Agenda item

Invitees

·         Cllr David Mayer – Cabinet Member for Community and Resources

·         Rhys Cornwall – Head of People and Business Change

·         Tracy McKim – Policy Partnership and Involvement Manager

·         Rachael Davies – HR and OD Manager

The Head of People and Business Change gave an overview of the report. Under the Equality Act (2010) the Council is required to report annually on the progress it has made against the strategic equality objectives contained within its Strategic Equality Plan. The Equality Act also requires Local Authorities to publish staff equalities data, which this report also contains.

This report is the fourth and final Annual Report on progress set out in the Strategic Equality Plan 2016-2020 which was approved by Council in 2016. The council’s new Strategic Equality Plan was received by Cabinet and agreed at our July meeting and is now published on our website.

Since implementing the previous Strategic Equality Plan back in 2016, we have built on our strong commitment to partnership working and have engaged with staff, consulted with external stakeholders and increased our community engagement. The previous plan enabled us to form a basis of measures and objectives, and how these affected our citizens. The measures we put in place through the 9 Equality Objectives, were used to indicate our successes as well as identify where there was room for improvement. The changes made and the path ahead are encouraging; by reflecting on the learnings from this strategy, we move forward with purpose and with a clear direction of improving the lives of everyone in Newport.

Highlights from the past year include-

• The Apprenticeship Scheme was rolled out successfully and NCC were finalists in the ACT Training Employer of the Year award 2019
• ‘EU Citizens Meeting’ was established and we worked in partnership with third sector organisations as well as local EU communities to develop our work in this area
• The successful implementation of our B.A.M.E. Network, which we continue to build on and improve to ensure Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic voices are heard in decision making
• The ‘Work Based Learning Academy’ has created job clubs, training courses and bespoke 13-week training provisions to support young people seeking employment.
• Participation in Oxford University’s ‘Inclusive Cities Programme’ – a knowledge exchange in relation to migrant communities
• The Lighthouse 55+ scheme for older people celebrated its first anniversary and supported over 250 people in the year (referrals to the floating support scheme, are now prioritised to ensure crisis/emergency referrals are dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible)
• A further 9 families (40 people) have been resettled, under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme
• Preparatory work in 2019-20 for the new supported housing scheme for 6 young homeless people, paved the way for the scheme to open in early 2020/21. This was only possible due to the excellent partnership working from our teams and partners such as Newport City Homes and Llamau.
• Our statutory consultation was completed on our Schools Accessibility Strategy, which aims to improve and upgrade the physical access to schools in Newport.
• Development in our work to  promote the Welsh language within minority communities across Newport has increased, thanks to a dedicated Policy Officer and the recruitment of a Welsh Language Promotion Officer
• We have continued our commitment to developing Elected Member Champions, with leads for Race, LGBTQ+, Disability and Impairment,  and Welsh Language, raising the profile of equality work throughout the year across the Council

The analysis of the data for our workforce has highlighted key areas for improvement, which will be addressed in our Strategic Equality Plan 2020-2024 alongside work continuing on our commitment to a representative workforce and the recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups.  

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become even more apparent that equity of access to support services, as well as equity of opportunity for Newport citizens is paramount, and our work within adversely affected communities must continue at pace. Coupled with the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement in Newport we are now more than ever, acutely aware of the work ahead of us to provide a voice, platform and safe community for the people of Newport.

The Cabinet Member commented that the plan gives the fine details of what their manifesto was. There is a long way to go, but huge progress has been made. It was essential for this to be embedded throughout the authority.

Members asked the following

·         The report states a lack of BAME in the workforce. Then they succeeded in getting a job interview. What measures are in place to overcome this? Members then offered a suggestion that names could be removed from application forms, or to just use initials.

The Head of Service was not aware of any specific issues within the Council recruitment process, however the service area has moved to an anonymous recruitment selection, so shortlisting is done without any unconscious bias. The HR and OD Manager further clarified this, adding that when electronic shortlisting is completed, manager simply see “candidate one, candidate two”, no names are included.

Members were pleased that this is now happening. It was then asked when collecting data from those who have applied for jobs, how is the data used? The Head of Service advised that the service area report on the information around applicants however nothing proactively has been done as part of the Equality Plan in terms of applications. It was added that the service area might need to consider potentially positive action if the evidence is there to suggest that is required and what the options could be, but that is something they would need to look at in the future.

·         Members commented that it is difficult to look back over a long period of time and can appreciate why. Members voiced concerns about how things are reported. Example was given on page 27 of the report – Reducing poverty and the actions on how we are expecting to do this to ensure children have the best start in life, down to targeting work in our most deprived areas. The Council is good at providing examples of what we are doing as a result of this however there are no comparisons with other local authorities or looking at best practice. Events such as Jobs Fairs are being held, but what are the outcomes from these events?

