Issue - meetings

Meeting: 27/01/2023 - Cabinet (Item 106)

106 Cabinet Members' Items - Report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder - A.9 - Equality and Inclusion Strategy 2023 to 2027 pdf icon PDF 540 KB

To present to Cabinet a four-year Equality and Inclusion Strategy and seek approval for its adoption and roll out.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

 

(a)   approves for publication the Equality and Inclusion Strategy, as set out in the Appendix to item A.9 of the Report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder? and

 

(b)   approves the proposed roll out plan for the Equality and Inclusion Strategy.

 

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder (A.9), which presented it with a four-year Equality and Inclusion Strategy and which sought its approval for its adoption and roll out following a period of consultation.

 

Cabinet was made aware that, in accordance with the requirements of the Equality Act, 2010, all public bodies, including local authorities, were subject to what was referred to as the ‘Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)’. This duty required public bodies to pay due regard to the following:

 

·      Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct

·      prohibited by the Act.

·      Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and

·      Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

 

As part of this PSED local authorities were required to have and publish their equality and diversity objectives, showing how they would meet those requirements. This Equality and Inclusion Strategy set out how Tendring District Council (the Council) would meet its obligations under the PSED over the period of 2023 to 2027.

 

Following the period of consultation Cabinet was asked to approve this strategy for publication and implementation.

 

Members were informed that the Equality and Inclusion Strategy set out five objectives underneath each of which were listed the ways in which the organisation would seek to achieve them over the lifetime of the Strategy. The contents were aligned to the existing Corporate Plan and priorities and other documents such as the forthcoming Community Engagement Strategy, Local Plan, Housing Strategy, Economic Growth priorities and by working in close partnership with other providers. The five objectives were:

 

1.    Engage and communicate in appropriate and accessible ways

2.    Ensure we deliver inclusive and responsive services

3.    Foster good relations with and within the community

4.    Break the cycle of inequality and improve life chances

5.    Develop and support an inclusive workforce

 

In order to enable the adoption and publication of an Equality and Inclusion Strategy for this Council:-

 

It was moved by Councillor McWilliams, seconded by Councillor Stock OBE and:-

 

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

 

(a)   approves for publication the Equality and Inclusion Strategy, as set out in the Appendix to item A.9 of the Report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder? and

 

(b)   approves the proposed roll out plan for the Equality and Inclusion Strategy.