WrexhamCountyBorough Council

Strategic Equality Plan

2012 - 2016

Accessible Formats
This document and supporting documents will be published on the Council’s website in English and Welsh in Microsoft Word and pdf formats in Arial font size14 as standard. Other accessible formats including large print, Braille, BSL DVD, easy-read, audio and electronic formats, and other languages will be available upon request. Please contact the Council’s Equality Manager.
Email:
Telephone: 01978 292808
Contents
Section / Title / Page
Message from the Chief Executive / 4
Introduction / 5
WrexhamCounty Borough Council
3.1Key Strategies and Plans
3.2Managing Equality
3.3 Community Cohesion / 6
WrexhamCounty Borough - Place and People / 11
The Equality Act 2010 / 12
Strategic Equality Plan Development
6.1 Developing our Plan – Engagement
6.2 Developing our Plan – Information / 14
Equality Objectives
7.1 North Wales “Regional” Objectives
7.2 Wrexham County Borough “Local Objectives” / 16
Equality Objectives - Action Plans / 17
Monitoring Achievement of our Objectives / 25
Equality Information
10.1 Workforce Information
10.2 Functions and Services Information / 26
Publication of Equality Information / 32
Accessible Information and Formats / 34
Arrangements for Equality Impact Assessment / 35
Arrangements for Training / 37
Procurement / 39
Review / 41
Annual Reporting / 41
Contacts and Further Information / 42
1. Message from the Chief Executive

Welcome to the Wrexham Strategic Equality Plan 2012-16.

This plan sets out our equality objectives and action plans for making Wrexham County Borough a fairer place where people can achieve their potential,thrive and prosper.

We have developed regional and local equality objectives by working in partnership with a diverse range of local people and groups and with organisations from across North Wales.

Our regional objectives cover issues that affect the whole of North Wales, such as health, and that can be more effectively addressed through working in partnership.

Our local objectives are the things that we will do to ensure that our working practices advance equality and contribute to the eradication of inequalities that affect the people of Wrexham.

We have put in place arrangements to assess our achievements, monitor equality and train our elected Councillors and staff and we will report annually on our progress towards achieving our equality objectives.

I am proud to say that the Council is committed to delivering equality and improving quality of life for the people of Wrexham.

We welcome your feedback on our Strategic Equality Plan.

Dr Helen Paterson

Chief Executive

WrexhamCounty Borough Council

2.Introduction

Wrexham County Borough Council is responsible for delivering a range of services to the people who live, work, visit and invest in Wrexham County Borough. The Council is committed to equality and to improving quality of life for everyone across the Borough.

This is our first Strategic Equality Plan. It has been produced to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010(Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011. The Plan builds upon our past achievements and replaces earlier schemes such as for disability and race equality.

The plan covers all of the ‘protected characteristics’identified in the Equality Act 2010 (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation and marriage and civil partnership).

The Plan will be in place for a maximum of four years and will be subject to regular review. We will publish annual reports setting out our progress and summarising the effectiveness of our action plans. Should we update any of our equality objectives we will publish those changes promptly.

Although we have published our Strategic Equality Plan as a document in its own right it does not stand in isolation. It is an integral part of the Council’s policy framework and we will achieve our equality objectives through the implementation of the Council Plan, a range of key Council strategies and our nine departmental Service Plans.

For each of our equality objectives we have set out a range of actions and outcomes. However the detailed action plan and targets for each equality objective will be developed as part of the Council’s service planning process. Following the approval of the new Council Plan in March 2012, Heads of Department are now creating new Service Plans for their departmentsto reflect the new priorities. As part of this process we will set actions and targets against the Council Plan priorities and the equality objectives in this Strategic Equality Plan. Departmental service planning will be completed by June 2012 and we will publish our detailed action plans by August 2012.

3.Wrexham County Borough Council

Wrexham County Borough Council has an Executive Board, Scrutiny Committees, and Planning, Licensing and Audit Committees. The Strategic Leadership Team for the Council is made up of the Chief Executive and three Strategic and Performance Directors. The Strategic Management Team includes these senior managers and the nine Heads of Departments who manage services and functions delivered across the following departments.

  1. Adult Social Care
  2. Assets and Economic Development
  3. Children and Young People, Prevention and Social Care
  4. Community Wellbeing and Development
  5. Corporate and Customer Care
  6. Environment
  7. Finance
  8. Housing and Public Protection
  9. Lifelong Learning

The Council employs around 6,400 people in 4,900 full-time equivalent posts which makes it one of the largest employers in Wrexham.

3.1Key Strategies and Plans

The Council is directing its efforts with those of its partners through the Wrexham Community Strategy and the Council Plan 2012-16.

