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NHSEquality, diversity and inclusionLatest NewsLGBTTransgender

Health secretary urges quangos to ditch diversity memberships

by Jo Faragher 27 Mar 2023
by Jo Faragher 27 Mar 2023 Barclay wants health bodies to review ties with diversity charities such as LGBTQ+ organisation Stonewalll
Ink Drop / Shutterstock.com
Barclay wants health bodies to review ties with diversity charities such as LGBTQ+ organisation Stonewalll
Ink Drop / Shutterstock.com

Health secretary Steve Barclay has written to a number of health bodies in the UK asking them to review their memberships of diversity bodies, according to a letter seen by The Times.

According to the newspaper, Barclay has written to 10 national health organisations including NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency and the Care Quality Commission, asking them to consider whether partnerships with organisations such as Stonewall deliver good value.

The Department of Health did not renew its own membership of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Scheme in 2021 because it “did not represent sufficiently good value for money”.

“In these times of financial pressures, and wider societal concern about these issues, I would ask that you, as a member of the wider health family, now review whether your organisation is getting value for money from your diversity and inclusion memberships and, if not, consider any steps that you could take to address that, such as following the department’s example and allowing any association/subscriptions that you have to lapse or be cancelled,” the letter said.

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In 2021, the charity was accused of offering unlawful advice on transgender rights by an academic at Essex University, who said its guidance on the Equality Act 2010 suggested gender identity was included in the legislation.

It subsequently removed the names of more than 850 companies and public bodies it had listed as diversity champions on its website. Acas and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have withdrawn from the scheme, as have the BBC, Channel 4 and the House of Lords.

The Times reports that Barclay has also asked health organisations to ask existing managers to take on diversity and inclusion work, rather than employ dedicated diversity officers.

He has asked the organisations to respond to him on the issue by 1 May.

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According to the Times, Barclay has also written to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NHS Blood and Transplant, the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

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Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

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