Equality and Diversity   

Equality Act 2010

The Public Sector Equality Duty which came into force on 5 April 2011 as part of the Equality Act 2010 aims to ensure all public bodies consider the needs of all individuals in their day to day work in shaping policy, delivering services, and in relation to their own employees. Under the duty the council is required to publish at least one equality objective which will continue to support improvements in our equality and diversity programme of work as set out by our Single Equality Scheme as set out below.

Following a series of consultation exercises with community and local organisations, businesses, residents and partners, the council has agreed the following objective:

To reduce inequality in access to employment within the district and build links between organisations to enable this, and by promoting good parenting skills and providing support and advice to families from relevant partner agencies and schools.

The initiatives and measures which will help to deliver this opportunity include:

Working with partners such as Jobcentre Plus, Kidderminster College, Schools, ContinU and Community organisations to identify how best to promote vacancies and opportunities including the Parish Apprenticeship Scheme which will be launched as a pilot in the Parish of Rock in September 2012. Measures – Take up of any new initiatives and programmes.

Through the Wyre Forest Matters Partnership we shall seek to support schools on issues around parenting skills and how partners can work together to help. Measures – developing facilities and programmes to support parents in the District and monitoring attendance through sharing information with partner organisations such as the Family Intervention Programme.

We shall monitor and report progress on the delivery of the objective on a six monthly basis.

The Single Equality Scheme

The Council recognises that some people might suffer discrimination and be disadvantaged for many reasons, including:

• race, nationality or ethnic origin
• religion or belief
• disability
• age
• gender
• sexual orientation
• income
• geographic location

The Council therefore replaced its Equal Opportunities Policy with a Single Equality Scheme   (115K) (SES) in 2008. This was updated in 2011 following the introduction of the Equality Duty 2010. The SES sets out our commitment and responsibility to promote equality of opportunity and good community relations, and to tackle all forms of discrimination. The SES is thorough, and recognises that discrimination can occur when we:

• provide services
• purchase services
• employ staff
• work in partnership with other organisations

The SES has its own Action Plan which sets out how we are going to undertake the work required.

When we talk about diversity, we mean more than just race and nationality.  A diverse population encompasses different religions and beliefs, ages, disabilities, gender and sexual orientation, as well as race.  These are known politically as the six strands of equality.

Wyre Forest District Council has both a moral and a statutory obligation to reflect the needs of a diverse population through its service provision and as an employer.  We are committed to employing a diverse workforce and providing equitable services to the people of the Wyre Forest district.  Our aim is to fully meet our obligations and to learn from best practice, as we strive to improve as a local authority.

Diversity is about recognising and valuing difference so it’s important to ask “what makes Wyre Forest unique?”  Although we don’t have a large number of different ethnic minority communities (currently 3.1% of the population) in Wyre Forest, there are many other factors that make our communities diverse.  These include:

• the higher than average number of elderly people in the district  
• the hotspots of relative deprivation that exist as well as rural isolation
• the presence of Gypsies and Traveller communities
• the lower than average number of young people in the district
• the higher than average number of adults not working in the district

To tackle these issues we need to be aware of the problems facing our communities and look at how we can tackle these through our service delivery and working with others.  

Our Single Equality Scheme  (115K) was first agreed in 2008 before being updated in 2011 to include consideration of protected characteristics. It pulls together the various strands of equalities and places these together into a single framework. It sets out our approach to diversity on three levels: within the council; in the way we engage with and understand the needs of our communities; and in the way we deliver our services.  

We recognise that everyone is different but this doesn’t mean that people should be disadvantaged as a result.  And we will not discriminate in any way according to people's age, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

Further information on our equality schemes:

View our Equality and Diversity Policy  (130K)

View our Single Equality Scheme 2008 - 2011  (256K)