Equality Framework for Local Government
The Equality Act 2010 covers discrimination based on age,
disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership,
pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual
orientation. These categories are known in the Act as ‘protected
characteristics’. The Local Government Improvement and Development
organisation has produced a toolkit to help councils assess their
performance in delivering their equality duty. The Equality
Framework for Local Government is a performance improvement and
benchmarking tool that builds upon the work councils have already
delivered for the previous Equality Standard for Local Government
Framework. It introduces many new features, is simpler to use and
more relevant to how we work today. The objective of the new
framework is to mainstream equality into key performance management
systems so that equality objectives do not sit apart from core
council business. The framework is designed to allow authorities to
assess their performance against the following three levels;
- Level 1 - Developing
- Level 2 - Achieving
- Level 3 - Excellent
Discover: The
Equality Framework for Local Government
Delivering the Equality Framework for Local Government
The council has recently reviewed its Single Equality and
Inclusion Scheme Action Plan 2010 – 2013 and moved towards
Directorate Equality Plans demonstrating how we will deliver our
equality duty. These plans will continue to be ‘live’ documents
that are subject to update and review and remain focused on the
following six areas of performance:
- Understand our community
- To have an effective performance framework and demonstrate
continuous improvement and leadership
- Embedding and promoting equality within partnerships,
procurement and commissioning
- To foster community engagement and satisfaction
- To have a responsive service and excellent customer care
- To have a modern and diverse workforce
These plans are integral to the ongoing delivery and future
design of services. Although draft plans have been developed these
are currently being reviewed during our service planning process.
They will be available on this web page April time. They will take
into consideration the needs of individuals and groups within the
community, regardless of their personal circumstance or status as
they apply to:
- Customers accessing our services
- Employees of the Council
- Council Elected Members
- Potential customers, residents and job applicants
- Contractors, stakeholders and partners
Directorate Equality Action Plans to
follow.
