and Equality Outcomes 9 (as required under the Scottish specific duties of the Equality Act 2010). In particular SFC Equality Outcome 1 states: More even patterns at both a sectoral and an institutional level - of participation, retention and success by different groups of learners, from protected characteristic groups and including those from areas of deprivation and care backgrounds where they interact. 18. To promote equality of opportunity for all learners, we ask colleges and universities to consider under-representation of all protected characteristics and where it exists to set clear aspirations within their Outcome Agreements and outline the planned activity to meet these aspirations. The College and University Outcome Agreements include commitments for minority ethnic groups and an analysis of this will be presented at the meeting to supplement this paper. UK context 19. In terms of the UK policy context, on 27 August 2016 the Prime Minister launched an audit to look into racial disparities in our public services that stretches right across government. It will highlight the differences in outcomes for people of different backgrounds, in every area from health to education, childcare to welfare, employment, skills and criminal justice. The audit will be led by a new dedicated Whitehall unit situated in the Cabinet Office, reporting jointly to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the Minister for the Cabinet Office. The first data is expected to be published before the summer 2017 and will be updated annually to ensure the public can track improvement and better hold services to account. Conclusion 20. What is evident is that there is febrile policy landscape surrounding this inequality and a desire at both a UK and Scottish Government level to tackle the persistent inequities facing our minority ethnic communities. Even from an initial look at the various frameworks, policies, reports and research, it is clear that more needs to be done and that in the first instance SFC needs to carry out 7 rategic_plan_ pdf

8 a review of student intakes and outcomes by ethnicity, to contribute to the ambition set out in the Gender Action Plan, Race Equality Framework and other national frameworks. We need to prepare the evidence for these converging requests to us and to work in fellowship with our strategic partners to challenge this persistent inequity within the system. Chiming with the findings from the Commission on Widening Access, we must move away from the notion of the deficit of the individual to addressing the deficits of the system. 21. In a blog published by HEFCE on 26 August 2016, entitled A waste of talent and potential 10 they state that disadvantaged, BME and mature students are less likely to reap the benefits of higher education than their peers and that Recent reports from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Trades Union Congress echo HEFCE analysis and research. All show clear and persistent unexplained differences in degree attainment, progression to postgraduate study, and progression to graduate employment for particular groups of students. These differences persist even when accounting for factors such as prior educational attainment. They state that one of the groups most affected are students from black and minority ethnic groups. They present stark findings for this group in a summary chart in annex D. The blog continued: Our prospective students would, I m sure, ask what universities, colleges and other HE providers are doing to sort it out. Well, we could tell them that the issue has been studied for at least two decades. We could also tell them that very dedicated and committed HE staff and students have tried to tackle the problem. But we would be forced to admit that despite these efforts, the differences persist year-on-year. To avoid this waste of talent, much more needs to be done systematically to address barriers to success. Next steps and recommendations 22. SFC need to investigate further the representation and education outcomes for students from minority ethnic groups in Scottish Colleges and Universities and use the evidence to support the work of the Gender Action Plan, Scotland s Youth Employment Strategy and the Scottish Government Race Equality Framework. We recommend to the Committee that the Executive carry out a review of student intakes and outcomes by ethnic group and bring back information to the Committee for further consideration. This will include: Evidence gathering and analysis of SFC held ethnicity data and available external data, for example from the Equality Challenge Unit, and where possible identify any challenges for particular minority groups, and any intersections with other protected characteristics like Gender and 10 HEFCE: 6

