Issue - meetings

The Committee noted that, under the Equality Act 2010, there were statutory obligations for organisations to have equality objectives and to adhere to the general and specific duties within the Act. 

The Committee considered a report which had set out a proposed joint Equalities, Diversity, and Inclusion policy, which had been produced in collaboration with Waverley Borough Council.  Although it would be a shared policy, the associated action plans were separate for each Council.  The action plan had been updated to be more accessible and easier to use.  The action plan would be reviewed by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group every quarter and progress updated annually to this Committee.

During the debate, the following points were raised:

·      Query as to whether the third bullet point of paragraph 2.1 of the policy (“our Equality Objectives”), and the second bullet point of paragraph 2.5 (“As a Community Leader”) should also include Guildford.

·      Request to see the terms of reference of the Corporate Equality Group.

·      Insufficient reference to disabilities in the policy and action plan, which lacked ambition, and a request that this be addressed and brought back to the Committee.

·      It was felt that councillors, as well as staff, should be encouraged to use personal pronouns in email signatures (see action 4.1 in the action plan).

Having considered the report, the Committee

RESOLVED: That the comments referred to in the bullet points above be referred to the relevant officer to address and that a further report be brought back to the Committee.

The Committee considered a report on the proposed revision to the Council’s Equality Scheme and Action Plan. The key objectives of the Scheme and Action Plan were:

·       to demonstrate how the Council would meet its legal obligations set out in the Equality Act 2010

·       to provide a structured and easy to understand equality framework

·       to ensure that the workforce encourages equality, diversity, and inclusion to help prevent legal challenges arising from bullying, harassment, and discrimination

The Committee noted that the Scheme itself was reviewed annually and updated every three years.  The current scheme covered the period 2021 - 2024.  The Action Plan, which was an organic document, was reviewed by the Equality and Diversity Group every quarter.  This Committee monitored the implementation of the actions in the action plan annually.  Ongoing monitoring of equalities issues was undertaken via equality impact assessments that were completed for any major decisions, policies, projects etc., and approved by senior management and HR.  These were available for the public to view. 

During the debate, an enquiry was made as to whether the report should have made reference to the requirement of the Equality and Human Rights Commission for public bodies to publish, by 30 March, equality information under the Public Sector Equality Duty, including SMART equality objectives.  This would be investigated, and a response included on the decision and action tracker.

Having considered the report, the Committee

RESOLVED: That the revised Equality Scheme Action Plan as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Committee, be approved.

Reason:

To assist the Council in meeting its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and to provide a way to measure and evidence the Council’s work in this area.

The Committee was reminded that following adoption of the Equality Scheme and associated action plan by the Executive in January 2018, it was agreed that this Committee should monitor annually the implementation of the actions in the action plan. 

The Committee therefore considered the second of the annual reviews of the Equality Scheme Action Plan. A revised and updated Action Plan was attached to the Supplementary Information Sheet circulated before the meeting.

During the debate, the following points were raised/clarification made: 

·       In response to the reference in the action plan to the publication of residents’ equality profile on the intranet, it was noted that councillors did not currently have access to the intranet.  However, a great deal of relevant information was already on the public website, for example, the gender pay gap, workforce profile, and equality scheme.

·       In response to an expression of general concern regarding access to services for residents other than by electronic means and the extent to which the Council is communicating with residents via social media, the Committee noted that all service leaders monitor how the public accesses the Council’s services.

·       It was noted that the Equalities and Diversity Forum, would need to be reconvened.  It was likely that it would include representatives of external equalities bodies.

·       It was suggested that in order to improve diversity in recruitment, HR could consider the use of anonymised CVs where details of the applicant’s gender, age, marital status, or ethnicity are not disclosed to the recruiter. 

·       It was noted that the Council monitored and analysed equalities data in respect of its workforce, which could also be made available on the intranet or the Councillors’ area on the website.

·       In response to an enquiry as to whether the Council had conducted an Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) in respect of the provision and hosting of remote meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was noted that an EIA had not been undertaken, although the government would have had regard to the public sector equality duty when it had introduced the Regulations providing for remote meetings.

Having considered the progress with implementation of the various actions, the Committee

RESOLVED: That the updated equality action plan (linked to the Equality Scheme 2018 - 2021), as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Committee, as amended on the Supplementary Information Sheet, be approved.

Reason:

To assist the Council to meet its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and continue to provide a way to measure and evidence work undertaken in this area.