Agenda item

To submit a report by the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer.

Submitted - the Annual Equality Report 2021/22 for consideration by the

Committee.

The Leader of the Council said that under the Equality Act 2010 Statutory Duties (Wales) Regulations 2011, the Council must publish an annual report on equality.  The main purpose of the report is to show how the Council meets its equality duties.  She noted that the report gives examples of how the Authority promoted equality within the communities and the workforce, explaining how relevant information is collected, outlines the arrangements for carrying out impact assessments, gives an outline of progress in achieving equality objectives and identifies the priorities for the next twelve months.  There is also reference within the report of the achievement of pupils in schools and the achievement of pupils who received free school meals. 

In considering the Annual Report on Equalities for 2021/2022 the Committee discussed the following:-

·           What are the main challenges faced in terms of mainstreaming equality with the Council and also what are the difficulties with conscious bias?

The Leader responded that there are data gaps, with the Authority being eager for staff to feel willing and comfortable to share their personal information.  She noted that prejudice is an issue and it is found that society is finding it difficult to cope with different situations.   She further said that in the next Annual Report it will demonstrate how the political representation has changed within the Council. The work undertaken to encourage people from different backgrounds to put their names forward to be Elected Members on the Council has been positive.  Following the local government election last May there are younger Elected Members and more women.  The Leader further referred to the pay gap between men and women and that this Authority does not pay bonuses. The gender pay cap is much lower than the average across the UK.  The Policy and Welsh Language Manager referred to unconscious bias and it is recognised as a challenge.  Training on unconscious bias is offered to Officers of the Council on a regular basis.

·           A new Strategic Equality Plan will need to be approved by 1^st April, 2024.  How do Officers intend to go about gathering relevant information in order to inform our objectives for 2024-2028?

The Head of Democracy responded that the Equality and Human Rights Commission make it clear that the Authority must engage and consult widely to gather information as regards to equality objectives.   Work will be undertaken to gather information from representatives of groups protected under the equalities act.  The Authority is fortunate that there are partner organisations such as Medrwn Môn that the Council can utilise to access protected groups. He further said that the Equalities Commissions expertise and guidance will also be used to inform the Authorities engagement activities.

·       What will be the role of this Committee in the process of developing new equality objectives?

The Policy and Welsh Language Manager responded that this Committee has a key role to contribute into any consultation on the equalities objectives within the Council. She noted that engagement will be undertaken with different protected groups to ascertain what they consider should be the Council’s objectives and this Committee’s input would be welcomed.

The Committee raised the promotion of the use of public transport, there are issues with the loss of bus routes and some buses not arriving on the specific time within their timetable.  The Leader of the Council responded that grants are currently received from Welsh Government to maintain accessible bus routes, however, there are issues with transport routes in rural areas.  During continued discussions with Welsh Government the fact that their Transport Strategy does not respond to needs and challenges of rural areas is emphasised.

·       Are there schemes in place to close the attainment gap of pupils who receive free school meals performance compared to pupils that do not receive free school meals? What will be the impact of the Welsh Government decision to offer free school meals to all primary school children?

The Leader of the Council responded that she has concerns as to how the formula is used to measure if a child is eligible for school meals.  She noted that there are families that are eligible to receive free school meals for their children who do not claim. This came apparent during the pandemic with more children qualifying for free school meals.  The Leader further referred to the attainment of the gap between pupils who receive free school meals compared to pupils who do not qualify and noted that she considered that a fairer formula needs to be introduced.  The Director of Education, Skills and Young People said that poverty can have a detrimental impact on performance of pupils with some families unable to afford school uniform and school trips.  He noted that training for Schools and Governors are afforded to ascertain how their schools policies have an effect on children performance.  A Trauma Informed Scheme is offered to schools with a number of school staff already having attained a Diploma in Trauma Informed.  He noted that the introduction of the new Curriculum for Wales will result in pupils having an individual assessment rather than monitored within groups.  Pupil’s attainment will be monitored and will receive support and intervention if required. 

·      Reference was made that local authorities work with partner organisations. Questions were raised whether this Authority can influence partner organisations?

The Leader of the Council responded that any partnership work undertaken by the Authority is informed by core principles She noted that legislation support equalities through the Local Government Act.  The Chief Executive said that working with partner organisations is important but there is a need to ensure that the Authority does not compromise on its core values and to ensure that it is a joint partnership.  He referred to the Council Plan which highlights 4 values; one of the 4 values refer to is ‘to respect and to be respectful of others’.  He noted that the Authority is committed towards equalities and to protect people who suffer social and economic disadvantage.  Whilst adopting the Council Plan the Authority is committed to create a new Equality Plan next year. The Chief Executive further said that it is important that equalities is incorporated into the Councils Scorecard which is monitored on a quarterly basis; reporting on equalities could then be part of the monitoring process rather discussed on an annual basis.

·      Reference was made to Welsh Governments Pavement Parking proposals and there proposal to give Local Authorities powers to tackle pavement parking  

The Leader of the Council responded that with the change in the legislation as regards to illegal pavement parking it will enable local authorities to collect data which has an impact on equalities as people need to be able to walk safely on pavements. She noted that internal discussions will need to be undertaken as regards to implementing the new legislation, especially enforcement capacity.

·      In terms of the Authority’s impact assessment arrangements, the aim is that identifying and reducing negative effects and promoting equality becomes part of the Council’s day to day work.  How can this Committee contribute to making that a reality?

The Leader of the Council responded that the Committee needs to ensure that an equality impact assessment is undertaken when a report is submitted for consideration by the Committee.  She highlighted the need to consider every person within society when decisions are undertaken.

·      Questions were raised as to how many staff have agreed to afforded data and whether it is sufficient to afford the Council the required information required which could add value to the Equalities Report?

The Leader of the Council responded that the Authority needs to afford staff the confidence to share information.  She noted that training will inform staff why the Authority needs specific data and their responses will strengthen equality.  The Policy and Welsh Language Manager said that data collection is a challenge and work has been undertaken to review the documentation used by staff.  She further noted that staff need to be confident that the data collected is confidential.

It was RESOLVED to accept the Annual Equalities Report for 2021/2022.

ACTION : As noted above.