Newham's Equality and
Cohesion Plan (Single Equality Scheme)
Our Equality & Cohesion Plan
(Single Equality Scheme) sets out how we will meet our obligations
as a public body under the Equality Act 2010.
Equality Objectives
Our key equality objectives, for the purpose of the Equality Act
2010, are set out in the Plan. The three key objectives are:
- Building personal and economic capacity
- Cultivating trust and fairness
- Connecting people
The council consulted on the equality objectives for the Equality
and Cohesion Plan in early 2011 and information on this can also be
found on this page. These equality objectives have been set within
the context of the
Building
Resilience Policy which the council also consulted with
partners and residents on throughout 2011. The Council monitors a
range of equality related data to ensure we are meeting these
objectives. This equality data and the three key equality
objectives will be measured against the Resilience Performance
Framework that we are currently developing (which replaces the
previous Local Area Agreement) to deliver the vision as set out in
the Resilience policy.
Newham's Equality and Cohesion Plan
We developed the Plan using the previous Equality Schemes for Race,
Gender and Disability as a starting point and following the stages
outlined below:
- Review of existing schemes
- Review of performance date and the results from our mainstream
consultation and engagement such as the Annual Residents' Survey,
Liveability Survey and data from service consultation such as the
Tenants' Survey.
- Involvement and consultation with local people and
organisations including focus groups and stakeholder events.
- Staff satisfaction survey results and feedback from staff focus
groups arising from the 2009 Staff Satisfaction Survey
- We will also be holding a 12 week consultation as part of
agreeing the final Scheme and will incorporate feedback on the
draft of the Scheme from residents and employees.
- Formal consultation, revision and agreement
A summary of the consultations findings and our responses is
available to download (Word doc.).
The Equality & Cohesion Plan is fully integrated with Newham's
Corporate Plan and Directorate Service plans and focuses on
delivering equality as part of our core business through the key
principles of:
- Building personal and economic capacity
- Cultivating trust and fairness
- Connecting people
The long-term aim of the Equality & Cohesion Plan is to
eliminate social and economic inequality for our residents and to
build a strong community where individuals are able to fulfil their
potential. The three year Plan runs from April 2011 until March
2014. It will be refreshed annually and revised for 2014.
Equalities Information
As part of our Equality and Cohesion Plan monitoring and in line
with our duties under the
Equality
Act 2010, we have identified equality information which we are
using to measure progress on delivering the targets in the Plan. We
review our performance targets and priorities as an organisation on
an annual basis, and our equality objectives and data are fully
integrated into our overall performance management framework and
corporate business plan and service plans. We will use the equality
information collected to help us to understand the impact of our
polices and practices, to improve our mainstream services ensuring
that they are accessible for all residents, and also deliver
equality as an employer.
Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs)
EqIAs contribute to our Equality & Cohesion Plan by capturing
how we have paid due regard to equality in the conduct of our
mainstream business. Comprehensive training is provided for
officers across the Council on EqIAs to ensure that assessments are
conducted at the right time, for the right things and to the
highest standards, in line with the principals of High Performing
Newham.