Equality and Diversity Policy - No Matter Who
Our vision for equality and diversity is of the Council
- Representing, serving and employing people as equals
- Valuing the diversity of their contributions and
aspirations
- No matter who they are or what their circumstances.
We believe that tackling inequalities provides a strong
foundation for cohesive and confident communities. We believe that
all citizens have a right to equal access to life opportunities,
including representation, services and employment by the Council.
To achieve this we are working towards removing barriers to
opportunities and to narrowing the gap between the most
disadvantaged and others.
Some people may suffer from inequality due to discrimination
because of their age, health, ethnic origin, religion, gender,
sexuality or because they have a disability. We value the diversity
of people within the Borough and are committed to eliminating
unlawful discrimination, promoting equality opportunities,
eliminating harassment and promoting positive attitudes towards
potentially vulnerable groups. Our public statements, services and
employment practices will reflect this commitment.
We will promote this policy and expect respect for it from
citizens, users of Council services, partner agencies, Councillors,
Council employees and our contractors.
Context
The need and aspirations of people in the Borough set the
context for this policy. But the Government and other organisations
also influence our pursuit of objectives and our choice of
solutions.
Rochdale Borough Local Strategic Partnership has developed a
vision and aims for the Borough in consultation with local people
and organisations. Its vision for the Borough in 2021 is of:
- A thriving place where people want to live, work, visit and do
business, a place in which we can all take pride.
Two of the Partnership's twelve aims that flesh out this vision
are particularly relevant to No Matter Who: They propose that by
2021 the Borough will be a place where:
- We celebrate our ethnic and cultural diversity, and have good
race relations and positive links with other parts of the world. We
will respect and maintain our heritage.
- Local people are active citizens and shape their future. We are
seen as a national model for partnerships between local people and
organisations.
The Council's own Statement of Purpose reflects these
priorities. The Council exists to:
- Create the best possible quality of life for all local
people;
- Support local people by speaking up for their interests;
- Always keep the things that matter most to local people as our
priorities;
- Provide services that create high public satisfaction
locally
- Rank as a high performing council nationally
Our corporate strategic plan Aiming High shows what we will do
to achieve these purposes. It includes several projects that relate
directly to No Matter Who, for instance:
- Increasing how well the composition of the Council reflects the
borough's population
- Celebrating ethnic diversity and promote community
cohesion
- Implementing the Inclusive Workforce Strategy
- Promoting "Excellence for Everyone" in education
Our Single Equality Scheme brings together our Race, Gender and
Disability Equality Schemes. The aim of having a Single Equality
Scheme is to minimize duplication and to provide a coherent
approach to tackling Equality and Diversity across all the various
strands. It aims to make Equality and Diversity central to the way
Rochdale Council works in order to create:
- Better informed decision-making and policy development
- A clearer understanding of the needs of service users
- Better quality services which meet varied needs
- More effective targeting of policy and resources
- Better results and greater confidence in public services
- A more effective use of talent in the workforce
The following legislation influences our policy:
- Equal Pay Act 1970 (as amended)
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (as amended)
- Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005
- The Equality Act 2006
- The Equality Act 2006- Sexual Orientation
- The Equality Act 2006- Religion or Belief
- Human Rights Act 1998
- The Employment Equality Regulations (Religion or Belief)
2003
- The Employment Equality Regulations (Sexual Orientation)
2003
- The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
- The European Equality Regulations (Sexual Orientation and
Religion or Belief) 2003.
We are committed to meeting our obligations under these laws,
but we regard them as minimum requirements. Our policy goes beyond
them to include some groups of people whom the law does not
currently protect, such as older and younger people, bisexual
people, lesbians and gay men. We will update our policy as and when
necessary to meet new legislation and to follow codes of practice.
In this context we welcome the repeal of Section 28 of the local
Government Act 1988, which has been a barrier placing unnecessary
restrictions on the Council's ability to work with lesbian and gay
men.
How we will monitor and review the policy
Our policy has a built-in evaluation system. We will review No
Matter Who regularly to ensure that we are still delivering our
desired outcomes and learning from evaluation.
We adopted the Equality Standard for Local Government as the
framework to progress our work on equality and diversity. The
Standard has provided a way to continuously improve our performance
on equality and diversity issues. It provides a system for evidence
based policy making. The Standard has 5 levels and in line with
that Standard, we developed a comprehensive equality plan which
provided details on how we would progress through these levels. In
2008 we achieved level 4 of the Standard.
