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Corporate Equality Framework2008 – 2011

A Modern Framework to Tackle Discrimination and Inequalitiesand Deliver Lasting Change

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Incorporating performance updates on:

Corporate Equality Plan 2005 Race Equality Scheme 2005–08 Disability Equality Scheme 2006–09 Gender Equality Scheme 2007–10 Managing Diversity Action Plan 2007-10 Equality Objectives in accordance with Level 3 of the Equality Standard for

Local Government

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ContentsContents ..................................................................................................................................................83

Foreword (Draft)....................................................................................................................................84

Purpose of a Corporate Equality Framework as Opposed to a “Plan”............................................89

Eliminating Discrimination: Putting in Place the Processes of Equality Management ..................90

Implementation of EIAs .................................................................................................................91Access to Employment within the Council ....................................................................................91Leadership ......................................................................................................................................92Level 3 Equality Objectives ...........................................................................................................93Employment Policies and Procedures ............................................................................................94Improving Quality of Life Outcomes.............................................................................................94

Community Participation and Engagement........................................................................................97

What Do We Mean by Community Engagement?.........................................................................97

Appendix 1.........................................................................................................................................100

Equality Objectives ................................................................................................................100What’s Been Done, Where We Are and What Will Be Done In the Future ................................100

Appendix 2.........................................................................................................................................103

Glossary of Terms ...................................................................................................................103

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Foreword (Draft)

Over the past twenty or thirty years Doncaster Council has both published and benefited from many ‘Equality’ policies and corporate commitments, as evidenced by the Council’s diverse workforce. However, it is apparent both locally and nationally that these schemes and policies have not produced a sense of vibrancy or excitement within Doncaster’s diverse population. Rather, they have been seen as little more than safeguards and corporate commitments to comply with social policy and legislation and to prevent all forms of discrimination. Where there has been a sense of achievement locally, this has often not been celebrated, shared broadly or realised by most people.

Those of you who have been involved in developing the Mayor’s white paper “One Strategic Voice” will already be aware that both the Mayor and I are clear that different people have different needs and sensitivities, I passionately believe that every person should have equal access to services and to new opportunities, thus narrowing the gap between those who have opportunities in life and those who do not.

We can be proud of the significant progress made toward a fair and more just society, whilst at the same time acknowledging that we have some distance left to travel. This Corporate Equality Framework, by joining up the separate equality strands, provides us with a roadmap of the remaining journey and, importantly, gives us a performance management framework that, without straining the analogy too much, provides milestones showing not only how far we have come, but how far we have left to go.

The newly formed for Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHCR) has been searching for a definition that promotes equality holistically at the same time as providing a practical definition, an essential step towards a framework for the measurement of inequality. The definition that the EHCR has settled on and that I have led the Council to adopt is:

“An equal society protects and promotes equal, real freedom and substantive opportunity to live in the ways people value and would choose, so that everyone can flourish.

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An equal society recognises people’s different needs, situations and goals, and removes the barriers that limit what people can do and can be”

I am particularly concerned that opportunities are extended for people affected by multiple deprivation: that is to say, those who have historically suffered from inequalities because they fall within one or more of the equality strands defined by statute (i.e., Race, Disability, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Faith/Religion and Age) whose opportunities have been further limited by socio-economic deprivation inherent in the community or neighbourhood in which they live. I have therefore asked that an additional equality strand, recognising these extra barriers to people achieving their full potential, is included in the Corporate Equality Framework.

The Corporate Equality Framework aims to bring about a sense of common purpose and feeling that is essential in terms of addressing the challenges and accessing future opportunities in Doncaster. Working together to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential will produce benefits that will redound to all of us. Helping each other to achieve our ambitions will fulfil our ambitions for Doncaster as a whole, making it a vibrant, innovative, creative and exciting place to live, work and visit and a magnet for incoming investment, enterprise and economic growth.

