Agenda item

To consider the report of the Strategic Director for People and Communities.

Agreed:

RECOMMENDED that Council approve the adoption of the revised Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which sought approval for the adoption of the revised Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Policy, which had been updated to reflect organisational changes and feedback following the EDI Mini Peer Review undertaken in 2024.

The Leader highlighted a recently circulated email regarding the recent Supreme Court judgment, clarifying its implications for the policy.

During the discussion, Executive Members raised the following points and questions:-

·         the report highlighted that each Councillor had a personal responsibility to comply with the policy under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty;

·         the EQIA showed the Council workforce data showed a 50:50 make female gender spilt across the Council.

·         was there variation between different departments of the council?

·         it was noted that the People Management system ‘iTrent’ was not currently set up to allow for non-binary input from users, and it was asked whether there been any staff feedback on this issue?

·         thanks were made to the Chief Executive and officers for report and the work that had been undertaken;

·         the review and update of the EDI policy was welcomed and was progressing positively to be accessible for all; and

·         whether there was any work being undertaken to support women in the workplace with pre-menopausal or menopausal symptoms?

The Leader highlighted the positive speeches of both the outgoing Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor at the Annual Council meeting, which reflected the city's positive attitude towards EDI.

Opposition group leaders raised the following points and questions:

·         what arrangements would be made for Councillor EDI training, and would that training be compulsory?

·         the public support expressed by Members at the Annual Council was welcomed and was appreciated by the non-binary community; and

·         with the EQIA was it possible to reconsider the specific impact assessment for gender reassignment in the light of the Supreme Court judgment.

In response to questions raised, the Strategic Director for People and Communities advised that:-

·         further details on the 50:50 split could be provided at a departmental level and the main variations in the male female ratio could be seen in front line services where more manual workforces operated;

·         as part of the EDI review work, a new EDI training programme had been agreed for implementation this year and within the HR Improvement Plan recruitment strategy was being reviewed and this work would be informed by the information provided by staff on their protected characterises to help the Council to become more reflective of the community;  

·         through the HR Improvement Plan the Council was engaging with the ‘iTrent’ system provider to explore options for more inclusive data collection on protected characteristics;

·         no specific feedback had been received from staff regarding the inability to select non-binary options, partly because the system currently did not ask;

·         the Council was always open to alternative methods for staff to indicate non-binary identity if system changes were not possible;

·         HR had run two successful staff campaigns to encourage sharing of personal information regarding sharing information on protected characteristics, and this was reinforced by the Chief Executive, in the new video introducing the EDI training  and had been welcomed by staff;

·         EDI training includes learning modules for Members who will be strongly encouraged to undertake, advice from Democratic Services would be sought to identify the most accessible delivery methods;

·         the request to update the impact assessment on the EQIA for those undergoing gender reassignment could be revised if agreed by the Chair and be re-issued to Members (Revised EQIA appended to minutes); and

·         there was a Menopause Policy and a staff support group.

The Leader moved the recommendations, which were seconded by Councillor Wright, voted upon, and CARRIED unanimously.

RECOMMENDED that Council approve the adoption of the revised Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.