Week 5: Influencing professional power of local public services

Introduction

This week was written by Fidèle Mutwarasibo.

Over the previous four weeks, you have been looking at power and exploring how as a leader, you can influence people and institutions with power. You have by now noted that a broad range of people holds power at a local level. This week you will look back at how the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests brought the issues associated with racial inequalities to the fore.

You will explore how local public services have proactively sought to engage with Black people and other racialised minorities in the aftermath of COVID-19 and the BLM protests. You will examine how the issues around trust may impact how Black people respond to the emerging calls for participation and engagement, and you will look at the powers held by professionals involved in delivering local public services and how you can influence them.

You will be encouraged to consider the disconnect between legal provisions such as Public Sector Equality Duty and the lived experiences of Black people and other racialised minorities. Finally, you will look at the avenues you can use to keep professionals involved in local public service delivery accountable. Accountability through your elected officials aside, there are other pathways to accountability, including internal organisational complaint mechanisms and complaints through professional and oversight bodies.

By the end of this week, you should be able to:

• understand the role and power of professionals involved in delivering local public services
• speak with confidence about the experiences of Black people in accessing and using their local public services
• gather evidence, prepare and make a formal complaint if you feel mistreated or discriminated against
• understand the responsibilities of local public institutions in promoting equality to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty provisions
• approach with confidence your engagement and interactions with local public services as a leader or a member of a community or network.