Agenda item

To consider update reports on the Council’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 relating to the Council’s workforce and the development of improved Equality Impact Assessments.

The Committee considered two reports, set out at Agenda Pages 13 to 42, which gave details of progress relating to the Council’s statutory duties under the Equality Act 2010.

 

The Committee were reminded that the Equality Act 2010 placed general and specific duties on public bodies including the Council. The General Duty required the Council to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who shared a protected characteristic and those who did not. The protected characteristics were: age, sex, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

 

In order to demonstrate compliance with the Equality Duty, public bodies had specific duties to publish information and set out and monitor Equality objectives. At its meeting on 30 March 2017 the Executive agreed the following Equality Objectives:

 

Objective 1 – services are easily accessible for all our residents and are capable of responding to the changing needs of our communities;

 

Objective 2 – vulnerable individuals and groups are supported and looked after;

 

Objective 3 – consultation and engagement are effective and inclusive for all our communities;

 

Objective 4 – the Council’s workforce is committed to equality and reflects the communities it serves;

 

Objective 5 – the Strategy and Commissioning team will lead on the Council’s commitment to equality through service commissioning and delivery, improved procurement and partnership working.

 

In 2017, the Executive and the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee agreed that an annual monitoring report on Equalities be submitted to each body to ensure that suitable progress was being made against the Council’s Equality Objectives.

 

In relation to Objective 4 (Council workforce) the Committee considered the WBC Equality Monitoring Workforce Report for 2017/18 (Agenda pages 13 to 29). The report demonstrated how the Council was complying with the Equality Duty in relation to its workforce, specifically how it captured data about employees (excluding schools) and related this data to the protected characteristics and other relevant indicators. Sarah Swindley, Lead Specialist, Human Resources attended the meeting to introduce the report and answer Members’ questions.

 

The report highlighted the following equality issues:

 

·           Gender – the Borough population was an equal split between male and female. However, the Council’s gender profile was 74% women and 26% men. The Council’s salary profile demonstrated a skew towards women occupying lower salary ranges.

 

·           Age – while the Council’s age profile was not representative of the Borough, it was similar to the national picture for local authorities with 42% above the age of 50 and only 12% under 30.

 

·           Disability – from the information provided 4.4% of the workforce had a disability, but this could be higher as 33% did not declare their status. 2.8% of the Borough’s population had a declared long-term health problem or disability.

 

·           Ethnicity – the reporting indicated that the workforce was more diverse than the local population, with 79% of the workforce being White British compared to 88% of the Borough’s population.

 

·           Religion and Sexual Orientation – the Council provided an opportunity for employees to provide information but 88% did not declare in relation to religion, belief and sexual orientation.

 

The report also included an Action Plan for 2018/19. This included a focus on:

 

·           Recruitment – further analysis of recruitment data and an increased take up of apprenticeships;

 

·           Training – introduction of  biennial refresher training for all employees using e-learning;

 

·           Career Opportunities – complete Equality Impact Assessments for each stage of the 21^st Century Council change programme;

 

·           Data Collection – increase staff confidence in disclosing personal information in order to improve the accuracy of workforce monitoring;

 

·           Accreditations – review the “Disability Confident Employer” accreditation and work towards the most appropriate level.

 

During the ensuing discussion Members raised the following points:

 

Were there any plans to establish networks for ethnic minority groups of employees? It was confirmed that attempts had been made in previous years to establish networks for ethnic minority employees. However, these had failed to endure due to lack of interest. The Council had established an officer equalities steering group and was continuing to seek new members to ensure that the group reflected the composition of the workforce. Furthermore, the monitoring report indicated a trend for increasing diversity in the workforce with almost a third of new starters being from ethnic minority groups.

 

In relation to the gender profile of the workforce (74% female, 26% male) were there any specific factors underlying the proportion of female employees? It was confirmed that the Council offered flexible and part-time working which was attractive to female employees.

 

In relation to the age profile of the Council’s workforce, what changes were likely over the next five years? It was confirmed that the age profile was likely to fall in the next few years with 71% of new starters under the age of 50 and a higher proportion of the older workforce leaving. The new Apprenticeship levy would also bring younger employees into the organisation.

 

The report highlighted a disproportionate number of employees with protected characteristics going through grievance, capability and disciplinary action. Were there any specific factors relating to this issue? It was confirmed that this appeared to be a spike in the data which was not evident in the most recent monitoring reports.

 

How did the Council ensure that its buildings were accessible for employees with disabilities? It was confirmed that the Council had specific duties as an employer to make suitable adjustments for employees with disabilities. The Council was also part of the Disability Confident scheme which informed current and potential employees of its positive approach to employing people with disabilities.

 

 

The Committee considered a second report, Agenda pages 31 to 41, which outlined changes made to the Council’s approach towards Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs). Michael Oatway, Customer Delivery Officer, attended the meeting to introduce the report and answer Member questions.

 

An EqIA was an analysis of a proposed organisational policy, or change to an existing policy, procedure or service which assessed whether the proposal had a disparate impact on persons with protected characteristics. The Equality Act 2010 did not require public authorities to carry out EqIAs but they were considered to be an effective way for bodies to demonstrate compliance with the Equality Duty.

 

The report stated that, following a review, a modified approach to EqIAs was being developed. This involved a two-stage process with an initial impact assessment which was then followed by a full impact assessment in cases where negative impacts were identified. Work was also ongoing to design a new Council-wide approach to project management and it was envisaged that EqIAs would be embedded into the formal decision making process for the formulation of projects, policies or service changes.

 

During the ensuing discussion Members raised the following points:

 

There was evidence that some Equality Impact Assessments had been completed after projects had started and were seen as a “tick box exercise”. How would the new arrangements ensure that assessments were carried out as part of the project design and approval process? It was confirmed that there needed to be a cultural shift to ensure that EqIAs were carried out before key decisions were made. Additional training for officers would reinforce the new procedures. In addition, a new standard for project management was being developed which included impact assessments as part of the project initiation phase.

 

In relation to projects, such as the town centre regeneration programme, where risks changed on a daily basis, how were the impact assessments updated? It was confirmed that the relevant project managers were responsible for updating risk and impact assessments and liaising with contractors as necessary. The Strategy and Commissioning team acted as a “critical friend” in this process. It was the responsibility of project managers and senior management to ensure that appropriate impact assessment were undertaken. 

 

Would the Committee be able to see a selection of Equality Impact Assessments? It was confirmed that examples of impact assessments would be provided for the Committee to review.

 

Finally, the Committee were informed that a further report would be submitted to its September 2018 meeting giving details of progress made by the Council against the remaining Equality Objectives.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)     Sarah Swindley and Michael Oatway be thanked for attending the meeting and answering Member questions;

 

2)     the Wokingham Borough Council Equality Monitoring Workforce Report 2017/18 be noted;

 

3)     the review of the Equality Impact Assessment procedure be noted;

 

4)     examples of completed Equality Impact Assessments be submitted to the Committee for consideration and review;

 

5)     the Committee receive a further report at its meeting on 19 September 2018 on progress against the Council’s Equality Objectives;

 

6)     the Committee receive a further report on progress against the Council’s Equality Objectives in 2019.