Equality and diversity policy

To achieve our purpose (as set out in section 1) North Tyneside Council will:

1. proactively embed equality, diversity and inclusion considerations in everything we do and challenge others to do the same
2. not tolerate discrimination, harassment and victimisation on any grounds, and take action against it. This includes all forms of hatred including those targeting protected characteristics such as: religion and philosophical belief, including anti-Semitism (as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition and supporting guidance ); race; sex;  age;  disability; sexual orientation; and gender reassignment (this is not an exhaustive list)
3. raise awareness of how to report discrimination, harassment and victimisation and the support that is available
4. publish our equality objectives, equality data[1] and report progress in our Annual Equality and Diversity Review space
5. undertake Equality Impact Assessments on our decisions, policies, plans, practices and procedures, and implement the actions identified
6. ensure everyone feels listened to, and has the opportunity to be involved in making decisions about our services, with due regard being shown to peoples’ protected characteristics
7. build understanding amongst residents, employees, partners and elected members of the needs people have due to their protected characteristics
8. celebrate diversity and unity within our communities and seek to raise awareness of the benefits of diversity and inclusion
9. take account of, and respond to, the needs of residents and customers when delivering our services, ensuring due regard is shown to their protected characteristics
10. create an environment where elected members, employees, residents and visitors are confident to be themselves
11. strive to make our workforce more representative of the borough’s population and the residents it serves, by ensuring equal opportunity to access to jobs, training and career progression
12. meet all of our legal equality duties as set out in the legislation and guidance listed in section 3 of this policy
13. require others providing services on our behalf to demonstrate their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

[1] Equality and diversity data

Where we ask employees and service users to provide us with personal information, this will only be used to improve access to and the quality of the services we provide.

Collecting equality information helps us to:

• understand the needs of our residents
• design policies and services which are effective and meet those needs
• demonstrate compliance with the Equality Act 2010, its Public Sector Equality Duty  and other statutory duties
• measure more effectively how we are improving as an employer and a service provider.

We will only collect information when it is relevant and will be used by managers to develop an understanding of take up and need. While employees and service users are encouraged to provide equality information, it is their choice whether or not to answer all the questions. Confidential information will be handled in accordance with the strict controls of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016 and the information gathered will be used to inform North Tyneside Council policy and planning, and to report on performance.