Equality Act 2010

The new Equality Act came into force in October 2010 bringing together all equality strands, (including religion and sexual orientation), within one piece of legislation and sets out clearly our general and specific public duties.

Meeting our Public Duties
As a Council we take the following general public duties very seriously:

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct that is unlawful under the Act
• Advance of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
• Foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

We will pay due regard to the nine protected characteristics: 

Age; Gender; Gender re-assignment; Disability; Ethnicity & Race; Sexual orientation; Religion & belief; Marital status & civil partnership; pregnancy & maternity

As a council, we are determined to continually develop our equality and diversity agenda, not just to meet our increasing statutory responsibilities in this area but because it is fundamental to our aim of delivering excellence and continuous improvement in all our services.

Equality Information
The Council is publishing a range of equality data and information on this section of the website to demonstrate how it is meeting the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Council's four-year equality objectives will also be published here by April 2012.

Publishing relevant equality information will make public bodies transparent about their decision-making processes, and accountable to their service users. It will give the public the information they need to hold public bodies to account for their performance on equality.

Workforce Equality Information
The Council publishes a range of equality information in respect of its employees and workforce. This can be viewed and downloaded by clicking the document below.


Equality Impact Assessment
Equality Impact assessment is an important part of the Council's approach to equality. Impact Assessment is a way of systematically assessing the effects that our policies, projects and decisions are likely to have on different people, and aid good decision making and ensure that the services we provide are fair and accessible to all. You can view our current impact assessments by clicking here.


Consultation and Engagement
The council carries out a range of consultation and engagement, both to help inform our decision making and to work to ensure all members of the community can influence how services are run. Feedback and results from consultations can be found on the Have Your Say