Agenda item

The Commission considered a report of the Chief Executive, the purpose of which was to seek its views on the draft Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy for 2024-2029 as part of an ongoing public consultation on the Strategy.  A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 8’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were made:

(i)               Members welcomed the proposal to adopt those with lived care experience as a ‘protected characteristic’.

(ii)              Members were pleased to see that 93% of staff had provided positive feedback to the staff survey held in 2023 and agreed that the Council was committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.  This demonstrated that many staff were treating others with decency and respect and suggested that the culture of the Authority as an organisation was largely good.  For individual instances where this was not the case, it was important to ensure managers were equipped to respond and address such behaviour quickly.  It was noted that the Council had been robust and clear in its response to some recent incidents which demonstrated its zero tolerance to hate and any member of staff affected would be supported.

(iii)            Members were assured that the information collected through staff surveys was broken down to head of service level which ensured anonymity of staff.

(iv)            The Council sought to ensure decisions were based on evidence and not perception.  A data driven approach would therefore be adopted and this would include both quantitative and qualitative data. It was suggested that the Council needed to be clearer about the data it used and provide context where appropriate.  For example, a Member suggested that the Stonewall workforce equalities index did not include all councils.  Whilst therefore the Council was ranked as the highest performing local authority, which was to be welcomed, it should be made clearer out of how many councils it was being measured against.  

(v)             Staff were being encouraged to report characteristics to better understand the Authority’s staff profile and to enable it to consider any potential trends around complaints, recruitment and promotions.  This would also support the Council’s aim to create a representative workforce which would in turn enable it to better meet the needs of the communities it served.

(vi)            A Member commented that it would be important to ensure that the Council’s increased digital approach did not inadvertently increase the barriers faced by some residents accessing either employment with the Authority or its services.  As an example, it was suggested that the Council’s recruitment portal was not easily accessible for those with a learning disability or who might have English as a second language.  The Chief Executive provided reassurance that following concerns being raised, the Council’s recruitment portal had now been updated to include a telephone option to make the process for requesting a paper version much easier.  This was welcomed by all Members.

(vii)          It was suggested that digitisation had both advantages and disadvantages.  A Member commented that as the County’s aging population increased there was a risk of people being left behind and so this needed to be approached with care and with EDI at the heart of the process. 

(viii)         Members suggested that whilst deprivation was recognised within the draft Strategy, more emphasis was needed to capture hidden deprivation too.  Reference to Gypsies and travellers should also include reference to Showmen and Boatmen.  A Member further suggested that the Strategy was too text heavy and the inclusion of case studies would help make the document more accessible and relatable. It was also suggested that reference to members should be included within the Strategy to reflect their role as community representatives.

The Lead Member for Communities encouraged everyone to respond to the consultation as this provided a wealth of information to help the Council better understand how residents were affected in their daily lives and what barriers they faced.  This helped the Council better shape the delivery of its services to address such issues.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the draft Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for 2024-28 be noted and welcomed;

(b)  That the Chief Executive be requested to take account of the comments now made by the Scrutiny Commission as part of the consultation.