www.wiltshire.gov.uk
Equality Action Plan Consultation
The consultation period has now ended and we are currently analysing the feedback we have received. We are planning to publish the outcomes of the consultation during May 2008. Thank you to all those who took the time to participate.
The Equality & Diversity Team welcomes contributions and feedback from both employees and people in the community at any time, but particularly during consultation periods. Please see contact details for the team.
Wiltshire County Council (WCC) has published four Equality Schemes (Disability, Gender, Race, Comprehensive) each with a three-year action plan.
We are inviting WCC employees, service users, partners and the people of Wiltshire to comment on
- our progress in implementing these action plans and
- the proposed content for the updated plans
You can do this by:
- completing our online feedback form (links no longer operating as consultation has ended)
- downloading our consultation document and completing and returning section 3 of the document either to any WCC library or to WCC Equalities Team, County Hall, Trowbridge, BA14 8JN
- telephoning WCC Customer Care on 01225 713000
Please contact Customer Care on 01225 713000 if you need our consultation document in an alternative format.
Our consultation document is now available in EasyRead. You can
download the EasyRead Equality Action Plan consultation document (pdf 1619Kb) 
here or telephone
WCC Customer Care on 01225 713000 and we will send you a copy. You can also complete our online
EasyRead feedback form
Our consultation document is now available in British Sign Language (BSL).
Equality Action Plan - Progress to date
Just over 370 targets were identified in our five action plans to be achieved by March 2010. We believe approximately a quarter of those targets have been achieved over the first six months. They include:
In specific service areas
- Libraries - a wider range of stock and displays to appeal to the diverse ethnic groups represented in Wiltshire, a dual language collection and work to support children and young people from BME groups in reading.
- Schools - improvements to boys' literacy through a programme of Globe Theatre training events in schools throughout Wiltshire
- Transport - access to all transport timetables on the WCC website
- Social Care – the development of a central social care helpdesk for easier access to adult care services
- Community Services - more structured monitoring of use of Council services to identify and target groups like disabled people, BME communities, men or women, young people or old people who may not be able to access Council services
Communications/Consultation
- Website - improvements to the Council website so that information is available in accessible formats including fact sheets on social care issues
- Literature – the formation of a database of pictures reflecting the diversity of Wiltshire so that more people can identify themselves with the work the Council does
- Consultation - extensive consultation on the Council’s equality schemes for disability, race and gender to involve the people of Wiltshire in forming Council policies
- Communication – the publication of a clear communications guide for employees to help make it is easier for people of Wiltshire to access information and participate in meetings
Policy Development and Scrutiny
- Assessments - Equality Impact Assessments of a wide range of services, policies and functions to ensure that all aspects of equality & diversity have been fully taken into account in the way that they are developed and operate. Council Cabinet papers must all say what impact they have on equality & diversity.
- Planning - inclusion of equality & diversity in all Council service planning processes
- Policies - approval of all our new and updated equality policies by the Council’s Cabinet, including WCC Comprehensive Equality Policy, Disability, Race and Gender Equality Schemes and Youth Offending Service Diversity Policy.
- Management - updating of the terms of reference for the Council's Corporate Equality & Diversity Steering Group
- Discrimination - introduction of a revised corporate complaints procedure to include a reporting procedure for allegations of all forms of discrimination, harassment or unfair treatment
Human Resources (HR)
- Safety - routine personal assessments for emergency evacuation of staff with special needs
- Support - circulation of information about domestic violence issues and sources of assistance to staff
- Awareness - inclusion of equality & diversity training in the induction programme for all new staff
- Training - additional equality & diversity training for a wide range of staff particularly customer care, library and adult social care staff
- Job applications - Equalities testing of the WCC jobs website
- Monitoring - ensuring equal opportunities across many aspects of the HR function including recording the race, gender and disability of job applicants and Council employees
- Targeting – the circulation of weekly vacancy bulletins to Black & minority ethnic community contacts
- Young people - the setting up of an award winning work experience scheme for young learners aimed at attracting young people into working in local government
There is still a great deal of work in progress
Just over a third of actions were on target for completion within planned timescales at September 2007 and approximately one fifth were delayed although not significantly. A few of the targets are reported as significantly delayed for a variety of reasons eg service restructuring, resourcing issues, plans overtaken by new developments, delays in staff recruitment.
Updated Equality Action Plans
Our equality action plans have been rationalised and updated.
The targets in the updated action plans cover a wide range of Council services, for example:
- Transport - maintaining bus services to rural households to minimise rural exclusion, increasing the number of bus routes with low floor buses making public transport more accessible for those with mobility impairments and introducing fare concessions for pensioners and disabled people.
