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Introduction to Equalities
Equalities means 'equal life chances for all'. It means we do not provide the same service for everyone - we provide the right service for each person. The way we look at equalities is based on seven key themes:
- Age
- Gender
- Religion/ Belief
- Ethnicity
- Sexuality
- Disability
- Economic and social inclusion
By addressing inequality wherever we find it we will:
Lead by example
Making sure equalities is at the heart of all our plans so we can inspire and motivate the wider community.
Making Hastings a prosperous town
Monitoring who's visiting the town so we can identify who isn't visiting and market Hastings as an appealing place for them. We can also use information on people who visit us to help local people understand where they're from, what they're like and make them feel welcome. Making sure our procurement strategies are inclusive so our business interactions will benefit the wider community.
Making Hastings a cohesive town (where everyone gets on)
Having an understanding of who's accessing our services to 'myth bust' misconceptions and tailor services to those who have need of them. Often people don't access a service because they think it's not for them. They will even start to get angry at the people they believe are getting a 'better deal'. We can identify these lost or disenfranchised customers through equalities monitoring and help them get a better understanding of what we have to offer.
Making Hastings a town where we know our residents and they feel involved
Through the impact assessment that takes place whenever we write a report, the voting process, equalities monitoring, constant consultation and the citizens panel, local people can make sure we deliver services which meet their needs. This is totally different to us asking them to make their needs fit in with our services and saves time, money and energy!
Making our staff feel involved and important
All staff within our organisation should be able to feel valued and know that their opinion makes a difference.
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Workforce profile report 2011
This information is a snapshot of the workforce at Hastings Borough Council, as at April 2011, giving comparative data to previous years to identify any trends across the periods.
Download the report:
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Equality and Human Rights Charter
The Hastings and St Leonards Equality and Human Rights Charter was signed on Monday, 26 September at the Town Conference by members of the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP).
The Equality Charter for Hastings provides a set of shared principles for improving services in response to the diversity of communities in the town and by signing it, members make a commitment to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act.
Download the document:
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we monitor equalities?
We're required by law to monitor who works for us, delivers services for us and accesses our services. By analysing our monitoring, we can continue to provide good quality services for those who already access them on a regular basis as well as better understand who don't use them at all and why. This data will contribute to:
- Planning new services
- Improving existing services
- Marketing services
- Planning consultations
- Developing strategies
You do not have to take part in any monitoring exercise if you don’t want to, but it really helps both us and you if you do.
How do we monitor equalities?
In a number of ways:
- Profiles of staff
- Profiles of the town
- Focus groups
- Consultation with stakeholders
When do we monitor equalities?
You may be asked to supply equalities information:
- When you apply for a Council service (such as the Housing Register)
- When you complete a customer satisfaction survey
- When the Council needs to contact you (such as the electoral register)
- At the end of a workshop or focus group
- When submitting consultation feedback
To make sure we're as efficient as possible, you may not always be asked i.e. when you get your Council Tax bills and make Land Registry enquiries.
Is my information anonymous?
Yes! Even if you return a monitoring form with something else (like a consultation document or a housing register form) we will separate them out as soon as they are received. If you complete an online form, it will go straight into an anonymous database.
Why do you ask particular questions?
We're required to think about the six equality 'strands' of race, gender, disability, sexuality, religion/ belief and age in everything we do. We therefore have questions about these in our monitoring. We've also chosen to look at the 'economic and social wellbeing' of local people as this can sometimes make it difficult for people to access our services. Because of this we will be asking about:
Gender
This is to identify differences between men and women accessing services. This data can be very useful for us when it comes to developing and promoting services.
People who are living as a different gender identity than that which they were assigned at birth often have specific issues which need to be addressed in our service delivery. It's recommended that all public bodies in East Sussex collect this information by 2012.
Age
This information ensures that we don't neglect any age groups.
Postcode
This information isn't used to identify people - just to map where in the town (and beyond) people who access our services come from.
Disability
This allows us to make sure everyone gets to access our services in a way that's suitable for their needs
Ethnic origin
People from different ethnic backgrounds sometimes have different needs and experience different barriers.
Religion
People of different religions sometimes have different needs and experience different barriers
Employment status
This information allows us to see if people's 'economic and social' situation affects how they use our services. We might need to make opening hours and service locations suit them better
If this is about equality, why are you asking these questions? Shouldn’t you just be treating everybody in exactly the same way regardless?
Equality of opportunity isn't about having blanket policies which treat everybody exactly the same, it's about having a variety of options which suit as many people as possible. We monitor equalities data in various different ways in order to identify where we are doing things right, and also where we have room for improvement.
We know how many people of different genders, religions, races, etc live in the town but we don't know how many are using our services or responding to our consultations unless we monitor. If we then find that people are missing out, we can look at how to improve things so that as many people as possible can benefit from our services.
Is sending out monitoring forms cost effective?
We're trying to monitor equalities online and by other methods so we're as cost effective and green as we can be for the benefit of both ourselves and the communities we serve.
If people send the form back with other information about themselves (e.g. name and address) how can it be anonymous?
All forms are separated from any other information that's returned and input into a database. They do not have any contact details written on them and will usually be inputted by a different person than whoever opened the envelope. Monitoring data will never be electronically scanned and original forms will be destroyed after being added to the database.
Information will only be published in large, impersonal sections and will never be published if it would single out individuals in the community.
What does this have to do with the service that someone is using?
We want to know who's using our services and who may be missing out so that we can improve what we do, how we do it and where and when we deliver it. If someone is responding to a consultation, equalities monitoring helps us work out if we've consulted with a wide range of people and if anyone has been excluded. This helps us improve the way we consult with people as we may need to use even more methods to suit different needs.
The forms intrude into details that should be private
If people don't want to give us equalities information - they don't have to! It doesn't affect whether we can help them or not. However, we will use any information given to identify who's using our services and who may be missing out. There are also options on the form if you'd 'prefer not to say'.
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Contact Information
Please contact us for further information or advice on any matter relating to Equalities.
