Welcome To Wirral

Race Equality Policy Statement
Disability Equality Policy Statement
Gender Equality Policy Statement
Sexuality Orientation Equality Policy Statement
Age Equality Policy Statement
Faith, Religion and Belief Equality Policy Statement
Community Cohesion and Social Inclusion

 

Race Equality Policy Statement

Wirral’s Race Equality Scheme sets out the council’s commitment to ensuring that our staff, customers and service users are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, colour or nationality;

• We will continue to monitor progress of the race equality scheme across the following areas: eliminating unlawful racial discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity, and promoting good relations between people from different racial groups.
• Recognize that black and minority ethnic communities are not homogenous. Different communities and people within these communities will have different needs and we will work to ensure that these needs are not defined by stereotyping or presumptions.
• Ensure that the council fully identifies and considers the rights and needs of black and minority ethnic people when planning and delivering services.
• Consult and work with black and minority ethnic communities when developing policies and practices with equality implications
• Promote a culture in which there is respect for others, an understanding between different communities and an appreciation of racial and cultural difference
• Ensure that all people, regardless of race, ethnic or national origins, have the same rights of access to employment and that this will be reviewed periodically to reflect the changing culture of Wirral and the Council.
• Work to adopt the existing race hate crime recording system to incorporate a record of the number of hate crimes incidents against people

 

Disability Equality Policy Statement

Wirral Council’s Disability Equality Scheme sets out the Councils commitment to promoting equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people by adopting the Social Model of Disability .This means removing the barriers disabled people face, in particular with regard to education, employment and services. An integral part of this process is the involvement of disabled people.

Recognising that social disadvantage and exclusion is not an inevitable consequence of people’s medical condition or impairment, but rather that people are disabled by society’s negative attitudes and treatment of disabled people.

This can limit their opportunities and choices and prevent disabled people from taking part fully in the life of their community. This discrimination stems from prejudiced attitudes and beliefs about the abilities, skills or characteristics of disabled people and can make disabled people more vulnerable to discrimination, hostility and inappropriate treatment.

In particular we will:

• Continue to support groups and networks of disabled people
• Consult and involve disabled people, groups and residents
• Support disabled people to make choices about their own lives
• Protect vulnerable disabled people from abuse
• Continue to respect disabled people’s dignity

As part of this the Council has subscribed to the Employment Service’s two ticks’ Positive about disabled people’ scheme.

The Council is committed to the Workstep programme which aims to provide support in jobs for disabled people who have more complex barriers to finding and keeping work but who, with the right support, are able to make a valuable contribution in their jobs and where appropriate develop and progress to open employment.

The Council is committed to ensuring that all of its buildings are regularly monitored for accessibility and that a programme of access improvements is put into place in order to meet its obligations contained within the Disability Discrimination Act. It will not discriminate against a person if the workplace is not yet accessible. In order to address this, the council will endeavour to overcome these barriers by providing any reasonable adjustments where appropriate.

 

Gender Equality Policy Statement

Wirral Council recognizes the work that needs to be done to comply with the duty to publish a gender equality scheme by April 2007. This work requires all public bodies to demonstrate that they treat men and women fairly. Public bodies will have to design services with the different needs of women and men in mind.

It will require us to set gender equality goals in consultation with our service users and employees and to take action to achieve them. Although there is only protection in law for transsexual people, it would be best practice for Wirral to afford the same protection to all transgender people. We will follow the Merseyside Police by defining transgender as “a generic term commonly used to cover those people who do not conform to the existing social and cultural classifications of men and women. It embraces transsexual people, transvestites, cross dressers, intersex people and others whose gender is not easily defined”

In order to comply with this legislation we will:

• Collect information about the proportions of men and women using services and employed at different levels in the organization
• Take steps to promote a gender balance at all levels in the workforce. This point includes the promotion of flexible working practices
• Develop clear action points to promote equal pay within the workforce
• Consult employees and stakeholders as appropriate when setting equality goals and actions
• Conduct and publish gender impact assessments for all major employment, policy and service developments
• Demonstrate how gender impact assessments have been prioritized
• Train staff in connection with the duties imposed by the Act
• Produce a document detailing our gender equality goals and action plans linked to these goals
• Monitor progress and publish annual reports
• Review gender equality goals and actions every three years

 

Sexuality Orientation Equality Policy Statement

This equality statement recognizes that employment and service delivery procedures and practices should not be based on the assumption that everyone is or should be heterosexual. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people experience discrimination because of attitudes and practices. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people who are open about their sexual orientation, and also people who are not open about their sexual orientation but are assumed to be lesbian, gay or bisexual may face discrimination when trying to gain access to education, training, job opportunities and mainstream services.

