each interview. Consistency of coverage was balanced with ensuring that interviews captured what was most relevant and important to each respondent. In general, respondents were questioned in depth only about one piece of guidance: an Essential Guide or Fair Financial Decisions’. In interviews in which both ‘Making were covered, the second was in less detail. A copy of the test guidance was sent to respondents in advance of the interview and most respondents made time to look at it beforehand. Working through a document in detail before their interview was a sizeable requirement for respondents and time had to be allowed in the interview for respondents to remind themselves of what the guidance said. Interviews were scheduled to take an hour but many lasted longer. We are extremely grateful for the considerable time and effort that respondents put into this research and for the valuable insight they provided. Structure of the report The report is structured as follows: Chapter 2 completes the background section of the report (SECTION 1). It provides a overview of the PSED. It explains the law, differences between England, Scotland and Wales, and, importantly, what this means for the guidance that the EHRC publishes. The key findings from the research are set out in SECTION 2 as follows: Chapter 3 covers two contextual themes that are important to an understanding of the findings reported in later chapters. It includes findings from the research on the understanding and awareness that different internal audiences within public authorities have of the EHRC guidance, and the range of other sources of support on the PSED that public authorities use to understand it. Chapter 4 explores respondents’ awareness of the PSED and of the guidance produced by the EHRC, their experience of accessing it and how (if at all) they have made use of it. It also describes what respondents thought of the structure and presentation of the documents themselves (but not the substantive content). Chapter 5 deals with respondents’ understanding of the content of the PSED and examines how far the test guidance is successful in helping stakeholders to build a clear picture of the PSED, its purpose and benefits, what the legal requirements are, what compliance looks like, and what represents good practice (beyond compliance).
each interview. Consistency of coverage was balanced with ensuring that interviews captured what was most relevant and important to each respondent. In general, respondents were questioned in depth only about one piece of guidance: an Essential Guide or ‘Making Fair Financial Decisions’. In interviews in which both were covered, the second was in less detail. A copy of the test guidance was sent to respondents in advance of the interview and most respondents made time to look at it beforehand. Working through a document in detail before their interview was a sizeable requirement for respondents and time had to be allowed in the interview for respondents to remind themselves of what the guidance said. Interviews were scheduled to take an hour but many lasted longer. We are extremely grateful for the considerable time and effort that respondents put into this research and for the valuable insight they provided. Structure of the report The report is structured as follows: Chapter 2 completes the background section of the report (SECTION 1). It provides a overview of the PSED. It explains the law, differences between England, Scotland and Wales, and, importantly, what this means for the guidance that the EHRC publishes. The key findings from the research are set out in SECTION 2 as follows: Chapter 3 covers two contextual themes that are important to an understanding of the findings reported in later chapters. It includes findings from the research on the understanding and awareness that different internal audiences within public authorities have of the EHRC guidance, and the range of other sources of support on the PSED that public authorities use to understand it. Chapter 4 explores respondents’ awareness of the PSED and of the guidance produced by the EHRC, their experience of accessing it and how (if at all) they have made use of it. It also describes what respondents thought of the structure and presentation of the documents themselves (but not the substantive content). Chapter 5 deals with respondents’ understanding of the content of the PSED and examines how far the test guidance is successful in helping stakeholders to build a clear picture of the PSED, its purpose and benefits, what the legal requirements are, what compliance looks like, and what represents good practice (beyond compliance).
research-report-100-awareness-and-understanding-of-ehrc-guidance-on-the-public-sector-equality-duty-accessible-version.docx