Equality and diversity
Our services, policies and procedures recognise that equality is an issue for us all, we are all different, and we do not all start from the same place.
We are committed to:
- treating differences with equal respect
- valuing the diversity of our residents and service users
- delivering services openly and fairly, and in ways which meet the needs of our diverse community
- investing in a skilled and diverse workforce
- challenging discrimination in all its forms.
The political administration of the council have also committed to consider what impact their strategic decisions could have on narrowing socio-economic inequalities. Evidence suggests that the bigger the gap between rich and poor, the more violence, poor health, educational disparity and signs of social breakdown our communities face.
We recognise that the council plays an important role in narrowing this gap. Tackling inequality and poor outcomes for our communities is at the very heart of what we do. Becoming a Cooperative council will ensure that our activities are targeted to those who need them most and that all of our residents and service users are able to get involved with service design and delivery.
Our equality statement as set out in our Cooperative Council Corporate Plan states: Lambeth Council is committed to ensuring its process for equalities governance exceeds legal requirements, is transparent and fit for purpose. This means ensuring equalities considerations are a key part of the organisation’s service and financial planning, and performance management.
This also means the council will review the impact of its Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) processes to ensure they make a real difference and community groups and partners are involved appropriately. We are committed to working together to understand the needs of all our residents, staff and stakeholders across all the equalities strands through co-produced needs assessments, inclusive consultation, ongoing resident and customer surveys, mystery shopping, effective monitoring and analysis of complaints.
Calendar of key dates relating to equalities and diversity.
We have a moral and legal duty to promote equality and tackle discrimination. Coupled with this there is a business case for us to do so. We want all of our communities to lead happy lives where they feel safe and secure and are able to reach their full potential.
We publish equality information, not only because this is a legal requirement but to demonstrate to residents, service users, partners and other interested parties that we are an accessible service provider that values the diversity of the people we serve.
We want individuals and organisations to get involved and use this information to help us improve services.
The SES represents an important stage in our drive for equality. It brings together our previous separate equality schemes, strategies and action plans into one document.