Introduction

Society is a complex mix of communities and we want to better understand these. We want to know what is important and to take this into account as part of our culture and in our planning and:

• see equality and fairness as a fundamental right to be, encouraged and supported
• see equality and diversity as an integral part of our corporate and service policy and planning
• through leadership and influence, service provision and as an employer, to do all we can to ensure everyone is treated fairly and their different views respected
• identify groups at risk or with needs less well met and to do what we can to meet them
• learn from others
• meet our statutory obligations fully

We also recognise the need to respect individuality. Everyone has the right to be recognised as individuals or as members of different groups.

We recognise equality of opportunity and fairness as core values. We want everyone in the organisation to be aware of and to work to these values. In the council we want to:

• promote a culture of openness and fairness to embed equality in all we do
• develop the necessary people skills and understanding to ensure that we meet our equality objectives
• have the right systems in place to plan and monitor the delivery of our objectives
• provide the necessary resources and capacity to meet equality objectives

It is also important to recognise that people may face unequal treatment through a combination of factors. When people's needs or expectations are not fully understood or considered they are more likely to be treated unfairly. The main factors we have identified are:[1]

• age
• gender
• ethnicity
• religion or faith
• sexual orientation
• disability
• mobility
• cost and convenience of service

We also recognise the need to consider people's local community links and interests and how this affects the way they are treated.

Our commitments

We will:

• enhance local democracy and accountability to ensure we understand people's needs and they are encouraged to engage in the democratic process
• strive to ensure that no one is disadvantaged by negative attitudes
• do our best to not discriminate against any group community or individual because of their cultures, backgrounds, interests or lifestyles
• not apply conditions or requirements that cannot be justified
• ensure that for all significant policy and service developments all relevant sectors of the community have a reasonable opportunity to express their views
• monitor our policies, functions, services and practices to ensure that they are fair
• carry out impact assessments and equality audits to assess the effects of what we plan to do 
• develop and implement realistic and relevant equality actions and monitor progress regularly
• by developing and training employees and membersensure everyone understands why equality is important, the policies and practices we apply and their individual rights and responsibilities
• seek to promote a positive attitude towards equality in our delivery of services
• seek to positively influence partner organisations

Meeting our objectives - what they are

We will ensure we meet all our statutory responsibilities for equality set out in appendix 1.

The council is also directed by two important policies that include commitments to equality:

• 'Chester's Way Ahead' - the Community Plan for Chester which aims to achieve a thriving community. This establishes priorities and targets to improve the provision of public and other services by making them responsive to communities' needs and aspirations. It drives the service planning and delivery of many public sector organisations including local authorities, health, and the police and fire services
• our own Corporate Plan - one of the key principles is promoting a fairer society

These are supported by other policies that cover major services including housing, culture, safety and the environment.

The Council as a Community Leader - leading by example

We aim to lead by example in our relationships with our community.

We are committed to understanding and reflecting the needs of the Chester community in what we do and will:

• represent these interests where we work in partnership or have influence
• lead in the promotion of equality issues through the local strategic partnership and other community work
• challenge others to do the same

 

Where appropriate we will encourage others to adopt the principles and the   good practice of this policy.

We will encourage people to report any activity where they believe they have been a victim of unfair treatment, criminal or otherwise.

We will value the contributions of voluntary and community groups and consult and support local organisations that represent the views of local people.

Consulting Communities

Before taking major decisions, the council will carry out any appropriate and   necessary research and consultation to fully understand people's needs and views and the effects of what we plan.

We will use data from the census and other sources together with the results of our own research and consultation to ensure we have a clear picture of our district, how it may be changing and how it may be affected by wider changes in society.

In our consultation and research we will follow best practice and use methods that do not exclude people or groups.

We will use this information to guide the way we plan and deliver services.

The Council as a service provider - providing services fairly

We will:

• try to make our services equally accessible to everyone
• take positive action to provide all services in a fair and equitable way
• regularly monitor levels of satisfaction with council services among different groups
• provide information in different formats and languages, together with translation and interpreting facilities
• expect suppliers and contractors working on behalf of the council to comply with their statutory obligations and that, wherever possible, to actively support the council in promoting equality and diversity

 

The Council as an Employer - equality in the workplace

Through our people strategy and workforce planning we seek to maintain a skilled workforce combining professional and technical ability with positive attitudes and healthy behaviours so that everyone contributes to our shared aims and objectives. We will:

