Equalities page

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Equalities page

Equalities

Bridgend County Borough Council is committed to promoting equality and valuing diversity in all its roles as community leader, service provider and employer.

Equality lies at the heart of everything we do. Equality means understanding and tackling barriers so that everyone has a fair chance to fulfil their potential.

We commit to treating all citizens with respect, and to providing services and offering employment opportunities which are responsive to people’s diverse needs.

The Equality Act 2010 brought together and replaced previous anti-discrimination laws such as the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, and the Sex Discrimination Act 1986.

The Equality Act 2010 includes a new Public Sector Equality Duty (the ‘general duty’) which replaces the previous separate duties on disability, race and gender equality. This came into force on 5 April 2011.

The general duty states that public authorities, such as Bridgend County Borough Council, must, in the exercise of their functions, have due regard to the need to:

Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Act
Advance equality of opportunity, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it, for example by:

removing/ minimising disadvantages
meeting the needs of those who have a protected characteristic
encouraging participation in public life/ activities

Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it, for example by:

tackling prejudice
promoting understanding

The protected characteristics are:

The general duty also applies to marriage and civil partnership , but only in respect of the requirement to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination.

To help ensure that this general duty is met by public authorities in Wales, the Welsh Government has set out a number of specific duties. These specific duties are outlined in the essential guide to the public sector equality duty: an overview for listed public authorities in Wales , and include the development of a Strategic Equality Plan.

The council’s Strategic Equality Plan sets out how we will meet our equality duties and make our services accessible and responsive to the diverse needs of the people who live in, work in and visit the county borough.

Senior level leadership is vital to help ensure that the equalities agenda is mainstreamed into the work of the whole council.

To take forward the equalities agenda the council has set up a Cabinet Committee – Equalities , which is chaired by the authority’s equality champion, the Deputy Leader Cllr David Sage.

Supporting this Committee is the Corporate Equalities Management Group, which includes representatives from each of the authority’s directorates, and is chaired by the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development.

Further information:

o Bridgend Equality Forum

o Equalities monitoring

o Equality Impact Assessments

o Hate Crime

o Welsh language

Other useful links: