As a public service we take guidance from several pieces of the legislation. The key one that relates to Equality Diversity and Inclusion is the Equality Act 2010. This Act outlines the 9 protected characteristics and that discrimination against any of these groups is unlawful. For further information about this click here.
Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 outlines a further obligation for public authorities. This is known as the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). Generally, the PSED asks us to:
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010;
- To advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t;
- To foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t. with different protected characteristics.
In addition to this, the PSED specifically asks us to publish:
- Equality information – our annual equality report can be found here
- Our equality objective – We aspire to ‘improve the diversity of our workforce as a whole, compared to the last five years. We have ambitions of creating a workforce that better reflects the communities we serve and to support us on this journey we use positive action.
- Gender pay gap information – our report can be found with our pay, policies and pensions here.
As a Service provider, it is important to consider how our actions can impact different groups in different ways, this ensures that our services meet the diverse needs of our communities and staff groups. We therefore carry out People Impact Assessments which consider the impacts on each of the protected characteristics as well as other non-legislative considerations which consider other vulnerabilities. Through these assessments we can ensure our services best meet the diverse needs of everyone.
We recognise that it’s a privilege to serve our communities and we embrace the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty, along with the legal duties they place upon us.