Glyn JonesPortfolio Holder for Equalities, Human Rights and Culture

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IntroductionDoncaster Metropolitan Borough Council has a history enriched by supporting diverse communities; communities who have differing needs but share a common aim of improving their quality of life in Doncaster. Demographic change is still visible in the Borough today and this is evidenced when realising that over 75 different languages are spoken in Doncaster and continues to enhance the Borough in terms of culture, in the same way that the culture of Doncaster has enriched many communities globally.

In 2005 the Council published its Corporate Equality Plan, containing a number of commitments and measures. Since that time the Council has published separate triennial equality schemes associated with Race, Disability and Gender, three of the six equality strands1. The Council is aware that there are changes taking place nationally and the publication of the findings of the National Equalities Review is now available. It was anticipation of these expected national changes that prompted the Council to implement an internal review of how it delivers equality and fairness, resulting in the development of this Corporate Equality Framework (CEF). Whilst realising the value of specific equality schemes dealing with Race, Disability and Gender, the Council also acknowledges that there is a need for it to do more at a grass-roots level. There are areas/neighbourhoods nationally who have stated there is a common sense of identity and shared purpose between the diverse communities and the indigenous population. Learning from this, has resulted in the Council showing a shared urgency in both Corporate and Political Leadership to seek the development of a modern framework to tackle persistent inequalities, deliver lasting change and safeguard the interests of those individuals and communities within the six equality strands identified by the government’s equality standards.

The Council will still comply with all of its obligations for developing equality schemes, but the organisation of the schemes will change, as the Council brings together all its schemes within this CEF in an integrated and transparent way. This integrated approach is vital to support the principle that there will be no hierarchy (or perception of hierarchy) of equality provisions. This Corporate Equality Framework will incorporate the Council’s new Race Equality Scheme for 2008–11, ensuring the Council’s compliance with its general duty under the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000.

In addition to the six equality strands, this CEF will introduce a seventh strand. This strand will focus primarily on neighbourhoods and communities linked intrinsically to multiple deprivation factors. The Council will champion this seventh strand by working in partnership within the DtS Board infrastructure to develop future Local Area Agreements (Community Business Plans).

1Race, Disability, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Faith/Religion and Age

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Figure 1

The 7 Equality Strands

In future everyone who lives, learns, works or spends their time in Doncaster need only refer to this one document to identify the Council’s equality commitments, rather than searching for separate schemes and policies. This Corporate Equality Framework will be a three-year strategy, to ensure consistency with other strategic frameworks the Government recommends. However the Council will publish a refresh of the CEF each year, outlining the Council’s performance and achievements and identifying challenges for the following year. This annual reporting will also ensure compliance with the General Duties under:

Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 Disability Discrimination Act 2005 The Equality Act 2006

This framework will compliment the Mayor’s white paper ‘One Strategic Voice’ and add value to the DtS Board’s commitments:

To integrate service delivery and improve well being for all by providing equal access to joined up, innovative and responsive services across the public, private and third sectors

To tackle inequalities, ensuring that all residents are treated equally and have the same opportunities

To build a culture of responsibility and respect encouraging, supporting and challenging individuals, communities and organisations to contribute positively to Doncaster’s transformation

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Throughout this Corporate Equality Framework the Council has set out the commitments it believes are essential to delivering long lasting change. These commitments range from the general and specific duties under the six equality strands. Corporate and political leadership, accountability, robust performance management, measuring change through employment, service delivery, policy development, culture and attitudes within the Council, its partners and suppliers and, most importantly, community engagement.

The definition adopted by the Mayor and Council captures three important principles that both the corporate and political leadership team will champion and which will be encapsulated within the Council’s Corporate Equality Impact Assessment and action Planning process measured through the Council’s Performance Measurement Framework (Covalent) and shared with the DtS Board infrastructure:

i) Opportunity: where everyone really has the same substantive freedom to flourish;

ii) Agency: what degree of choice and control an individual has in achieving the valued activity; and

iii) Process: whether discrimination (or other barrier or process) causes or contributes to a particular inequality

This definition will be further explained within this Corporate Equality Framework.

