Equality and Diversity

Epping Forest District Council aims to provide a high standard of service which is accessible to all. Reducing inequality is therefore an integral part of Council business and we will treat everyone equally and fairly according to their needs. We are actively seeking to narrow the gap between those people who are disadvantaged in comparison to their peers.

Do you agree with our Equality Objectives? 

To focus our equality work on achieving specific outcomes we have developed a set of Equality Objectives in line with the aims of the public sector equality duty. This duty requires us to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, and advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different groups of people.

When developing these Equality Objectives we considered the information we had which told us how important these issues were, how they would help us to meet the duty, as well as what we could realistically deliver. We want to know what our residents and customers think about these objectives and whether they will help to advance equality and good relations.

To take part in the Equality Objectives consultation click here.

To read more about equality at the Council and the background and context for the Equality Objectives see the draft Equality Scheme 2012-16  (to be published April 2012).

For more information an equality at the Council email equality@eppingforestdc.gov.uk

Disability survey winners presented with shopping voucher

Local residents Mr and Mrs Harris from Epping came into the Council Offices to collect a voucher for their winning entry in the disability survey, 'Help us to help you'.

The survey was undertaken  between May and October 2011 to find out what disabled people in the district felt was important and therefore what the Council should be concentrating on when providing services to people with disabilities. Mr Harris who is disabled and has difficulty walking said that the quality and condition of our streets and pavements was important so that people with disabilities could move around safely.

   What you told us...

1. Making housing accessible was the most important priority for 84% of respondents,  closely followed by
2. Providing services for people to live independently, 82%, and  
3. Attitudes and behaviours towards disabled people with 76% and was equally important with
4. Services for disabled children and their families, also with 76%

We are working closely with the Disability Equality Involvement Group to make sure the priorities and concerns expressed in the survey are properly integrated into Council services where it has responsibility, and will make sure the survey results are made available to other agencies and organisations where they have responsibility.

The 'Help us to help you' survey report can be viewed here.  

If you would like to work with the Council to make services better for disabled people the Disability Equality Involvement Group would like to hear from you. Please contact Barbara Copson for more information, email equality@eppingforestdc.gov.uk or telephone 01992 564042.

Read more about the Disability Equality Involvement Group including the minutes of recent meetings.

Take part in the Epping Forest lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender survey

Epping Forest District Council is keen to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) people that live, work or socialise in the Epping Forest District, and to highlight the Council as a modern and diverse employer and service provider. Essex Gay (EGM), a leading voluntary sector support group, has also been engaged to help with this work.

EGM has launched a confidential survey to find out what is important to LGBT people living, working or socialising in the district. The views and opinions expressed in the survey will help the Council to deliver services which really meet the needs of local LGBT people. The survey can be completed online by clicking here, or by texting ‘Epping’ to 07949 348820. All completed surveys will be entered into a prize draw to win £20 of shopping vouchers. Regular ‘drop-in’ meetings have also been set up by EGM for local LGBT people to meet, network, share views and information and find mutual support. For details of the dates and venues of the meetings, please contact EGM or telephone 01245 250256.

Equal Opportunities

The Council is committed to equal opportunities. We are sensitive to the diverse communities we serve and seek to provide facilities and services that are free from unlawful discrimination and reflect the needs and diversity of all our customers.

The Council reviewed its Equality Policy and Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy in September 2011, which all our employees and members are required to comply with. These policies aim to promote equality of provision in Council services and equal treatment for all employees or job applicants. The Equality Policy can be downloaded by clicking the link below, and the Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy is available from the Council's Human Resources Unit.

Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 brings together nine separate pieces of legislation into one single Act, simplifying the law and strengthening it to help tackle discrimination and inequality. Most of the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 came into effect on 1 October 2010, and the Public Sector Equality Duty has been in force since 5 April 2011.

The Public Sector Equality Duty replaced previous equality duties for race, disability and gender, and covers the following protected characteristics:
• age
• disability
• gender
• gender reassignment
• pregnancy and maternity
• race (including ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality)
• religion or belief (and lack of belief)
• sexual orientation

The duty also covers marriage and civil partnership, but not for all aspects of the duty. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires the Council and other public bodies to have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it
• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

We will be publishing a range of equality data and information on this part of our website from December 2011, to demonstrate how we are meeting the Public Sector Equality Duty. We will also publish our four-year equality objectives here by April 2012. Our equality information can be viewed and downloaded by clicking here.

Disability Equality Involvement Group

The Council has established a Disability Equality Involvement Group to assist with its work in respect of disability equality. If you would like to become involved with the work of the group, please contact the Performance Improvement Unit.

Equality Framework For Local Government

The Council measures its equality performance against the Equality Framework for Local Government (EFLG), which is a tool designed to enable local authorities to mainstream equality and to ensure that discriminatory barriers are identified and removed.

The EFLG measures equality performance against three levels of attainment: ‘Developing’, ‘Achieving’, and ‘Excellent’. The Council is currently at the ‘Developing’ level of the Framework, and is working towards the ‘Achieving’ level.

To help it to progress, the Council participated in an informal assessment in March 2010, to establish it’s position against the EFLG and to enable the development and prioritisation of appropriate action to take the Council forward to the ‘Achieving’ level of the Framework. The process for the assessment involved the Council submitting a self-assessment identifying its progress to date. An action plan has been developed to progress the recommendations of the informal assessment , and the self-assessment and assessment report can be downloaded below:

Equality Monitoring

We routinely monitor the equality profile of our service users, as part of application forms and surveys, to help us to provide services that respond to the needs of our communities. If, through monitoring, we find that certain groups of people aren't using particular services, we can address this to ensure that everyone receives equal access regardless of their age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. You are not obliged to provide equality monitoring information. Information and details obtained through monitoring exercises is not passed to anyone else, and responses are always treated confidentially in accordance with data protection legislation.

The equality charity Stonewall has produced an information leaflet entitled What's it got to do with you? that helps to explain why we ask for equality monitoring information and how we use the details that you provide.

Equality Analysis

Equality analysis is an important part of the Council's equality work. We systematically assess and analyse the effects our policies, activities and decisions are likely to have on different people by carrying out impact assessments on everything we do which is relevant to equality. We do this to make sure our decisions are fair and our services are accessible to all people in our communities. . You can view our current impact assessments by clicking here.

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion

The Government Equalities Office has responsibility within Government for equality strategy and legislation, and takes the lead on issues relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equality matters.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission promotes and monitors human rights, and protects, enforces and promotes equality.

The Directgov website contains information on all aspects of discrimination.

     Contact the Performance Improvement Unit:
• Telephone us on:  01992 564042
• Email us at:  equality@eppingforestdc.gov.uk
• Write to us at: Performance Improvement Unit, Civic Offices, High Street, Epping, Essex, CM16 4BZ.