The NAO found that parents from some minority groups, such as Black, African, Caribbean or Black British parents, are less likely to use the CMS scheme. However, the Department has not conducted research into why this might be or whether there is any indirect racial discrimination.17 Race is a ‘protected characteristic’ and under the Public Sector Equality Duty, which came into force in April 2011, public authorities are required, among other duties, to advance equality of opportunity between...

The NAO found that parents from some minority groups, such as Black, African, Caribbean or Black British parents, are less likely to use the CMS scheme. However, the Department has not conducted research into why this might be or whether there is any indirect racial discrimination.17 Race is a ‘protected characteristic’ and under the Public Sector Equality Duty, which came into force in April 2011, public authorities are required, among other duties, to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not.18 However the Department told us that it had no plans to do any research i Type: conclusion | Number: 13 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 2b. PAC Recommendation: The Department should: • to support this, undertake more inclusive research to understand its customers and users of its service. It should ensure people who do not communicate in English are included in its research and establish why unde