This CEF will provide a review of the Council’s performance in respect of Equalities since 2005, demonstrating where the Council has achieved success and a commitment to sustain this momentum; but at the same time identifying areas of self-challenge.

This Corporate Equality Framework will demonstrate explicitly that equality, fairness and respect are everyone’s responsibility. An effective Corporate Equality Framework, underpinning the Council’s commitment to build and sustain a stable society with opportunity for all, will bring economic and social benefits for everyone who lives and works here in Doncaster.

Paul HartManaging Director

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Purpose of a Corporate Equality Framework as Opposed to a “Plan”The Council published its Corporate Equality Plan in 2005. As it was a Council CEP, partners and the community saw the delivery of commitments within the plan as solely the responsibility of the Council. The Council accepts this responsibility, but realises that in order to implement change broadly across the borough, it must work in partnership with others. To reflect this fact and its modified partnership structures, the Council’s internal review decided to use the more encompassing term ‘framework’ instead of the prescriptive word ‘plan’, so that no limitations to the intended inclusiveness of the document would unintentionally be put in place.

One of the key aims of this Corporate Equality Framework is to integrate all six equality strands into a single document. Whilst this CEF will do everything enshrined in equalities legislation it will also focus on deprived neighbourhoods, communities and individuals in order to tackle persistent inequalities through its Neighbourhood Management model. In other words, it will focus on the ‘quality of life’ factors that really matter to people. The Council will translate its objectives into actions by:

Motivating Councillors, staff and local communities; Providing leadership, accountability and direction; Coordinating the activity of departments and individuals across the Council

and beyond; Providing a structure for monitoring and overseeing the implementation of

equalities; Setting equality targets in employment, service delivery and community

engagement

In order to tackle persistent inequalities, the principles the Council will adopt and encourages partners to adopt are:

Understanding the drivers of inequality; Assessing the extent of inequality in Services, the Council and the

Borough Setting out intelligence-led priorities through the Local Area Agreement

and under the Mayor’s leadership for action to redress inequalities; and Clearly indicating within service plans, neighbourhood/community plans

and partnership agreements interventions to redress inequalities.

These principles will be applied through Equality Impact Assessments6 within the Council and through the Theme Boards within the DtS Board infrastructure by examining data at a community, neighbourhood and Borough level.

6 Local Government Equality Standard

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Eliminating Discrimination: Putting in Place the Processes of Equality ManagementThe Council is committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination, ensuring all services that the Council is responsible for are inclusive and accessible. The Council has been reporting on the Local Government Equality Standard since 2001, achieving Equality Standard Level 2 in 2005. Through this CEF the Council will publish Equality Objectives, including its performance management arrangements, in order to evidence progress towards Levels 3 by March 2008, Level 4 by October 2008 and Level 5 by March 2009.

The Equality Standard Levels are summarised as follows:

Level 1 Commitment to a Comprehensive Equality Policy;Level 2 Assessment and Community Engagement; (This has changed focus from consultation only)Level 3 Setting Equality Objectives and Targets; (Requires external validation)Level 4 Information Systems and Monitoring Against Equality Targets;Level 5 Achieving and Reviewing Outcomes

The Council will only attain Level 3 following external validation. The external validation provides a detailed report of the strengths and weaknesses of the Council’s performance against the Equality Standard, based on five days of interviews, document audit and desk analysis of both corporate and service-level assessment. A successful validation will not only give the Council Level 3 Equality Standard accreditation – it will also be awarded the Equality Mark Certificate for local government.

The Equality Standard provides the Council with a systematic framework for mainstreaming equality, leading to continuously improving outcomes. Alongside this, the Equality Standard will help the Council to meet its statutory obligations under equality legislation including the development and integration of equality policies and objectives that can be driven through performance management.