• aim for fairness and equality in all aspects of our employment responsibilities and relations with our workforce
• meet all our statutory employment responsibilities and ensure that all recruitment and selection procedures are clear and consistent with Codes of Practice
• value all employees and recognise the contribution that everyone makes to the success of the District and the performance of the council
• ensure that, wherever possible, the diversity of our workforce reflects the community we serve
• ensure that everyone has fair access to opportunities to realise their own potential and expectations
• provide training and development to equip people to undertake the duties and responsibilities expected of them by the council
• make any reasonable adjustments to facilitate employment within the council for a disabled employee or someone who becomes disabled during employment with the council
• aim to treat people within the council with the same fairness as we expect from them in dealing with our customers

Providing capacity to support our aims

To maintain the profile of equality we have identified a range of responsibilities for members, managers and employees

In particular the Corporate Policy Team will have responsibility for developing responses to equality issues. In that team a senior officer will:

• work with the community and partners and advise on the promotion of equality and diversity
• help us mainstream diversity and equality in our corporate and service planning
• ensure we meet all our commitments and statutory obligations

 

Understanding the needs of communities already forms a part of our service planning. Using impact assessments we will be able to identify the implications and benefits of actions we propose. In this way our existing resources can be used more effectively to target needs.

If we are unable to meet specific needs within our existing services or resources Cabinet will consider them as part of its resource and budget decisions.

Concentrating on what's important and monitoring progress

We will assess the impact of service or policy changes and take this into account in decision making.

We will use our corporate, policy and service planning arrangements to identify equality objectives, actions and performance targets.

These targets will be based on the identified needs of service users and the overall objectives of this policy.

Where actions have a positive impact on particular groups we will include specific performance measures to monitor that the action is delivered effectively and fairly.

Equality actions will be found either in individual service plans or, if appropriate, the corporate equality plan.

Actions which have potentially unfair impacts will be reviewed to eliminate or lessen the impact.

Performance will be monitored:

• through our performance management framework. This is a common reporting mechanism for all council activity. It includes a range of corporate and service-based targets, but in particular best value and local performance indicators
• through the corporate equality plan by the Diversity and Equality Group
• against service use. Reviewing customer feedback and complaints monitoring will be important in helping determine whether people have been affected differently

 

The Corporate Equality Plan

To support this equality policy the council has agreed a corporate equality plan that sets out a target to progress to level five of the equality standards for local government by March 2008

Where issues are significant or cut across a number of service areas they will form part of this plan.

An overview of the plan is appended to this policy.

Responsibilities - who does what

We have committed to give people particular responsibilities for equality, and equip them with the necessary skills to ensure they are able to support our equality commitments.

Everyone has a responsibility to gain a basic understanding of equality and our commitments to fairness, and to lead by example.

In addition we have identified some specific responsibilities:

 

Councillors

• consider and apply equality principles and practice in the work of the area committees and all they do as elected representatives of the community
• lead  by example by adopting and applying the principles of this policy

 

The Review Committees

• consider and review this policy against the objectives of the council and performance against targets and to advise Cabinet
• are consulted and to comment on future diversity and equality policy proposals
• scrutinise equality targets and performance
• initiate action and develop policy
• lead by example by adopting and applying the principles of this policy

 

The Portfolio Holder for Health and Well Being

• the executive member responsible for equality issues
• leads by example by adopting and applying the principles of this policy

 

The Cabinet (portfolio holders individually and collectively)

• have overall responsibility to agree the Corporate Equality Policy and associated plans and to ensure the council meets its statutory obligations and policy objectives
• monitor performance regularly and consider issues arising
• provide leadership to the community, partners and within the organisation
• lead by example by adopting and applying the principles of this policy

 

The Chief Executive and Management Team

• have collective responsibility, advising the members and ensuring effective engagement throughout the organisation

 

The Deputy Chief Executive

• to be a champion for equality issues and chair the Diversity and Equality Group
• leads by example by adopting and applying the principles of this policy

 

Service Managers

• ensure that equality is fully assessed in the preparation of all service plans and actions and where relevant equality targets are included to measure and monitor performance
• lead by example by adopting and applying the principles of this policy

 

Corporate Policy Manager and Team

• overall responsibility for advice to members and officers on equality issues
• reporting on performance against equality best value performance indicators
• the regular production of a district profile on diversity
• to lead by example by adopting and applying the principles of this policy

 

The Diversity and Equality Group

• collective consideration of equality issues on behalf of the council and monitoring progress against the corporate equality plan and relevant service plans and actions

Reviewing this policy

This policy will be regularly reviewed to ensure it remains fit for purpose as the role of the council and equality expectations change.

The policy will be fully reviewed every three years.

Documents prepared by Chester City Council are available in large print, Braille, on audio cassette or computer disk. We can also provide information in languages other than English.

Chester City Council is registered with "Language Line" to ensure our services are accessible to all our customers.