Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Executive Director of Corporate and Support Services.

The report provides an update on the Council’s ongoing commitment to advance equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the organisation and in our communities.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment upon the report and to note the plans, progress and achievements made in the past twelve months with regard to EDI and the ambition to be a more inclusive borough.

Officer contact: Emma Bowe on 07800 618 683 or email emma.bowe@stockport.gov.uk

The Executive Director of Corporate and Support Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the Council’s ongoing commitment to advance equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the organisation and in our communities.

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture & Sport (Councillor Frankie Singleton) attended the meeting to respond to councillors’ questions.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Members noted that many of the council’s staff had been particularly affected by the riots which had occurred during the summer of 2024. It was suggested that the work should take place to identify which colleagues of colour and faith had been most affected in order to ensure that the support provided was specific and relevant.

·         Members welcomed the council’s clear message: that Stockport Council was a safe place for everyone.

·         The public health objectives related to the specific needs of communities were noted, along with the meaningful engagement around the design of services.

·         The importance of language was noted. The previously named Pallet of Colour group was now known as Global Majority. Those Global Majority colleagues had told council colleagues that they felt unsafe at the time of the riots. On the Monday following the riots many colleagues had been frightened to travel to work or out into the community to visit residents’ homes as part of their duties. There had been an increase in racist abuse within the community.

·         To support colleagues, open check-ins had been held to facilitate conversations about the impact of the riots and offer practical support. It was acknowledged that the council’s response was not always right; some line managers had not been proactive and this would form part of an ongoing learning exercise.

·         In the past month the council had offered inclusive masterclasses for those with management responsibilities.

·         The importance of staff surveys was recognised in ensuring that the council was listening to staff and taking action when required.

·         Going forward the EDI Action Plan would benefit from the inclusion of members of the council’s networks. One example of collaboration was working with schools on prevention and inclusion.

·         Under Equality Objective 3, ‘Understand our diverse communities and their specific needs’ it was important to recognise that there were disparities within Area Committee areas and that averages could hide those differences.

·         The council was looking at three areas in order to measure the success of the EDI Action Plan. Those were the council’s role as a place leader, how it worked with communities and making Stockport a fair and inclusive borough.

·         It was important to consider how inclusive the council was as an organisation. The composition of the council’s workforce mirrored that of the borough, however most of its senior leaders were white.

·         Gender and ethnicity pay gaps along with health and education inequalities were used to measure the inclusivity of the workforce. Other factors, such as how staff were feeling, were more difficult to measure.

·         The underlying theme of this work was meaningful engagement.

·         Members requested that this work be communicated through as many channels as possible.

RESOLVED – That the plans, progress and achievements made in the past twelve months with regard to EDI and the ambition to be a more inclusive borough be noted.