The tool the council has adopted in order to drive the organisation forward to eliminate all forms of discrimination is the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA), which works alongside equality legislation compliance.

The Council has realigned and reconfigured services to provide modern, high quality services that are appropriate to the user in terms of content and delivery, services that respond to need and recognise the diversity of the Council’s customers. The EIA process allows the Council to check and evidence that all services, policies and functions have been impact assessed

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and ensures that no part of the service is delivered based on the assumption that customers should fit in with existing service provision structures; rather, services are built in the context of local diversities.

The Equality Impact Assessment process provides the Council with two core functions:

1. The EIA process is used as a predictive tool, to evaluate the potential future impact of new policies or a change in policy before it is implemented

2. The EIA process is used as a retrospective assessment, analysing how closely the needs and requirements of all communities are being met and identifying gaps so they can be managed corporately to implement positive change

EIA data is fed into the Council’s Covalent Performance Management System, in order to monitor current progress against equality objectives

Implementation of EIAs

The Council has implemented over 150 EIAs and associated Action plans. The results of those EIAs and Action Plans are included in the Corporate Overview (attached as Appendix 3). The purpose of this Corporate Overview is to present the residents of the Borough with an insight of the work underway within the Council on a daily basis to ensure all forms of inequality is eradicated and services are continuously improved.

Access to Employment within the Council

The Human Resources and Organisation Development (HROD) have undertaken a broad based EIA that is holistic in its approach, from this one of the Actions was to develop and implement a Managing Diversity Strategy and Action Plan.

The Council has refreshed the Managing Diversity Strategy, which is split into three sections, each with key actions to ensure that we ensure fairness in the workplace. As part of the Strategy, Human Resources and Organisational Development will continue to collect and monitor statistics on all equality strands for:

Workforce profiling, Recruitment & Selection, Grievance issues, Bullying & Harassment, Disciplinary actions taken, Counts of employees who have attended Equalities training Information on employees leaving the authority.This is now incorporated within the integrated Equality Action Plan

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Leadership

Whilst the EIA process will allow the Council to examine policies, services and functions in terms of needs assessment and potential discriminatory impact, corporate and political leadership will ensure that momentum is maintained. The Council’s Corporate Management Team and the Borough’s elected members have all signed up to lead and deliver the broad equality agenda, ensuring all key policies and strategies take local demographics and needs into account and that all forms of discrimination are eliminated.

Corporate Leadership commitments are summarised as follows:

Address discrimination and ensure all employees are treated with dignity and respect and in a fair and equitable manner at all stages of employment

Ensuring training, development and learning needs are assessed fairly and opportunities made openly available to all employees based on merit and need

Working to positively promote and achieve a diverse workforce, representative of the local community and labour market

Improving equalities and diversity awareness and understanding across all areas of the Council for councillors, managers and employees

Monitor, review and challenge employment policies and practices and identify improvement targets and actions through the use of Equality Impact Assessments and Action Plans

Achieve a fair and equitable pay and reward system for all the Council’s employees

Ensure all policies/presentations developed/ implemented or presented in the Council or to partners must take into account local diversity/demographic needs and promote inclusiveness

Publicise a Corporate Overview of all EIAs and action Plans annually demonstrating Openness and Transparency

Publish results of the Council’s integrated Equalities Action Plan, annually

Political Leadership

Cabinet members will not endorse policies/strategic plans that do not take into account local deprivation, diversity and demographic needs

Overview and Scrutiny Panels to challenge policies/strategic plans presented to them to ensure that they take into account of local deprivation, demographics and diversity

All Councillors and Elected Members to ensure they have undergone equalities and diversity training

All Councillors champion equalities/diversity within their neighbourhoods based on qualitative survey information measured against quantitative intelligence

Constructively challenge officers and colleagues who use terms implying a ‘them and us’ culture whilst presenting reports describing the local make up in neighbourhoods

