England’s local authorities have seen the first increase in the proportion of black and minority ethnic staff among their top earners since 2002.
The 2005-06 Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs), compiled by the Audit Commission, show that the average percentage of black and minority ethnic staff among local authorities’ top 5% of earners was 3.3% -up from 2.6% in 2004-05.
In London, the figure was 11.9%, while in county councils it was only 1.7%.
However, 167 of the 411 local authorities did not have a single person from black and minority ethnic communities among their top earners – still an improvement on the previous year, when the figure was 189.
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The BVPIs were devised to allow councils in England to review and benchmark their performance in several areas. The figures show that in 2005-06 they also increased the percentage of women in their top earning group, from 29.8% to 31.8%.
They also reveal staff absence rates. The average council lost 9.6 days’ work per employee in 2005-06, down from 9.7 in 2004-05. The best was South Shropshire, with just 2.9 days’ absence per employee. The worst was Erewash Borough Council in Derbyshire, losing 16.8 days per employee.