We will achieve our objectives in equality and diversity at
corporate and service levels. We will monitor local communities and
our workforce as well as our services. We will use national and
locally developed performance indicators as part of our audit and
scrutiny of our progress in increasing equality and diversity in
the Borough.
We require every Councillor and member of staff to recognise and
carry out their own responsibility to contribute to the success of
this policy. We have earmarked money and staff times to improve our
performance on equalities and diversity.
Councillors take the lead in promoting equality and diversity,
ensuring that these issues are given due consideration in Council
policy, and in the monitoring of the services provided by the
Council.
Executive Directors of the Council actively support and assist
the equalities work by overseeing the strategic implementation of
equalities and diversity. A named Executive Director will act as
the champion for leading this work within the organisation.
Service Managers supported by staff have an essential role in
delivering this policy by:
- Actively developing their services' approach to equality and
diversity;
- Ensuring that staff are adequately trained to meet the
requirements of this policy;
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate consultation with
community and key stakeholder groups.
How we will consult
We are committed to taking account of how our policy affects
different groups through consultation. This safeguards fairness,
and helps us to understand how the policy works from the point of
view of constituents, customers and employees. We will involve a
range of stakeholders, from within the Council as well as from
outside. We will consult them during the following stages of the
policy process:
- Development
- Implementation
- Monitoring
- Review and revision.
We will use different methods of consultation to reach different
groups of people. We will adopt a flexible approach to meet various
and changing needs.
The role of the Council in increasing equality and
diversity
The Council's many functions fit into three main roles of
representing, serving and employing people.
Representing people
In representing local people's interests, we will seek to
promote equality and diversity. We will:
- Equip Councillors with the skills and support to engage in and
represent the different sections of the community
- Use our influence in partnerships and with partner
agencies
- Continue to improve our approach to community consultation so
that we achieve results that reflect local people's
priorities.
Serving people
The Council is committed to providing high quality services
through understanding and meeting individual customer needs and
aspirations. We know that these differ from customer to customer,
so we will adjust our services accordingly to ensure that they all
have a fair and open chance to use and benefit from our
services.
So, our commitment means understanding and meeting the needs of
customers regardless of race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion,
cultural background, sex, sexuality, disability, domestic
circumstances, illness (such as HIV or AIDS status), age,
membership of trade unions or political beliefs.
We deliver a wide range of services directly to customers and
through contracts with other organisations. We will improve their
contribution to equality and diversity by:
- Linking policies and service delivery
- Giving a clear account of our performance through service
monitoring
Employing people
The Council wants the ethnic composition of its workforce to
reflect that of the local population, so that it represents and
serves the population better. The Council also recognises that
people from ethnic minorities face particular disadvantage in
employment.
The Council's workforce of 11,000 people, including casual and
supply workers, makes it the largest employer in the Borough. These
people are our largest resource in improving equality and diversity
so we want to ensure that they understand its importance and have
the confidence and capacity to do so. This includes:
- Developing a workforce profile reflects that community
profile;
- Giving staff the knowledge and confidence to tackle equality
and diversity issues.
Trade union activities
The council employs about of 8,000 people not including
teachers.
In 2009, 2819 people were registered as paying trade union
subscriptions through the council's payroll system, again not
including members of teachers' associations and craft trade
unions.
We will not discriminate against anyone because of his or her
trade union activities or membership. We encourage our employees to
join relevant trade unions, but recognise that this is a personal
choice, which cannot be a basis for any form of discrimination.
Tackling discrimination
It is our policy not to discriminate unlawfully or unfairly
against anybody. Sometimes we have to discriminate between people,
for instance in selecting candidates for jobs or deciding on
people's eligibility for services. In these cases, it is our policy
to discriminate lawfully and fairly, only taking into account
relevant factors, and explaining our decisions on that basis.
We do know, however, that unlawful and unfair discrimination is
common in society. It is based on stereotypes and false
assumptions, and the belief that some groups of people have more or
fewer rights than others. We oppose unfair discrimination as an
abuse of advantage and power.
