Decision details

RESOLVED:

That the following recommendations be made as part of the Committee’s review and the report and recommendations be sent to the Mayor and cabinet:

1.         A Fairer Lewisham Duty should be established requiring the Council to consider socio-economic disadvantage in its decision making process.

a. All Equality Impact Assessments should consider socio-economic disadvantage on the same basis as the nine statutorily protected characteristics.

b. Lewisham Council should produce clear guidance for staff, Councillors, partner organisations and the public, explaining the Fairer Lewisham Duty, with reference to the Interim Guidance for Public Bodies produced by the Scottish Government.

2.         Intersectionality should be considered as part of the Equalities process.

a. Each department and all project leads should consider issues of

intersectionality, and a range of diverse groups and their needs.

b. The Council should listen to, include, and meaningfully collaborate with diverse groups. There should be diversity of individuals and diversity of organisations. One voice cannot speak for all.

c. In funding, designing and commissioning services the Council should take an intersectional approach. This could include;

i. Ensuring diverse organisations closest to the ground take the lead in project design and implementation.

ii. Recognise and trust the expertise and lived experiences of organisations and movements, especially those representing marginalised groups.

iii. Funding diverse organisations and movements to facilitate safe spaces where particularly marginalised communities can feel empowered to speak freely.

d. The Council should build a senior management team with a culture of inclusion that reflects the diversity of communities and overlapping identities in Lewisham.

e. The Council should create a culture that celebrates difference by appreciating the contributions that everyone can make.

3.         A more proactive approach should be taken to address the Public Sector Equality Duty.

a.   Equality objectives should be specific, achievable and measurable.

b. Equality objectives should be readily understandable to the public.

c. Equality objectives should identify areas of work via which improvements in equality can be made.

d. Progress in these areas of work should be monitored and reported.

4.         Staff Diversity Forums should be empowered within the Council.

a. Forums should have a clear remit as to their purpose and how they contribute to the improvement of the Council.

b. Forums should have a set time to meet to discuss, promote and air concerns staff may have affecting equality in the Council. This should be adequately resourced and supported by the Council.

c. Forum leads should be given specific time away from their substantive role to plan, prepare and carry out the forums activities. This should be protected time which will not impact on their hours of work.

d. Forum members should be given time to participate in its activities.

e. Forums should be given the opportunity to meet with senior management and communicate the experiences and needs of staff.

5.         The Council should adopt an Open Data approach for Equalities.

a. Data sharing across the organisation should be improved. It should not be a challenge to access data that has already been collated by different teams or departments.

b. Guidance for producing Equality Impact Assessments (EIA) should be clear. Equality Impact Assessments should be data driven.

c. Every Equality Impact Assessment should be logged by Corporate Services and published on the Council website making it accessible to all.

d. Steps should be made to ensure individuals are confident sharing their data with the Council to help improve services. At the point where individuals share their data agreements should be in place to allow for this to be anonymised and shared where necessary.