H&F is a diverse borough place in which to live.
We delight in the diversity of our borough, in our European identity and the value added by the variety of differences cultures and communities. Forty-six percent of residents were born outside of the UK, from over 100 different countries.
The disastrous impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis highlighted the importance of community collaboration in tough times, which brought out the best in our communities. At the same time, we witnessed the widening of some inequalities.
We have continued to make strides in tackling inequalities affecting individuals and families ranging from food poverty and health inequalities to access to good quality affordable housing and tackling social isolation. But we know we need to do more.
Excellent progress has been made by Disabled residents and council services working together in an active way to plan, design and review policies and services that affect them. This approach has been pioneered in the Civic Campus development through the work of the Disabled Residents team, which has seen co-production at every stage of the design.
There are now 7 groups across the council working with Disabled residents to co-produce solutions to some of the barriers that they face.
Our ambition
Our ambition is to make H&F one of the most inclusive and accessible boroughs in the country - a place where everyone feels valued, and where residents have equitable access to the opportunities our borough offers.
This means putting fairness, equity, and compassion at the heart of everything we do, and ensuring all residents and staff are factored into how we make decisions and provide services.
Short term goals
In the short term we will:
- drive the delivery of our Equalities Plan through our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Board across all protected characteristics
- continue to drive our ambition to make the H&F Academy a world-class leader through developing exciting and sustainable employment opportunities for all
- continue to support staff networks that co-design changes in how the council can become an employer of choice and foster greater inclusion
- act to reduce the council’s gender, disability and ethnicity pay gaps
- continue to deliver on all aspects of the Public Sector Equality Duty, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
Long term goals
In the long term we will:
- ensure our equality ambitions demonstrably shape how we design and deliver services
- make our borough Autism friendly, through raising awareness, training, and developing community Autism Champions
- deliver events that celebrate and commemorate the diversity of the borough
- ensure the council’s workforce reflects the borough’s diversity at all levels across all protected characteristics
- create a work culture where all staff feel secure and confident in being themselves
- tackle race inequality in the workplace through initiatives such as the Race at Work Charter and Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard
- continually improve upon our offer of equity, diversity, and inclusion awareness
- identify opportunities to bring older and younger people together through mutually beneficial activities that promote greater engagement and knowledge sharing between generations.