9 socioeconomic disadvantage which may shine a light on challenges for specific groups Feedback of initial discussions with the Scottish Government team responsible for implementing the Race Equality Framework both to ensure we learn from their experiences and evidence gathered through their extensive consultations and discussions with ethnic minority stakeholders and to ensure SFC, Colleges and Universities are aware of responsibilities to meet the ambitions within the Framework Learning from the SFC experience of the development of the Gender Action plan Learning from the wealth of extensive research materials on this issue and best practice from Scotland, the UK and internationally Learning from other funding bodies, for example HEFCE, on how they have identified and are currently tackling the identified issues. Risk assessment 23. There are no risks associated with this paper. However, undertaking the recommended actions limits the risk of potential failure of not achieving our commitments, for example, set out within the Gender Action Plan. Equality and diversity assessment 24. This paper does not present any new or revised strategies or policies, and does not require an EHRIA. Financial implications 25. There are no financial implications. Recommendations 26. The Committee is invited to: Note the paper Agree the recommended next steps above Advise the Council executive of any additional actions at this stage. Publication 27. This paper will be published on the Council website. Further information 28. Contact: Carina MacRitchie, Senior Policy/Analysis Officer tel: , cmacritchie@sfc.ac.uk. 7

10 Annex A demographic data Ethnic breakdown of Scotland's population 2011 The 2011 Census data 11 shows that the percentage of people in Scotland from minority ethnic groups had doubled to 4%, up from 2% in The Asian population is the largest minority ethnic group (3%). Within this, Pakistani is the largest individual category, accounting for 1% of the total population. The African, Caribbean or Black groups made up 1% of the population of Scotland. Mixed or multiple ethnic groups represented 0.4% and other ethnic groups 0.3% of the total population. Ethnic groups, Scotland, 2011 All people 5,295,403 White 96.0 Scottish 84.0 Other British 7.9 Irish 1.0 Gypsy/Traveller 0.1 Polish 1.2 Other white 1.9 Mixed or multiple ethnic groups 0.4 Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British 2.7 Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British 0.9 Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British 0.6 Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British 0.1 Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British 0.6 Other Asian 0.4 African 0.6 African, African Scottish or African British 0.6 Other African 0.0 Caribbean or Black 0.1 Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British 0.1 Black, Black Scottish or Black British 0.0 Other Caribbean or Black 0.0 Other ethnic groups 0.3 Arab, Arab Scottish or Arab British 0.2 Other ethnic group 0.1 Source: National Records of Scotland

11 Minority ethnic groups by council area In the 2011 census the proportion of the population reported as belonging to a minority ethnic group varied by council area. The highest figures were in the four council areas containing the large cities: in City of Glasgow it was 12%, Edinburgh and in Aberdeen it was 8%, and in Dundee it was 6%. Minority ethnic groups by council area, Scotland,

12 Proportion of each Ethnic Group in each SIMD decile, 2011 The chart labelled 1.23 below illustrates the distribution of each ethnic group with regards to deprivation. The Scottish Government analysis 13 states it shows: 'White: British' group had a fairly even distribution but was slightly over-represented in deciles 5-9, i.e. areas that, in the main had, average or below average levels of deprivation. The decile where the 'White: British' group had lowest representation (9.5 per cent) was the least deprived. 'White: Irish' group was under-represented in deprived deciles and recorded its highest proportion in the least deprived decile (13.4 per cent). 'White: Other', 'Mixed or multiple' and 'Indian' groups had similar distributions - people of these ethnic groups were least likely to live in a deprived area. As the deciles become less deprived these groups became relatively more represented. The 'Chinese' group had high representation in both the most and least deprived deciles. Over a quarter of the 'African' ethnic group lived in the most deprived decile and this group was over-represented in the three most deprived deciles. The 'Caribbean or Black' group was also over-represented in the most deprived deciles. Source: Census 2011, National Records of Scotland & SIMD

13 Annex B: SFC data minority ethnic representation and successful completion/retention rates at Scottish Colleges and Universities Colleges Proportion of Activity (SUMS) delivered at Scotland's colleges to BME students as proportion of overall activity, to SUMS delivered to BME Total SUMS delivered , ,459 99,609 96, , ,489 2,084,136 2,069,854 1,957,928 1,844,145 1,912,161 1,908,089 % BME 5.1% 5.1% 5.1% 5.2% 5.3% 5.6% The table above indicates a small increase of 0.5% in proportion of activity delivered to BME student group since Outcomes of minority ethnic groups compared to all students and