Challenging the Council annually to make progress in tackling inequalities

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Level 3 Equality Objectives

In committing to this Corporate Equality Framework, the Council expects the EIA process to identify a number of equality objectives that will be of lasting benefit to the quality of life of everyone who lives, learns, works or spends their time in Doncaster. The implementation of the equality objectives will result in:

Broadly:

Greater access to Council services for all its customers Improved service delivery that reflects the needs of everyone within

Doncaster A CEF that continuously responds to and is sensitive to the needs of the

individuals, communities and groups that the Council serves The development of a culture that enables the Council’s workforce,

partners and suppliers to be representative of the people of Doncaster

Specifically:

Each Directorate will have developed its own Equality objectives and targets after engagement and participation with local communities

Each Directorate will monitor and review its Equality objectives and targets to ensure they are responsive to the neighbourhoods or thematic areas issues and concerns, realigning objectives and targets as necessary.

Corporate Review EIA documentation, guidance and the process of monitoring EIAs Use of Covalent Performance Management System to Monitor EIA Action

Plans The refresh of the LAA incorporates objectives to tackle inequalities

Communication and Information Raise awareness of the Doncaster Translation and Interpretation Unit Raise awareness of information made available in different formats upon

request Publish results of EIAs (annually) Publish results of our Equality Schemes such as (DES, GES, RES etc) Publish the Corporate Equality Framework

Engagement and Participation Corporate Community Engagement Strategy to be developed and

Implemented Implementation of Consultation and Research Strategy Development of BME Community Engagement Framework for vulnerable

groups to become engaged and participate in the democratic process at all levels (from shaping services at a neighbourhood level to involvement at scrutiny panels)

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Service Delivery Equality objectives and targets developed within each department/service

area for all strands of diversity Continue to monitor EIA Action plans through Service Plans and Covalent

Performance Management System Services are developed and built in the context of local diversity

Employment, Training and Promotion Attracting and recruiting a diverse workforce Developing a diverse workforce Retaining a diverse workforce

Employment Policies and Procedures

The Council has employment policies and procedures in place that safeguard employees rights and their responsibilities to overcome different types of inequality and discrimination, all of which are continuously under review through the EIA process:

Grievance Procedure is available for employees to raise concerns or complaints about workplace issues, including equality and discrimination

Harassment and Bullying Procedure is in place specifically to deal with the sensitive and difficult issues of harassment and bullying at work

Whistleblowing Procedure encourages employees to blow the whistle in regard to equality matters

Recruitment and Selection Procedure deals with complaints of discrimination in regard to recruitment and selection activities and decisions

Disciplinary Procedure mandates appropriate action for employees against whom allegations of discriminatory behaviour have been substantiated

Improving Quality of Life Outcomes

The Council recognises that tackling inequality means improving people’s quality of life. By narrowing the gap between those who have opportunities in life and those who struggle to access the same opportunities, everyone has the prospect to fulfil their potential. This Corporate Equality Framework aims to bring together all the key strategies focusing on the most vulnerable and those who are most at risk of not achieving their full potential in life or taking up opportunities that would enhance their life. The Council is committed to having a more equal society, not one that will have a detrimental impact on those who have accessed and taken up opportunities, or take services away from them. The Council focuses on the needs of those who are losing out on opportunities, to ensure they increasingly enjoy the same benefits.

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The key Council/Partnership strategies that will enable this to happen are:

Deprivation

IMD Data

Religion/Faith/Belief

Equality

Sexual Orientation

Equality

Age Equality

Gender Equality Scheme

Disability Equality Scheme

Race Equality Scheme

Transport Strategy

Environment Strategy

Managing Diversity Strategy

Housing Strategy

Cultural Audit

Strategy to Tackle Health Inequalities

Community Safety

Strategy

Children & Young

People’s Plan

Economic Strategy

/City Strategy

Corporate Equality

Framework / One Strategic Voice /

Sustainable Strategy

Also sat within the central circle is the Local Area Agreement incorporating the Shared Priorities for Doncaster, all the above strategies/plans and schemes share a common theme; they focus on improving quality of life for residents and visitors to Doncaster. For example, one of the priorities within the Children and Young People’s Plan focuses on reducing the number of children who are taken into care. Research shows that these children will experience disadvantages for most of their early years (0-16) that are beyond their control. The Economic Strategy/City Strategy focuses on those who are economically inactive, who do not have the necessary skills to apply for the best jobs locally or nationally in order to escape the financial trap they find themselves in, including those who are on Incapacity Benefit. The Community Safety Strategy/Plan focuses on issues such as racial harassment, domestic violence and forced marriages under the guise of violent crime or tackling anti-social behaviour. At the same time the Council recognises that victims need robust and extensive support and at the time of publication the Council commissioned an evaluation of all domestic violence services in Doncaster.

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Wherever there is an identified deficit or gap, these key strategies will focus on narrowing that gap. The Council is proud of the considerable improvements it has achieved in many areas impacting on deprivation, but also recognises that in some aspects of tackling inequality progress could be improved.

Diverse communities face differing challenges. In Doncaster the Mayor and his Cabinet Member for Equalities and Human Rights are committed to recognising people’s different access needs and support a range of mechanisms to address the extent of that inequality. Assessing all the drivers contributing to inequality means that services can be tailored to individual needs, giving every person a ‘real’ and ‘personal’ sense of belonging and being part of the Borough of Doncaster. The Council whole-heartedly supports the Mayor in this challenge and welcomes the Mayor’s white paper ‘One Strategic Voice’. The white paper alongside the corporate equality framework is the glue that holds together all the strategies above. Focuses on the priorities that matter to our diverse communities and ensures, through the DtS Board framework, that priorities are integrated into the Council’s strategies in particular the LAA.

The Local Area Agreement is the triennial partnership ‘business plan’ that will accelerate the pace of change needed in Doncaster. This will benefit all Doncaster’s communities and is reflected in the vision below:

“By 2025 Doncaster will be acknowledged as a city of significance in the Country and in Europe. This will be based on the recognised advantage of its strategic location, enhanced by its international infrastructure. The opportunity for everybody to enjoy the highest quality of life will have enabled Doncaster to attract and retain a growing population with world-class skills in the high growth industries that drive the regional economy.”

The Mayor’s white paper ‘One Strategic Voice’ contains a commitment to publish an annual action plan. As well as being published separately, the white paper action plan is also included in this Corporate Equality Framework. Both the CEF and the action plan will be refreshed annually to update progress on all equality schemes and to ensure that Doncaster’s changing needs are reflected in all key strategies.

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Community Participation and EngagementThe Council is currently developing a Corporate Community Engagement Strategy, the aim of which is to support and enable all of Doncaster’s communities to participate meaningfully in shaping the services they use, contributing to better service provision and improved quality of life for themselves.

This Corporate Community Engagement Strategy will be underpinned by mechanisms that support the active involvement and participation of diverse communities in the service improvement and decision making process of the Council and its partners.

What Do We Mean by Community Engagement?

Historically, the Council has attempted to engage with communities and its workforce through a variety of methods, including focus groups, questionnaires, customer comments and complaints and the Council website. These efforts to find out what our customers and employees think, whilst sincere, have netted mixed results – the views of the vocal minority were noted, but the wishes of the silent majority often remained unheard.

From these experiences, the Council has realised that engagement with diverse communities is not as successful if traditional methods like focus groups are used. In order to ensure broad participation, the Council, as part of its leadership commitment to equality, will develop relationships built within the context of local diversity. Instead of a Council Officer asking a few representatives of a particular diverse community to meet him/her at a Council building during office hours to discuss a specific issue, he/she will request an invitation to speak to people at an event, group or venue owned by the community itself, whether it is a Gurdawara, Church hall, a social club, a sewing circle or a Mosque. This will ensure that all communities are made aware of the services the Council provides in a setting and context in which they feel comfortable and at ease.