Wrexham's Community Strategy 2009-2020

The statutory Community Strategy includes a vision to improve the quality of life for all in the County Borough. To deliver this vision the aim is to work with the Council’s partners to make the County Borough a place that:

  • Cares for people’s health
  • Enables people to reach their full potential
  • Values citizenship, community spirit and social responsibility
  • Looks after its built and natural surroundings
  • Is safe
  • Is economically prosperous

Council Plan 2012-16

The Council Plan is the overarching plan for the Council, defining where the Council focuses its energies and resources. It sets out the Council’s vision, purpose, guiding principles and values; strategic priority themes and corporate objective and the priority outcomes that sit under each theme.The Plan sets out four priority themes

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  • Economy
  • People
  • Place
  • Organisation (striving for excellence)

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The Economy requires both the right People, in terms of entrepreneurship and skills and the right Place to work from, in terms of business sites and supporting infrastructure. Each strategic priority theme interacts and impacts on another, whilst the corporate objective of Organisation underpins the ability of the Council to provide the services required by the local economy, people and place.

The Council Plan sets out the contribution that the Council will make to the Community Strategy and will be delivered via a range of key cross-cutting strategies and plans including:

  • Economic Prosperity Strategy
  • Our Joint Plan
  • Community Safety Partnership Plan
  • Social Services Annual Report
  • Welsh Language Scheme
  • Welsh in Education Strategic Plan
  • Nine departmental Service Plans
  • Housing Strategy
  • Homelessness Strategy
  • Carbon Management Action Plan
  • Community Cohesion Strategy
  • Strategic Equality Plan
  • Human Resources and Workforce Strategy

These are also the delivery mechanisms for this Strategic Equality Plan. The diagram on the following page demonstrates the links between the Community Strategy, Council priorities and departmental Service Plans.

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  • 3.2 Managing Equality

The Council employs a specialist equality officer whose role is to provide advice and guidance and to lead the equality, diversity and human rights agenda on behalf of the Council.The Equality Manager works closely with strategic leaders and Elected Members to mainstream equality across the whole Council. Corporate Governance and Scrutiny Committee receive regular monitoring updates and reports.

Each department has a departmental equality representative, whose role is to disseminate relevant information and provide a link between the corporate Equality Improvement Group and thedepartments, in particular departmental management teams.

The Equality Improvement Group is the Council’s corporate equality group attended by equality representatives from all departments and key officers including the Equality Manager and the Community Cohesion Manager. The Group is chaired and championed by the Head of Community Wellbeing and Development.

The Accessible Wrexham Group (AWG) was established over a decade ago to respond to the Disability Discrimination Act introduced in 1995. This Group brings together officers of the Council with local groups and individuals with an interest in making Wrexham an accessible place. The AWG is chaired by an elected Councillor and supported by the Equality Manager.

The Council has similar close working arrangements with a number of other groups it supports, including:

  • Visual Impairments Forum
  • Deaf Forum
  • Physical, Neurological and Sensory Impairments Group
  • Neurological Alliance
  • Community Cohesion Reference Group
  • Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Group

3.3 Community Cohesion

The Council has in place a Community Cohesion Strategy delivered in partnership and monitored by the Community Cohesion Group. At theheart of the Community Cohesion agenda is the “One Wrexham Charter of Belonging” To date over 100 local organisations and groups have adopted the Charter.

One Wrexham Charter of Belonging
We, the people who live and work in Wrexham, are committed to working together to ensure that…
  • Wrexham County Borough is a peaceful and harmonious place for ourselves, our children, the wider community and future generations in recognition that we all have an equal stake in its future.
  • We are proud of Wrexham County Borough, its languages, rich history, faith and culture, its traditions and the diversity of its people.
  • We cherish and will uphold our long tradition of welcoming visitors and newcomers to Wrexham County Borough.
  • We will stand united when those who seek to divide neighbour against neighbour try to damage or undermine our communities and destroy our peace.
  • We appreciate and respect diversity and will vigorously oppose hatred, jealousy, discrimination and blaming or vilifying of any citizen, visitor, group or community within our County Borough including those who seek refuge here.
  • We acknowledge that belonging to Wrexham County Borough involves rights and responsibilities, giving as well as taking.
Our commitment:
  • We will reaffirm what we have in common and what unites us: a wish to live in peace and security together, to have a decent standard of living and a fair share of resources, to have equal chances in life and enjoy good health;
  • We will celebrate all that is good about Wrexham County Borough, the richness of its Welsh heritage, cultural traditions, beliefs, distinctive neighbourhoods, and the energy, character and diversity of its people;
  • We recognise and support the equal rights of everyone in Wrexham County Borough;
  • We reject any form of prejudice, bigotry, blame-casting or violence, and;
  • At all times, in all that we do, we will work to build bridges of understanding, friendship, neighbourliness and mutual respect between all those people who belong to Wrexham County Borough.

