Agenda item

To receive a report (attached) from Assistant Chief Executive, Rachel Barker on the Local Government Association (LGA) Equalities and Diversity Peer Challenge (final report attached) which took place in January, 2021. The Board is asked to discuss the report and the action plan (attached) which has been prepared to address the recommendations and is proposed to be presented to Cabinet for adoption.

The Assistant Chief Executive, Rachel Barker, gave a presentation on the recent Peer Review carried out by the Local Government Association (LGA) on Equalities and Diversity. The Board were being asked to endorse the report, action plan and recommendations prior to it being presented to the Cabinet in April for adoption. The Portfolio Holder for Democracy, Strategy and Partnerships, Cllr Adrian Newell, was also in attendance for this item.

An overview was provided on the process of the Review which had taken place in January, 2021. Background documents had been shared with the Review team prior to virtual meetings being held with elected Members, staff, managers and stakeholders. A verbal feedback session had been held on 28th January, before the full written report had been produced.

It was advised that 35 recommendations across 4 headings had been set out in the report. An action plan had been drawn up to show how these recommendations could be taken forward through a phased approach. Actions within Phase 1 would be completed by September, 2021 and those in Phase 2 by March 2022. In addition, there were a small number of longer term (to be completed by 2022/23) actions proposed in Phase 3, which included signing up to accreditations and charters, use of grants to improve participation, community engagement on careers in the Council and co-design and co-development of Council services.

Cllr Newell, advised that the Plan helped to implement new initiatives and improve on what was already in place.

The Board discussed the Action Plan and raised a number of issues around the content and focus of the Plan and the critical path of how each phase connected to the next. How the actions would be measured was also raised, it was advised that usually following a Peer Review the LGA would return, around 18 months later, to assess the Council’s position. The Council’s Service Plans would also give an indication of whether the actions had been achieved.

The action regarding “celebrating different festivals and events using social media” was also discussed. It was felt important to celebrate different cultural events but consideration needed to be given to which would be highlighted to avoid exclusion of any particular group.

In response to a query regarding data from the recent Census 2021, it was noted that this data was expected to start being shared from the autumn. Two of the LGA’s recommendations were around understanding Rushmoor’s communities and the Census data would provide a real opportunity in achieving a better understanding of who lived within the Borough.

The Board ENDORSED the report, action plan and recommendations, subject to any comments and feedback from Members.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Newell and Ms Barker for their presentation and it was noted that Members had been encouraged to see that some recommendations had already been implemented and others would be embedded into existing strategies moving forward. Thanks were also expressed to all Members of the Board and stakeholders for their involvement in the Review process. The Chairman added that strides had already been taken to reduce cultural barriers across the Borough and the Action Plan would take the process to the next level.