In these circumstances, the impact of services on our diverse communities can be accurately assessed and barriers and blockages identified. Most importantly, strong, open relationships can be built between all communities and the Council, ensuring legitimate needs of diverse communities are addressed. The Council hopes that it can build respectful and effective relationships with community and religious leaders and that ultimately, when people realise that their concerns are being listened to and acted upon, those who may, in the past, have been intimidated by dealing with Council Officers will develop the confidence to articulate their needs directly.

In addition to consulting specific communities at local mosques, shared interest groups, neighbourhoods, faith communities, etc., the Council will also invite all communities to celebrate diversity and participate in events that need to be remembered, for instance the Abolition of Slavery, LGBT Day, Asylum

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Seekers & Refugees Week, Disability Awareness Day, Holocaust Memorial Day, International Women’s Day, Making a Difference Together days, Doncaster Cultural Festival and other local festivals.

Event MonthHolocaust Memorial Day 27 JanuaryPride not Prejudice (LGBT History Month) (date changes annually)

February

Hot House Festival (dates change annually) MarchInternational Women’s Day 8 MarchAbolition of Slave Trade Day 25 March Asylum Seekers and Refugee Week (date changes annually)

June

Disability Awareness Day (date changes annually) July Cultural Festival (date changes annually) JulyUnited Nations Day – incorporating Black History Month (dates change annually)

24 October

International Disabled Person’s Day 3 December Human Rights Day 10 December Make a Difference Together (within neighbourhoods) Throughout the yearAcknowledge festivals of faiths and beliefs See hyperlink below for

dates

Some faiths/beliefs holy days change due to following a lunar cycle and not a fixed date each year. Please click on the hyperlink below for information on holy days up to 2010 by faith or belief, month or year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tools/calendar/

This is the calendar the Council acknowledges with regards to people’s faiths or beliefs.

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Commissioning/ Procurement The Council’s has its own Commissioning and Procurement Framework, and is signed up to the Partnerships Commissioning Strategy. The Council will strongly encourage the Local Strategic Partnership the DtS Board to adopt the following principles: Understanding the drivers of inequality and how they relate to the theme

that is being considered; Assessing the extent of inequality in relation to that theme in the Borough

by means of qualitative data Setting out intelligence-led priorities for action to redress inequalities; and Clearly and explicitly indicating interventions to redress inequalities within

contracts at an organisational/service level, neighbourhood/community level and within partnership agreements

In addition to the above the Council will encourage all sectors to adopt the new equalities definition as outlined within this Corporate Equality Framework. To ensure consistent monitoring across all sectors, the Council will ensure that the Commissioning and Procurement Framework mandates that successful providers analyse and meet the needs of different groups, and employ both quantitative and qualitative analysis to monitor provision. For example, for access to services:

The number of people who accessed or engaged with the service A clear breakdown in relation to race, gender, disability, age, faith, sexual

orientation Systems are in place to prevent and monitor any aspects of the service,

project that could potentially discriminate, for example implementing an EIA assessment and an associated action plan to ensure inclusiveness and preventing unintentional discrimination; please see Equality Standard for Local Government

A Supplying the Council guide has been produced to give suppliers information on what the Council expects from them, with specific reference to equalities.

