The Council is committed to furthering equal opportunities and valuing diversity. These pages provide information about how we demonstrate these commitments in our working practices.
The Equality Act 2010 replaced many separate anti-discrimination laws with a single Act. It also strengthened the law in important ways and extends protection against
discrimination on the basis of: race, disability, sex, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, and pregnancy and maternity.
Under the Equality Act, there is an Equality Duty on public bodies and other organisations carrying out public functions. This Duty consists of a general duty and specific duties. The
general duty has three aims which requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
- advance equality of opportunity between people from different groups; and
- foster good relations between people from different groups.
The
specific duties are requirements designed to help public bodies meet the general duty. They require public bodies to:
- publish information to show their compliance with the Equality Duty by 31 January 2012 and then at least annually;
- set and publish at least one measurable equality objective by 6 April 2012 and then at least every four years which will further the three aims of the Equality Duty.
To meet these requirements the Council has undertaken an assessment of the equality information it collects about its employees and customers and reviewed its equality practices.
The Council's overall approach to equality and diversity is set out in its
Single Equality Scheme 2011-2014, in which a wide range of information about the people and community it serves was used to identify priority areas of equality to focus on in light of the three aims of the Equality Duty. Actions taken to address these priorities are monitored in the
Single Equality Scheme Action Plan which is updated every six months.
As a public body and strategic partner to many other organisations in the Borough, the Council also collects and shares environmental, social and economic data related to the Borough using recent statistics from national, regional and local sources to help better understand and address the needs of the local community and identify areas of inequality. This
Sustainability Profile provides a shared source of information with partners and is used to help develop the Local Development Framework and Sustainable Community Strategy.
Since 2008 the Council has adopted a corporate approach to collecting equality monitoring information from its service users in order to better understand and respond to their individual needs. While monitoring for race, disability, sex and age has been a legal requirement, monitoring for the other groups covered as protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 is not required. Still, the Council wants to ensure it is not potentially discriminating against anyone and will request additional voluntary monitoring information when it believes it is relevant to help it provide the best possible services it can. The
Equality Monitoring Framework sets out how collection of equality monitoring information is applied across its different service areas. The Council aims to improve its consistent collection and use of this information to inform development and delivery of its services. The Council's corporate approach to equality and diversity is coordinated by the
Equality and Diversity Steering Group, composed of officer representatives from all service units and from the trade union Unison.
The Council is an important local employer and values the contributions of its workforce. Information is collected and monitored by Personnel to ensure fairness at all stages of recruitment and employment. Information also collected from the annual staff survey is used to help the Council to understand any particular issues or concerns related to equality which it can then address. All of this information is summarised in the
Annual Personnel Information 2012.
The Council is developing specific equality objectives based on the information it has already collected from research and consultation so far and will publish these by April 2012.
Understanding Diversity The
Gosport Diversity Profile 2012 is a summary of statistical information about Gosport relating to the protected groups covered under the Equality Act 2010.
The Council works closely with many other service providers, both voluntary and public, across the Borough to understand the needs of service users from minority or marginalised groups. Sharing knowledge and experiences through the
Gosport BME Wellbeing Network improves understanding among local service providers of the needs of local people.
The resources below provide additional sources of information for understanding the needs of people based on individual characteristics such as age, disability and race, and contact details for local support offered.
Equality Impact Assessments
The Council tries to understand the diverse needs of its staff and customers when developing and implementing policies and strategies and when making key decisions. To do this, equality impact assessments (EIAs) are valuable tools to help understand the affect these may have on different groups of people and to help us ensure no discrimination is taking place. The Council uses EIAs during the development stage of new policies and strategies and when considering financial decisions. Existing policies and strategies are also re-assessed at least every three years or when significant changes are being considered.
To find out more about the Council's EIA process and to view EIAs which have already been undertaken, please see below:
We are always interested in improving the information we provide on these pages and welcome any comments. If you have any enquires or comments you wish to make, please contact us on
equalities@gosport.gov.uk or ring the Corporate Policy and Community Safety Section on 023 9254 5695.
