Equality and diversity

The Council is committed to promoting equal opportunities and supporting local diversity. This is summed up in the Council's Diversity Statement, in which it aims to:

• Ensure that all members of the community have fair and equal access to the Council's services.
• Ensure that no service user, employer or job applicant is treated less favourably on the grounds of disability, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, faith, colour, nationality ethnic origin or medical status.
• Ensure that no service user, employer or job applicant is disadvantaged by conditions, requirements or practices which cannot be shown to be just and fair.
• Work towards providing a model of good equal opportunities practices for other organisations within the district and encourage a commitment to equal opportunities in the community at large.
• Value and support diversity throughout the local community and the Council's workforce.
• Establish effective engagement mechanisms to ensure that the needs of the Tandridge community are adequately represented.
• Implement the Local Government Equality Standard.
• Integrate equality principles into the Council's policies and strategies.
• Promote a culture of fairness and respect to all employees.

More information on the Council's work in this area can be found in the general Equality and Diversity Scheme

Across the district the numbers of older and disabled people are growing and are factors which affect access to services. To reflect this, the Council has also developed a separate Disability equality scheme which promotes the rights of disabled people.

This includes an action plan produced in consultation with the Tandridge Access Group (TAG) and other individuals. The action plan is regularly reviewed to reflect changing needs and TAG continues to provide suggestions and recommend improvements.
In addition we welcome comments and suggestions from disabled people or their carers about their experiences of District Council's services.

Consultation
The Council has consulted a number of groups for their views on the Equality & Diversity Scheme. It has proved difficult to engage with some community groups, especially those from ethnic minorities and younger people.
Any groups or individuals who would like to be consulted, either on Equality & Diversity issues generally, or on issues relating to a specific group should send their details to the Head of the Equality & Diversity Group at the Council Offices.

Local Government Equality Standard
The Council is pursuing the Local Government Equality Standard and has progressed to Level 3 (out of 5) in three years. It is a national standard which champions the importance of fair and equal treatment in local government services and employment and has been developed as a tool to enable councils to integrate gender, race and disability into council policy and practice at all levels.

The 5 levels of accreditation are as follows:

Level 1: Commitment to a comprehensive equality strategy
Level 2: Assessment and consultation
Level 3: Setting equality objectives and targets
Level 4: Information systems and monitoring against targets
Level 5: Achieving and reviewing outcomes

Each level has been externally validated - Equality Standard Level 3 Validation Result - where we were accredited as 'good'.

Equality Impact Assessments
The Council has screened its policies and services to assess those most likely to impact on different groups of people.
Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) have been carried out for those likely to have the greatest impact to make sure that they do not discriminate. These assess and record the actual, likely or potential impact on different groups of people so that any negative consequences can be eliminated or minimised. It also identifies unmet need which can be used as the basis of service improvement.

A summary of the action points from all the Council's Equality Impact Assessments is attached - EIA Assessment Summary -

Copies of individual EIAs are available from the Head of the Equality & Diversity Group.

Equality & Diversity Group
The Council's work in this area is monitored, co-ordinated and encouraged by the Equality & Diversity Group. Representatives from different sections meet regularly to learn best practice and roll out examples across services.