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Appendix 1

Equality Objectives

What’s Been Done, Where We Are and What Will Be Done In the Future(Please note these objectives are in addition to the commitments of the Corporate and Political Leadership and the Managing Diversity Action Plan)

Objectives Actions Owner Delivery Date

Continue programme of Equality Impact Assessments and Action Plans and monitor, record and publish resulting equality objectives

Corporate Annual

Review Racial Equality Scheme and publish annual reports

Corporate Annual

Review Disability Equality Scheme and publish annual reports

Corporate Annual

Review Gender Equality Scheme and publish annual reports

Corporate Annual

Review Corporate Equality Framework (integrated Equalities Action Plan) and publish annual reports

Corporate Annual

Provide safe, welcoming and inclusive access for all customers using Council services

Review One Strategic Voice and publish annual reports

Mayor Annual

Treat all the Council’s customers with dignity, politeness and respect

Continue to follow the Council’s Corporate Customer Care Strategy in all its Directorates

Corporate

Improve the Council’s signage internally and externally for all services

Analyse the results of EIAs to develop and improve equality objectives in relation to signage

Corporate Annual

Take a coordinated approach to providing Minicoms through the Council’s access programme

Corporate AnnualProvide a Minicom service for all council services available to the public by telephone Provide a Minicom number on

all council contact informationCorporate Ongoing

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Objectives Actions Owner Delivery Date

Give customers whose first language is not English access to an interpretation service if required

Develop and train the Council’s Translation and Interpretation Service

Corporate Ongoing

Ensure that all council staff are aware of services that can provide key publications in a range of formats and languages

Corporate OngoingMake key publications available in other formats and languages if requested Provide information on Cedar

Easy Word Service (CEWS), Braille, audiotape and non-English languages on the website

Corporate Ongoing

Register all complaints to the Council on the Complaints and Compliments online system and take and record appropriate action for each complaint

Corporate Ongoing

Continue to follow the Council’s Corporate Customer Care Strategy in all Directorates

Corporate Ongoing

Implement the Racial Incidents Protocol

Corporate Ongoing

Respond to and investigate all complaints of discrimination within 28 days of receiving a complaint

Acknowledge any incidents of racial harassment, homophobia, transphobia, sexual harassment and hate crime reported to the Council within 1 working day and respond to these within 28 days

Implement the Hate Crime Incidents Protocol

Corporate Ongoing

Ensure that all consultation carried out by the Council is inclusive

Implement the Council’s Corporate Community Engagement Strategy

Corporate Ongoing

Promote equality in all the Council’s partnership agreements

Work with the DtS Board to lead the delivery of the Council’s corporate equality commitments

Corporate Ongoing

Ensure that suppliers take equality into account throughout the

Make the Council’s suppliers aware of the Supplying the Council guide

Corporate Ongoing

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Objectives Actions Owner Delivery Date

supply chain Ensure that equality forms part of the Council’s standard contracts

Treat all the Council’s employees with dignity, politeness and respect

Continue to follow the Council’s Equal Opportunities Strategy, Harassment and Bullying Policy and Grievance and Disciplinary procedures

Corporate Ongoing

Identify employees’ individual training needs through the Council’s appraisal process

Corporate AnnualProvide training and development to council staff based on employee needs Continue to implement the

Council’s Workforce Development Plan

Corporate Ongoing

Continue to implement the Council’s Positive Action Strategy

Corporate OngoingAchieve a workforce that is representative of Doncaster’s diverse communities

Review all data on Doncaster’s labour market annually

Corporate Annual

Regularly update Equality and Diversity internet and intranet pages

Corporate OngoingPromote equality and diversity issues across the Council, its partners and suppliers Continue to provide council

employees with equality and diversity training

Corporate Ongoing

Continue to follow the Council’s Equal Opportunities Strategy, Harassment and Bullying Policy and Grievance and Disciplinary procedures

Corporate OngoingSupport fair treatment at work through employment policies and procedures

Progress the Council’s projects and initiatives included in the Work/Life Balance Programme

Corporate Ongoing

Consistently review and challenge the Council’s employment policies and procedures

Review the Council’s Harassment and Bullying, Grievance and Disciplinary procedures

Corporate Annual

Complete the Council’s Job Evaluation Programme

CorporateAchieve a fair and equal pay structure for all council employees

Develop and implement the Council’s Equal Pay and Reward Strategy

Corporate

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Appendix 2

Glossary of Terms

(to be added)

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