This statement recognizes that everyone has the right to define their own sexual orientation and that discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is unacceptable. There is a need to confront and challenge the effects of homophobia and disadvantage by encouraging the participation of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in reviewing, planning and developing services.

Wirral Council recognizes that the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities have different needs and that these needs should not be defined by stereotyping or presumptions. In order to do this we will:

• Work towards enabling lesbian, gay and bisexual employees at all levels in the workforce to feel safe in being open about their sexual orientation
• Take positive steps in conditions of service to take account of the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual employees, including recognition of their needs as partners, having partners, and as parents and carers
• Ensure that existing equality and diversity training courses and induction include anti-homophobic awareness and its impact on the organisation policy and activities of the council.
• Ensure that information, publicity and advertising over which the council has control and or influence is non homophobic and uses positive images and language to counteract the effects of homophobia. Where appropriate the images and language used should promote equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
• In policy development, service planning and delivery, the council will ensure that people do not receive a different quality of service due to their sexual orientation.
• Work to adopt the existing race hate crime recording system to incorporate a record of the number of hate crimes incidents against people.

 

Age Equality Policy Statement

Ageism is the discrimination against people based on assumptions and stereotypes about their age. Ageism can be directed at people of any age but is often targeted at younger or older people. Definitions of young and old change over time according to social, political and economic factors and the stereotypes are based on perceived notions of a person’s ability and potential. In order to address age discrimination the council will:

• Continue to support mechanisms that work with old and young people such as the Older People’s Parliament and the Youth Forums
• Provide services for young and older people to meet their particular needs including provision targeted specifically at youth groups and older people’s groups
• Develop access to decision making forums that take account of access needs of young and older people (venues, time etc.)
• Ensure that young people and older people are effectively represented in all consultation that the council undertakes with the voluntary and community sectors
• Work towards ensuring that young and older people have their views taken into account separately from those of families and carers, and provide independent advocates where necessary
• Work to adopt the existing race hate crime recording system to incorporate a record of the number of hate crimes incidents against people

 

Faith, Religion and Belief Equality Policy Statement

This equality statement recognizes that employment and service delivery procedures and practices should not be based on the assumption that everyone is or should belong to a specific faith, religion or belief. People who follow faiths, religions and beliefs may experience discrimination when trying to gain access to education, training, job opportunities and mainstream services because of attitudes and practices.

The statement recognizes that everyone has the right to follow their own chosen faith religion or belief and that discrimination on the grounds of belief systems is unacceptable. There is a need to confront and challenge the effects of discrimination and disadvantage by encouraging the participation of people from faith communities in reviewing, planning and developing services

Wirral Council recognizes that faith communities are not homogenous. Different communities and people in the communities have different needs. Needs should not be defined by stereotyping or presumptions.

To achieve this, the council will:

• Work towards enabling employees at all levels in the workforce to feel safe in being open about their faith, religion or belief systems
• Take positive steps in conditions of employment to respect and take account of the rights of employees to follow the observances of their chosen faith, religion or belief system
• Make provisions for religious awareness training in existing diversity training courses
• Ensure that all information publicity and advertising over which the council has control and/or influence is not prejudiced and uses positive images and language to counteract the effects of religious discrimination
• In policy development service planning and delivery the council will ensure that requirements according to their faith, religion or belief will be taken into account.
• Work to adopt the existing race hate crime recording system to incorporate a record of the number of hate crimes incidents against people who belong to a particular faith, religion or belief system.

 

Community Cohesion and Social Inclusion

Wirral Council believes that this policy and the procedures and performance management systems that support it will help to create cohesion with all members of its workforce and will help us to deliver better services to all of the residents of Wirral in a socially inclusive way.

The policy acknowledges that equalities legislation exists in a number of areas and that as a council we want to go further with our equalities agenda than the existing legislation. This means that not only will we provide our employment practice and service delivery in a way that is fair, we will also ensure that other vulnerable groups are catered for. We will use our understanding of deprivation through analysis of data to support the needs of those people with mental health problems, poor literacy, poor health and other social problems.