We also know that institutions as well as individuals can
unlawfully and unfairly discriminate. We define institutional
discrimination as:
- The collective failure of an organisation to provide an
appropriate and professional service to people because of who they
are;
- Processes, attitudes and behaviour, which amount to
discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance,
thoughtlessness and stereotyping;
- Not just actions taken by a person or organisation, but also
actions not taken, neglect, or services provided which do not meet
the needs of members of different social groups.
Institutional discrimination can be unwitting, and it can exist
no matter how good the intentions of the individual or the
organisation. This is a challenge which all organisations,
including ourselves, need to face honestly and openly. We will
examine our policies and practices and their outcomes to guard
against disadvantaging any section of local communities.
What we will do
Disability
Disabled people form approximately 19% of the working age
population of the Borough. It is estimated that some 53% of
disabled people of working age are unemployed.
(Rochdale Borough Joint Investment Plan
Welfare to Work for Disabled People; Rochdale Borough Profile,
2008.)
The percentage of people permanently sick or disabled was 8.3%
(11,982), higher than the England and Wales average of 5.5%.
(Census 2001, Rochdale Borough
Profile)
We recognise that approaches to disability issues which adopt
the medical model (which places responsibility for the disadvantage
experienced by disabled people on their impairment) are unhelpful
and unlikely to result in actions which effectively deal with or
remove the disadvantage.
In line with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission and
disabled people's organisations, we take the view that our actions
will be based on the Social Model of Disability; it is not a
person's impairment or medical condition which is the cause of
disadvantage but attitudinal and environmental barriers. This means
that we consider that disability is the effect of the barriers in
organisation which do not take appropriate account of people who
have impairments or long term health conditions.
We have undertaken the development and production of a
disability equality action plan as part of the Single Equality
Scheme. We will:
- Involve disabled people in the identification of priorities and
the development and review of actions
- Gather information about our services, policies and strategies
and assess their impact on disabled people
- Develop and monitor an action plan to promote equality of
opportunity and reduce discrimination for disabled people
- Undertake actions which will promote equality of opportunity,
reduce discrimination for disabled people in line with our specific
and general duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.
This includes elimination of harassment, promotion of equal
opportunities, promoting positive attitudes and encouraging the
participation of disabled people in public life.
Race
The latest experimental statistics provided by National
Statistics Authority (2006) revealed that there are 178,600 white
people in Rochdale Borough (86.5% of the population), 84% of these
are identified as being White British (178,600). The largest ethnic
minority group were Pakistani with 8.2% of the population (16,900),
and the second largest is Bangladeshi with 1.5% of the population
(3,100).
We recognise racism as any unfair discrimination on the grounds
of people's skin colour, accent, religious beliefs, dress, culture
or ethnic origin. We are determined to challenge racism and to
create an environment that is free from discrimination.
We know that racism is widespread within society. And we know
that we must confront it to reduce its damaging effects on
everybody in the Borough. Racist assumptions create the barriers
which can hinder appropriate democratic representation, services
and employment opportunities.
We also recognise that the seriousness and effects of racial
incidents demand swift but sensitive responses. We have adopted the
Lawrence Inquiry definition that:
"A racist incident is any incident perceived to be racist by the
victim or any other person."
We will:
- Implement our Race Equality Scheme, integrated in our Single
Equality Scheme;
- Ensure equality of opportunity for members of the white
majority ethnic communities and minority ethnic communities,
including (as far as the law permits) gypsies, travellers, refugees
and asylum seekers;
- Ensure equality of opportunity for all employees from minority
ethnic communities and from majority ethnic communities;
- Identify, challenge and act on racist attitudes, remarks and
behaviour.
Gender
Our aim is to promoteequality of opportunity between men and
women and eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment. We have
developed a Gender Equality Scheme that is contained within our
Single Equality Scheme and which contains detailed actions that we
will take to do this. We recognise that the transgender community
may experience discrimination and harassment. To address this our
Gender Equality Scheme includes specific actions aimed at
eliminating this.
We will:
- Ensure that our services do not discriminate against service
users or people who come into contact with the Council because of
their gender.
- Ensure fair promotion and development opportunities ·
- Create positive attitudes towards the transgender workforce and
community
- Tackle issues relating to imbalances in employment in services
around non-traditional roles for men and women
- Ensure involvement of people in the Council's decision-making
systems and procedures regardless of their gender.
