Issue - meetings

To receive and consider report 34/07 of the Strategic Director and Monitoring Officer. 

Introduction and Report Summary

a)                 As a major employer and public service delivery body, the Council is committed to meeting the needs of all its employees, residents and customers. To help the Council realise this commitment in a proactive, proportionate and co-ordinated way, a Corporate Equalities Action Plan (CEAP) has been drafted for 2007/8.

b)                 The Plan brings together all the Council’s key areas of work for the current year with regards to the promotion of equality and diversity. It will help us to meet our statutory duties and achieve our BVPI targets for 2007/08.

c)                  The Plan incorporates all the actions from the Council’s recently updated Race Equality Scheme.

d)                 Progress against the actions will be reported on in October 2007 and April 2008. The CEAP will be revised by the end of the calendar year in order to include the action plans from the forthcoming Disability and Gender Equality Schemes (these are both due to be finalised and approved by the end of December).

e)                 The revised CEAP will cover 2008/09 – 2010/11 and will be subject to approval by the Council’s Executive.

f)                    This report summarises the contents of the CEAP and makes a recommendation for its adoption by the Council’s Executive.

g)                 The contact officers for this report are Katharine Doherty (Equalities Officer, 01235 520202 katharine.doherty@whitehorsedc.gov.uk) and Tim Sadler (Strategic Director and Monitoring Officer, 01235 520202 tim.sadler@whitehorsedc.gov.uk).

Recommendation

That the Executive adopts the Corporate Equalities Action Plan 2007/08.

(Time: 3.39pm to 3.42pm)

The Executive received and considered report 34/07 of the Strategic Director and Monitoring Officer, which set out a draft Corporate Equalities Action Plan for 2007/08.  As a major employer and public service delivery body, the Council was committed to meeting the needs of all its employees, residents and customers. To help the Council realise this commitment, a Corporate Equalities Action Plan had been drafted.  It brought together all key areas of work to meet statutory duties and achieve Best Value Performance Indicator targets for 2007/08. 

The Plan incorporated all the actions from the Council’s recently updated Race Equality Scheme.  Progress against these actions would be reported in October 2007 and April 2008.  Members noted that the Plan would be revised by the end of the calendar year in order to include the action plans from the forthcoming Disability and Gender Equality Schemes, both due to be finalised and approved by the end of December.  The revised Plan would cover 2008/09 to 2010/11 and would be subject to the Executive's approval.  It would include equality impact assessments and action plans for each Service Area. 

Members welcomed the Plan. 

RESOLVED

that the Corporate Equalities Action Plan 2007/08 be adopted.