This area contains the following information about Equalities:
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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:
By addressing inequality wherever we find it we will:
Making sure equalities is at the heart of all our plans so we can inspire and motivate the wider community.
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 grant programmes and wider procurement strategies are inclusive so our business interactions will benefit the wider community.
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.
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!
All staff within our organisation should be able to feel valued and know that their opinion makes a difference.
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Our aim is to ensure that there are equal life chances for all within the Borough. In delivering our services to the community and in being an accessible employer, this may involve thinking creatively to ensure that people are given the opportunity to ensure that equality can become a reality.
In line with Government guidance, we have chosen to move to a Single Equality Scheme. In doing so, we will include seven strands rather than the mandatory three (the Race Equality Scheme, the Disability Equality Scheme and the Gender Equality Scheme). These are:
Progress against the implementing the supporting strategic action plan will be reported annually in the Council's Annual report. The Scheme will be subject to a review every three years, the next review is scheduled for 2012/13.
You may find it useful to read our Help before downloading information.
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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:
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.
In a number of ways:
You may be asked to supply equalities information:
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.
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.
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:
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.
This information ensures that we don't neglect any age groups.
This information isn't used to identify people - just to map where in the town (and beyond) people who access our services come from.
This allows us to make sure everyone gets to access our services in a way that's suitable for their needs
People from different ethnic backgrounds sometimes have different needs and experience different barriers.
People of different religions sometimes have different needs and experience different barriers
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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Please contact us for further information or advice on any matter relating to Equalities.
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This page last updated: 10/03/2010