Equality & Diversity

Equality and inclusion are at the heart of our vision and core values. We understand the wider benefits of improving everyone's quality of life and recognise that inequality continues to affect different people and communities in different ways. We are committed to creating and sustaining a modern and supportive working environment for our employees and tackling the inequalities, prejudice and discrimination affecting the diverse communities which we serve.

Public sector equality duty

The Equality Act came into force in October 2010, it includes general and specific legal duties which public bodies must meet.

This includes setting and publishing equality objectives and publishing information annually to show how we meet the general equality duty in the way we provide services, employ people and make decisions.

Setting equality objectives which are specific and measurable helps us to better perform the public sector equality duty and focus attention on priority equality issues.

Our current objectives, as embedded within the Council Plan are:

• We will improve employment opportunities for disabled people: As a Disability Confident Leader, we will improve recruitment and retention rates of disabled people within the council and for disabled residents who are looking for employment through our employability programmes. The Disability Staff Network underpins our approach to inclusion and has ambitious plans including the implementation of a buddy system to provide tailored support for any council member of staff with a disability who needs this. Our employability programmes, such as DurhamEnable and work with jobseekers and local employers, to break down the barriers to paid work faced by people with disabilities, neurodiversities and long term health conditions, further supports our leadership status.
• We will build inclusive communities: We will work with our communities to support their development and give them more control over the factors and decisions which affect their lives. As our communities have differing needs, strengths and potential, and we recognise one size does not fit all, we will target support towards those most in need and help to build capacity and resilience.
• We will build an inclusive and welcoming employee culture: We are committed to creating and sustaining a modern and supporting working environment for our staff and tackling inequalities, prejudice and discrimination. We aim to be an inclusive organisation, with improved staff engagement and effective staff networks.

Gender Pay Gap

Gender pay gap reporting legislation requires employers with 250 or more employees to publish information on the pay gap between their male and female employees. See Gender pay gap for further information.

Durham Insight

Durham Insight is a shared intelligence, research and knowledge base for County Durham providing easy access to information and data on local area and communities. This includes equalities data. See Durham Insight for further information.

Equality Impact Assessments

From 2012 onwards we have published our Equality Impact Assessments with Cabinet reports.

Supporting organisations

• The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a national organisation which provides information and advice about equality and diversity. It also produces guidance on the legal responsibilities which we have as a council.
• The Equality Advisory and Support Service is a free service providing advice, guidance and support to individuals who face incidents of discrimination. The service explains rights under the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998 and can work with you to find an informal resolution to your complaint of discrimination.