4.Wrexham County Borough -Place and People

Wrexham is a large and diverse borough with an area of 500km² and is home to around 134,000 people. Wrexham town is the largest town in North Wales. The population is steadily increasing in number and in its diversity. Growth has largely been driven by the economy, with inward migration since 1991 being three times the Welsh average at 3.5%. Welsh Government projections suggest that the population will rise to between 139,100 and 143,000 by 2021.

Welsh Language: In 1991 13.4% of the population spoke Welsh and in 2001 this had risen to 14.6%. The Welsh Government is seeking to increase the number of people using the Welsh language.

Age: It is estimated that by 2021 there will be a 37% increase in people over retirement age and that by 2026 there will be a 78% increase in those over 85. There are currently more people in the population over the age of 40 than ever before.

Disability and Long Term Illness:Disabled people make up approximately 23% of the population. Although levels of long-term illness and disability are below the Wales average, they are higher for older age groups. Coronary heart disease is the main cause of death (23%) compared with the Wales average (19.8%). 58% of the population are overweight or obese compared with the Wales average of 54%. Agreed health priorities for North Wales include reducing health inequality overall and reducing smoking and alcohol misuse.

Sexual Orientation: According to UK Government Actuaries Estimate lesbian, gay and bisexual people make up 6-9% of the UK population.

Gender Reassignment: The number of people in Wrexham, who have undergone, are undergoing or are considering undergoing a process to change their gender is unknown.

Race, Ethnicity and Culture: Approximately 3-5% of the population are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. This does not take into account people who visit the area from across the world to work or to study.

Religion and Belief: According to the Census just over two thirds of the population are Christian. The remaining third either do not have a religious belief, or belong to a wide range of other religious and faith groups.

Deprivation: The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation highlights contrasts in deprivation across Wrexham; one area is one of the ten most deprived in Wales and another just outside the ten least deprived. Areas defined as in the most deprived in Wrexham are part of the “Communities First” programme.

5. The Equality Act 2010

This plan has been produced to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010(Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011.

The Equality Act 2010 condensed nine pieces of legislation into one single law, replacing the Equal Pay Act 1970, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976, Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, Equality Act 2006 (Part 2), and the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007.

The Equality Act defines the following “protected characteristics”.

Strategic Equality Plan 23.3.12

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  • Race
  • Sex
  • Gender Reassignment
  • Disability
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Religion or Belief
  • Age
  • Marriage and Civil Partnership
  • Pregnancy and Maternity

Strategic Equality Plan 23.3.12

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Under the Equality Act 2010 the new unlawful acts are:

  • Direct discrimination: less favourable treatment due to a protected characteristic
  • Associative discrimination: less favourable treatment because a person is associated with another person who possesses a protected characteristic
  • Discrimination by perception: less favourable treatment due to a perception or belief that a person possesses a protected characteristic
  • Indirect discrimination: where a rule or policy that applies to everyone puts some people who possess a protected characteristic at a disadvantage
  • Harassment: unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic which has the effect or purpose of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the complainant or of violating the complainant’s dignity. Employees can now complain of behaviour that they found offensive even if not directed at them
  • Harassment by a third party: employers are potentially liable for harassment of their staff by people that they do not employ
  • Victimisation: less favourable or poor treatment because a person has made or supported a complaint or a grievance under the Equality Act 2010 or other anti-discrimination laws

The Equality Act creates additional legal duties for public authorities: These “public sector equality duties” are in two parts: the general duty and the specific duties. The duties are complimentary and proactive.

The general duty requires public authorities (including schools), when carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to:

  • Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Act
  • Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it
  • Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

In Wales, the Equality Act 2010 (Wales) Regulations 2011 that came into effect in April 2011 placing upon public authorities in Wales legal duties that require the following actions:

  • Set and publish equality objectives for each protected characteristic or publish reasons for not doing so, and review objectives every four years
  • Set and publish objectives and an action plan to address the pay gap
  • Publish a Strategic Equality Plan by 2 April 2012
  • Assess the impact of all aspects of the Council’s functions and publish results and details of evidence used and any decisions taken as a result of the assessment
  • Ensure published information is accessible
  • Have effective arrangements in place to monitor equality across all aspects of its role
  • Have effective arrangements in place to gather, analyse and publish employment monitoring data
  • Publish an annual report on progress
  • Use public procurement to contribute to delivery of the councils equality objectives and its performance against the general duty

6. Strategic Equality Plan Development

The Council’s Strategic Equality Plan has been developed alongside the Council’s new Council Plan. It sets our agreed equality objectives, a summary of what we hope to achieve and what we will do. It does not currently contain the targets that we are committed to publishing. This work is being undertaken by departments as part of the Council’s service planning process which will be completed by the end of June 2012. We will publish our detailed action plans for each equality objective by August 2012.