- Young people - initiatives to increase the participation of disabled young people and young people from minority groups in youth development activities such as the Spark website and youth democracy activities.
- Literacy - developments in schools and libraries aimed at improving boys’ literacy.
- Social Care - continuing to develop easy access to services and information for disabled people and older people through the council’s Social Care Helpdesk.
- Awareness - promotion of awareness of cultural diversity through special events in libraries and participation in annual events such as the Black History Month and International Day for Disabled People.
- Safety - reviewing emergency planning arrangements to take account of the needs of all members of the public, particularly those with sight, hearing or learning difficulties or whose first language is not English.
- Employment - supporting social enterprises which help disadvantaged people into employment.
- Barriers - improving access to countryside recreation for disabled people and removing or repositioning obstructions on public highways which create unnecessary difficulties for disabled people.
- Research - consulting with and understanding the issues faced by migrant and trans-national workers in Wiltshire.
All Council functions, policies and services are being assessed for their impact on equality & diversity issues. This is an ongoing process and more service specific targets have been identified and added to the original action plans. These include:
- Libraries - improving access to mobile libraries for disabled people and to promote the home library service.
- Grants - updating the Arts Grants policy so that BME and disabled people are more aware of and able to access funding opportunities.
- Registrar - relocating Salisbury Registrar’s office to more accessible and suitable accommodation
- Young People - taking part in the Wiltshire Youth Arts Partnership to target BME young people and disabled young people through music and drama projects.
- Language - developing initiatives to support pupils in Wiltshire schools who are learning English as an additional language.
- Schools - supporting the education of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds
The updated action plan also contains targets that are common to all Council services:
Customer care and communications
Our aim is to ensure that all the people of Wiltshire can access Council services and that there are no barriers because of disability, race, religious belief, gender, age, or sexual orientation.
This means providing access to interpreters and translation services, ensuring our publications are available in alternative formats and the content reflects the diversity of Wiltshire, as well as improving access and facilities for disabled people in our premises
Consultation
We are committed to giving opportunities to WCC employees, service users, partners and the people of Wiltshire to influence the Council's Equality & Diversity policies and practices
Within the Council we will improve resources for our staff forums for disabled employees and BME employees so that they are better able to influence Council priorities for equality & diversity. We will also analyse the responses to our annual staff survey and ensure that any equality & diversity issues are identified and appropriately acted on.
Our citizens’ panels (people’s voice, carer’s voice and tomorrow’s voice) are being further developed to create a more diverse membership to comment on our services. There will be more community consultation events, some in partnership with other service providers in the county.
Data collection and analysis
We are aiming for all service managers to have better information about the make up (ie race, gender, age, disability etc) of the community and service users and their satisfaction with services. This will help us to provide accessible and equitable services.
Performance management
Throughout the Council equality & diversity will be taken into account at all stages of planning, policy development and service delivery. Equality impact assessments will ensure continuous improvement and lead to individual targets relating to equality & diversity in manager appraisals.
Procurement
All Council procurement, partnership and contract management arrangements will be reviewed, updated and monitored to ensure they reflect the Council's commitment to equality & diversity. Those entering into agreements with the Council will be expected to comply with specific provisions relating to equality & diversity in the way they employ, manage and train staff and the way in which they deliver services and monitor and report on performance.
Employment
There are four priority areas for improvement which the Council, as an employer, has identified:
- Training & development - we are planning to implement a comprehensive ongoing programme of equality & diversity training for elected members and employees.
- Recruitment, selection and workforce planning - we are aiming for a workforce that reflects the diversity of the local community by targeting a more diverse audience, ensuring our selection processes are fair and actively challenging gender stereotyping.
- Pay & grading - we are aiming to implement new grading and pay arrangements to remove the potential for unlawful discrimination. We will then continually monitor to ensure arrangements remain fair and equitable and that the gender pay gap is reduced.
- Monitoring data - a comprehensive framework for collecting data relating to race, age, gender, disability etc across all aspects of HR activity will be agreed, implemented and regularly monitored. This will help us to identify and address any unequal treatment.
To view the current draft revised equality action plan in full please see related documents on this page
One Council for Wiltshire
The establishment of a unitary authority in Wiltshire will also have significant implications for our equality schemes and action plan. Work is currently underway to ensure that this is systematically taken account of in the planning for the new authority. This includes training those leading the planning to carry out equality impact assessments and equalities proofingkey transition project plans.
Contact Details
By Post
Equality & Diversity Team
Development Services
Wiltshire
County Council
County Hall
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14
8JN
By Email
By Telephone
01225 713510
By Hand
County Hall, Trowbridge
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