14 The figures above for AY suggest that compared to all students, minority ethnic students had a slightly lower successful completion rate by 3.1% However, when you combine success with partial success the difference reduces to 0.9% ( ). The figures for AY showed both an improvement for the minority ethnic success rates and a reversal where ethnic minorities achieved higher successful completion by 0.7% and when combined with partial success overall by 1.9% ( ) 12

15 Universities Scottish Domiciled Undergraduate Entrants to Scotland's HEIs, to / / / / /14 BME 2,041 1,924 1,953 2,127 2,321 Total Entrants 37,160 34,420 31,838 32,350 34,364 % BME 5.5% 5.6% 6.1% 6.6% 6.8% The table above shows an increase in the proportion of BME entrants of 1.3% since Retention rates for BME Scottish-domiciled entrants to full-time undergraduate courses, to * compared with retention rates for entrants of all ethnicities 2009/ / / / /14 BME Entrants 1,713 1,846 1,761 1,794 1,973 BME Retained 1,527 1,646 1,601 1,613 1,827 % BME Retained 89.1% 89.2% 90.9% 89.9% 92.6% 2009/ / / / /14 Total Entrants 30,352 31,896 29,858 28,241 28,749 Total Retained 26,933 27,970 26,687 25,669 26,241 % Retained 88.7% 87.7% 89.4% 90.9% 91.3% *the academic year here relates to the year in which the student was retained. So relates to entrants in returning in The table above indicates, overall there has been increase to the retention rates for all ethnicities and BME SDUE entrants. It also, with the exception of , that BME entrants have better retention rates than all entrants. 13

16 Students in higher education at Scottish HEIs and colleges by level of study and ethnicity, Level of Study Ethnic Background All Levels Research Postgraduate Postgraduate Taught Postgraduate First Degree Sub-degree HNC/HND Other Subdegree All Students 281,285 12,525 43, ,420 40,765 29,905 Asian - Bangladeshi Asian - Chinese 6, ,595 2, Asian - Indian 3, , Asian - Pakistani 3, , Asian - other 3, , Black - African 4, ,885 1, Black - Caribbean Black - other White 223,820 7,540 26, ,210 37,970 25,025 Mixed background 4, , Other ethnic background 2, , Unknown 27,530 2,565 8,725 13, ,480 Sources: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Scottish Funding Council (SFC). The table above shows that 88.2% of (all) students whose ethnicity was recorded were white. Students from an Asian Chinese background were the second largest ethnic group with 2.6% of the total and students from a Black African background were the third largest ethnic group with 1.9%. This table includes all enrolments and all entrants including non-uk students. The majority of the high proportion of unknowns can be accounted for by non-uk students as institutions are only required to return ethnicity information for UK students. 14

17 Annex C: Labour Market Participation The Scottish Parliament Information Centre SPICe (2015) highlighted the continued lower rate of participation in the labour market among ethnic minority groups compared with white ethnic groups. They report that for white working age people, the trend has been for labour market participation rates around 72-74% over this ten year period (2004 to 2014). Among ethnic minority groups, labour market participation was just over 55% in 2004, rising to a high of 67% in 2007; since then fluctuating, reaching a low of 51% in Comparison of employment rates by ethnicity, 2004 to 2014 (%) Source: Scottish Parliament 2015 Employment rate by ethnic group, 2014 Source: Scottish Parliament 2015 SPICe found that when looking in more detail at rates of employment among different ethnic minority groups, differences within the ethnic minority population emerge. The figure above shows that people who report their ethnicity as Indian have a higher than average employment rate 80.1 per cent in 2014 compared with a Scottish average of 73.2 per cent. And that by contrast, most other ethnic minority groups have an employment rate below the Scottish average, with Pakistani and Bangladeshi people having the lowest employment rate (52.3%), and people from mixed or multiple ethnicities a rate of 62.9 per cent. 15

18 Annex D: HEFCE - HE outcome differences from sector-adjusted average, split by ethnicity Source: HEFCE