Women
There are more females than males in the Borough; with
approximately 105,652 (51.4%) women compared with 99,705 (48.6%)
males. 9,400 people (6.5%) the same as the national average look
after home or family in 2001, of which 8547 are women. This is from
the Census 2001, Rochdale Borough Profile).
We recognise that sexism is deep-rooted within society, and that
it often undermines women's significant contributions. They are a
large and diverse group of people who may experience various forms
of discrimination.
Women are still expected to take the major responsibility for
the family. Most work in low paid and low status jobs. They are
under-represented in the organisations that take major decisions
affecting people's lives. Many face domestic violence in the form
of physical, emotional, economic and sexual abuse in the family, as
well as violence in public.
We will:
- Challenge discriminatory assumptions about women;
- Take positive action to redress the effects of past
discrimination against women;
- Offer equal access for women to representation, services and
employment and encourage other organisations to do the same.
Caring responsibility
21,988 people provide unpaid care, helping family, friends or
neighbours with long-term physical or mental ill-health or
disability or problems relating to old age. 4,802 of these people,
2.3% of the total population, provide unpaid care for 50 hours a
week or more.
(Census 2001, Rochdale Borough Profile).
We recognise that people with caring responsibilities for others
may face discrimination. We will:
- Adopt flexible employment practices;
- Provide maternity, paternity, partner or support leave for
birth, adoptive and foster parents.
Sexuality
The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles 2000
estimates that there are between 1.3 million to 1.9 million
lesbian, gay and bisexual people in employment.
In 2001, 204 people were living in a same sex couple, out of
156,216 people aged over 16 living in households (a total of
0.13%).
(Census 2001, Rochdale Borough Profile)
We recognise that lesbians, gay men and bisexuals may face
discrimination and hostility through intolerance and ignorance. As
a result, they may experience harassment, and some live in fear of
being "outed". We welcome the repeal of Section 28 of Local
Government Act 1988, which has been a barrier placing unnecessary
restrictions on the Council's ability to work with lesbian and gay
me. We will:
- Consult with lesbians, gay men and bisexuals within our
workforce and the wider community, in appropriate ways.
- Ensure that our services take account of the needs of lesbians
and gay men;
- Promote positive images of lesbians, gay men and
bisexuals.
Age
The ageing population is one of the major structural changes
facing the UK over the next two or three decades.
77,832 (38%) of the people in the Borough are aged 45 years old
and over.
(Census 2001, Rochdale Profile)
Since 2001 the number of older people (females over 60 and males
over 65) has risen from 16.5% to 17.1% in 2007. By 2031 there is
projected to be a 39% increase in older people in the Borough
compared to 2008.
(Source: ONS, 2007)
We recognise that people are discriminated against because of
their age. We will:
- Ensure that people of all ages are treated with respect and
dignity;
- Challenge discriminatory assumptions about younger and older
people.
HIV or AIDS
It was estimated that 118 people living within Rochdale Borough
were accessing treatment or care for HIV. 34 people in the borough
were categorised as having an AIDS defining illness. This is the
presence of one or more of a specific type of infection or cancer
in someone with HIV. The figure outlines the number of people who
have ever had one of these illnesses over the time that they have
been HIV positive.
(HIV & AIDS in the North West of
England Mid Year 2008-HIV/AIDS Monitoring Unit, Centre
for Public Health)
We recognise that people face discrimination due to being HIV
positive or having AIDS. We will:
- Ensure that services meet the specific needs of people living
with HIV or AIDS;
- Support people who are HIV positive or have AIDS;
- Challenge false information about the nature of HIV or
AIDS.
Religion or belief
Christians form the main religious group in Rochdale with
148,059 (72% of the total population) people. The next largest
religious group was Muslims with 19,248 (9.4%) people in the
Borough. 1 in 10 people in the borough described themselves as
having no religion.
(Census 2001, Rochdale Borough
Profile)
We will not discriminate against anyone because of his or her
religion or belief, which is any religion, religious belief, or
similar philosophical belief.
We will respect and accommodate people's religious observances
in both serving and employing them, and we will expect others to do
the same.
We realise that at times some people's beliefs may conflict with
other aspects of this policy. We will try to resolve any such
conflicts, but we will treat the aims of this policy as overriding
and expect others to comply with it.
March 2009