Agenda item

(Director of Governance) Report to follow.

The select committee received a report from the Performance Improvement Officer regarding Equality Objectives 2016-2020.

In March 2012 the Council published its first set of equality objectives designed to provide focus for the Council’s work in delivering its public sector equality duty and thereby advancing equality for service users and employees. The duty required public authorities to have due regard for the following three aims:

(a)  Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;

(b)  Advancing equality of opportunity between different groups; and

(c)  Fostering good relations between different groups.

This first set of four objectives targeted:

(i)            Equality intelligence gathering and the use of this intelligence in service planning;

(ii)           Development of equality ownership;

(iii)          Improving engagement activities; and

(iv)         Working to allow for a balanced workforce profile.

An action plan for delivering the objectives was adopted and progress of work for delivering the action plan had been co-ordinated by the Corporate Equality Working Group (CEWG) which was chaired by the Director of Governance and reported to both Management Board and the Governance Select Committee at 6 monthly intervals. The lifespan of these objectives came to an end in March 2016 with considerable progress having been made and the objectives largely achieved.

Over the last year the CEWG had been engaged in the development of a new set of objectives taking the Council forward until March 2020. This new set of objectives addressed the challenges still faced by the Council in embedding equality into all its activities and built upon the progress already achieved. The CEWG had consulted with directorates and four objectives were proposed which were set out below together with a brief outline of the reasons for their proposal:

Objective 1:   To integrate the Council’s public sector equality duty into our partnership working.

The public sector equality duty was relevant across the full range of its activity including its work through partnerships, the duty also applied to its public sector partners. Under Objective 1 in regard to Ref 4, officers confirmed that the number of work experience apprentices in the District Council was 3 per directorate. In respect of Ref 5 concerning the reducing of isolation in rural locations for older people, officers confirmed that isolation could take place anywhere, particularly in urban areas and they would look at extending the action to cover these areas.

Objective 2:   To apply robust equality requirements in commissioning, procurement and contract management.

Procurement by local authorities was identified by the Government as a key area for the development of equality and had the potential of improving the lives of people. Whilst it was evident there was some consideration of equality in our procurement practices, procurement had not been a focus for equality work to date and integration was required if the duty was fully met.

Objective 3:   To develop our capacity so that our employees have the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver our plans.

Employee understanding of Council requirements remained important. Whilst some progress had been made in the course of the current set of objectives, the CEWG considered there was the potential to refine and refocus training for employees to reflect the Council’s current position.

Objective 4:   To improve and develop equality in our business activities.

This included projects and reviews along with Objectives 1 and 2 which sought to build on progress already made in integrating equality into service planning and delivery.

The Council published equality information annually to show progress against the public sector equality duty and progress against the equality objectives action plan. There was also a requirement to understand the impact of services and activities on people from the protected groups and a separate programme of analysis alongside would inform the work contained in this action plan.

Whilst there was no obligation to produce an equality scheme, CEWG considered it a useful way of communicating the Council’s intentions and approach to this area of work.

The Cabinet was requested to consider and agree the proposed equality objectives 2016-2020 and action plan to deliver them subject to the views of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

RECOMMENDED:

That the Council’s Equality Objectives 2016-2020 be recommended to the Cabinet for approval.