Equality and diversity

We know we serve a diverse borough and getting our services right for everyone is important. We work hard to ensure we don't discriminate in a way that is unfair, illegal or unjustified.

This means we tailor our services to enable everyone to access them. We do this by listening and working with all sections of the community, including hard to reach groups, to encourage greater participation in the decision-making process. To help us do this, we ask for information on people's, disability, sex, age, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, pregnancy/maternity, marriage and civil partnership and sexual orientation. This helps us improve our services by understanding who is using them.

Objectives
The council is required to publish equality objectives under the Public Sector Equality Duty. These were reviewed in 2020 and are:

  • To use customer insight to develop accessible services, particularly aimed at those demonstrating greatest need
  • To ensure all council strategies, policies and procedures consider the impact on our diverse community/workforce to ensure maximum inclusion

The scheme outlines how we will promote equality and diversity in the delivery of our services and integrate the council's equality and diversity activities into our normal service delivery mechanisms.

The full scheme and supporting action plan can be found below. 

Disability Confident Committed Employer
As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we have committed to:

  • Ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible
  • Communicating and promoting vacancies
  • Offering an interview to disabled people
  • Anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required
  • Supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long term health condition, enabling them to stay in work
  • At least one activity that will make a difference for disabled people

  Useful links: