This report summarises our progress and activities over the final year of the 2015-2018 Diversity & Inclusion strategy. As part of our commitment to the Public Sector Equality Duty we also publish equality data in a separate report.
Jump to downloadsThe NAO plays an important role in public sector accountability and improving the delivery of public services. To enable us to fulfil this role, we must: develop and apply our knowledge; increase our influence; and deliver high performance. We can only achieve these objectives if we have a committed, talented and engaged workforce, and this sits at the heart of our strategy.
Our current Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy was launched in 2015 and expires this year. This report reflects on our progress over the last three years and summarises our activity and achievements in the last year of the strategy. We have made some good progress on attracting a diverse range of people to apply to the NAO and on reaching equality in performance appraisal ratings. We’ve also taken positive steps to support disabled colleagues and those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and we’ve continued to work closely with all six of our employee diversity networks to address specific issues they have raised during the year. However, we have made slower progress in other areas of D&I. For example, we have not seen substantial improvement in the diversity of our workforce, particularly at more senior levels, due in part to the low number of promotion opportunities, and we acknowledge that this is a longer term goal for us. Our new strategy, covering the next three years, identifies specific actions we will take to enable us to make faster progress in these areas, whilst building and maintaining the good work that we have already achieved.
I am committed to ensuring that the NAO becomes a fully diverse and inclusive organisation and I look forward to leading the NAO as it continues its diversity journey.
Amyas Morse
26 June 2018