Equality objective 2018-22
Background
The Council is required by law to publish a minimum of one equality objective every 4 years. Such objectives relate to groups of people at risk of disadvantage or discrimination because of their ‘protected characteristics’:
- age
- disability
- sex
- gender re-assignment
- sexual orientation
- marriage and civil partnerships
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
Equality objectives help set the direction for the Council’s work up to 2022 to tackle issues around equality and are reviewed annually.
Guidance published by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission says equalities objectives must be proportionate to the size of the authority and the capacity it has to carry them out.
Commitment to equalities
Making Darlington a fairer place is at the heart of what the Council does. It is committed to the One Darlington principle established in the Sustainable Community Strategy*, One Darlington: Perfectly Placed. This requires us to have regard to the needs of everyone in the community, and to ensure that groups of people at risk of disadvantage and discrimination are able to access and benefit from services and facilities fairly.
We will continue to include the One Darlington principle in all decision making and activities, through equalities impact assessment and appropriate staff training. The purpose of equality impact assessment is to understand how proposed changes will affect people with protected characteristics. We will also work with partners to tackle discrimination and inequality across the community
*The Sustainable Community Strategy is the overall plan or vision for the future of Darlington up to 2021. It was prepared by Darlington Partnership to guide investment and activities across the public, private and third sectors in the Borough.
Equality Objective 2018-22
The council’s equality objective for 2018-22 is:
To remind all Members and staff of their duties under the Equality Act 2010, demonstrate how the council has done this via training and engagement with services users and support organisations, and publicise the differences that this work has made.
To find more information on what actions are being taken to achieve the objective, and how progress towards the objectives will be monitored, please refer to the Equality Policy 2018-22 [pdf document].