Equality objective 1 [COVID-19 and recovery]

To ensure that the equality and health inequality impacts of COVID-19 and key lessons learnt are fully considered and clear strategies are developed and implemented for the NHS workforce and patients of all ages as the NHS continues to move beyond the recovery phase. To ensure that patient and workforce focused strategies reflect this and make an effective contribution to advancing equality for people of all ages by reference to protected characteristics and to reducing associated health inequalities.

Target 1: To advance the actions outlined in the elective reform plan, NHS England will identify and work to address inequalities within elective care through enhancing data collection and utilisation, reviewing patient transport options, and leveraging technology to ensure greater equity in managing patient pathways.

Equality objective 2 [capability]

To improve the capability of NHS England to understand and address the PSED’s legal obligations and the interface with the separate health inequalities duties.

Target 1: To improve the capability of NHS England’s teams to understand and address the PSED’s legal obligations.

Equality objective 3 [information]

To improve the mapping, quality and extent of equality information to better facilitate compliance with the PSED in relation to patients and NHS service-users of all ages, NHS service delivery, and the NHS workforce.

Target 1: To continue to work with the DHSC, ONS, NHS arm’s length bodies, and other government bodies to identify how best to carry forward and oversee the work of the UISPC Project and move to publish the reports.

Equality objective 4 [internal workforce]

To improve, by reference to protected characteristics, the recruitment, retention, progression, development, and experience of the people employed by NHS England to enable the organisation to become an inclusive employer of choice.

Target 1: To review this equality objective and develop an equality objective and targets appropriate to the integration of NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care.

Equality objective 5 [patient access and communication]

To improve access and reduce communication barriers experienced by individuals and groups of people of all ages, by reference to protected characteristics, who need NHS services.

Target 1: To publish the updated AIS self-assessment framework, e-learning resources and supporting documentation.

Target 2: Through the implementation of further, co-produced equity and equality interventions for maternity and neonatal care, in addition to those in Local Maternity and Neonatal Systems’ equity and equality action plans, NHS England will strengthen and better co-ordinate action to improve equity for mothers and babies from Black and Asian ethnic groups and improve workforce race equality within maternity and neonatal services.  NHS England will measure progress in relation to reducing inequalities in perinatal mortality and preterm birth rates for babies from Black and Asian ethnic groups and identify how good practice can be shared and spread.

Equality objective 6 [system workforce]

To improve, by reference to protected characteristics, the recruitment, retention, progression, development and experience of staff in the NHS workforce.

Target 1: To continue to implement the high impact actions (and their associated success metrics) included in the national NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) improvement plan seeking by 2025/26 to develop improvement trajectories for this programme.

Equality objective 7 [integrated care boards]

To work with integrated care boards (ICBs) to support their compliance with the Equality Act 2010’s Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and the associated Specific Equality Duties (SEDs) taking due account of the NHS reform agenda and significant changes in relevant legislation.

Target 1: To work in partnership with Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to ensure clear guidance is produced for ICBs on the development of equality information and equality objectives.

Target 2: To identify the best ways to support ICBs to meet PSED/SED requirements.

Equality objective 8 [system landscape]

To ensure that the equality objectives for NHS England address the relevant statutory functions, duties, powers and responsibilities of NHS England and address the NHS reform agenda and significant changes in relevant legislation.

Target 1: Working in partnership with the DHSC to agree arrangements for reviewing NHS England’s equality objectives and targets and assessing which should be maintained and amended.

Target 2: Working in partnership with the DHSC, to work towards making NHS England’s equality objectives and targets more performance and outcome driven in accordance with recommendation 4.