The Head of Service took the Member’s point on board and advised the committee that the report is a complicated piece of work. Going forward, with reporting the service area can pull together more detail, but is difficult within the context of the Strategic Equality Plan to pull some of those things together. The Head of Service then suggested that there could be additional reporting around the actual poverty agenda and how Newport sits within the Welsh Index of multiple deprivation. This information and comparisons could be given the committee if they wished.

·         We had started to look at closing the gap between NHS provision and Council provision for the First 1000 Days of Life Programme. Progress had been made but it seems to had slipped off the agenda. Are there any updates?

Members were advised that the lead officer for this is currently on secondment, however the service area have been working closely with health colleagues and partners around the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) agenda. Some details of the adverse childhood experiences are picked up in the report. There is also other preventative work taking place in schools and looking at the ACEs agenda in partnership. Members were also advised that we are looking to launch a report about triggers to exploitation, which is a related piece of work around poverty and how it affects young people.

·         Members complimented the positive action with the work within the BAME community, and wished to seek assurances that the Council are working equally as enthusiastically with the LGBTQ community. Comment was also made that it would be good in the future reports to have figures on how we integrate people from Eastern Europe into our employment strategy, as they integrate and contribute incredibly well into our society.

The Head of Service advised that the Eastern Europe EU Exit has been picked up. There has been a specific work stream there about working with the Councils own workforce and providers, and also the wider population across Newport around the settle status issues. It was then advised that the Brexit Task and Finish group report is going to the Cabinet meeting on the 11^th November 2020, which includes information around the work that has been completed with communities.

The Head of Service then added that the Council is one of the largest employers in the area, and as such it is important for the workforce to reflect the communities in which the Council serve. The Policy Partnership and Involvement Manager then advised the committee that there will be a much heavier influence in the new plan on LGBTQ, engagement has been held with the LGBTQ community and the team are in process of building a staff network. Members were also advised of additional work taking place, such as work being led by the Youth Council, along with partnership work with community groups and external support groups. Participatory budgeting work has also taken place to look at using funding to support those who have been affected. The committee were then advised that the Chair of this Scrutiny committee is the Champion for LGBTQ.

·         Query was made about the Cross-Authority Gypsy and Traveller Project. Members enquired what this project does, is it currently active and if so, why do we keep on having unauthorised settlements?

The Head of Service advised that due to the Covid pandemic and restrictions we are placed in, have led to some of the issues we have had this year. The Policy Partnership and Involvement Manager advised the committee that we have funding for community cohesion work for Newport and Monmouth. There is a range of cohesion work for issues across the border. It was explained that there is a lot of engagement work with these communities and we also advise other bodies and talk to the Police and colleagues within the Council about the rights of the Gypsy Roman Traveller (GRT) community.

It was advised that there is a specific challenge around Covid. However, the encampment and challenging is something that the service area cannot pick up as part of the Equality’s agenda.

Members appreciated that Covid makes a difference, but commented that the issue is respecting the rights of travellers. If the Council could do liaison work with those who are using unauthorised sites, to create a more harmonious relationship and perhaps get to leave the site in the condition they found it but taking away their rubbish. The Head of Service responded that the heart of the work undertaken is around trying to ensure that communities work with each other. The Policy Partnership and Involvement Manager advised the committee that as of next year there we have no guarantee of funding for cohesion work which will be a challenge. However, by working with partners and other areas of Gwent we will spread the resource as far as we can and take collective learning.

·         Members queried Objective 4 of the plan: Tackling Poverty. They discussed Communities First and praised their work operating on a ward level, however has since stopped. Is this service still operating in some wards or clusters?

The Head of Service commented that this is one of the difficulties reporting back on the last year of a five year plan. At the time, Communities First was still active, but since then those programmes have now changed. Regeneration, Investment and Housing service area tried to bring together the current existing programme that was designed to tackle poverty to bring into a more cohesive set of programmes in a community hub model. This is still progressing. The service area can provide information on this if the committee would like.

Members commented that some people would like to do volunteer work, the Council could support people in doing this. The Cabinet Member is a fan of the concept, but not the practice. He advised that the Council has recently introduced the Ringland hub model for all hubs to use, however the Covid pandemic started as it just opened. Once Covid has ended, the service area will learn lessons that have arisen from this and make the model much better. It was also advised that community groups will be linked in some way through the four community hubs.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for attending.

Conclusion on report

·         Members wished to see more details on what liaison work with other authorities have taken in regards to avoiding unauthorised traveller encampments.

·         Members commented that the report is very in-depth and loaded with detail. Most private sector reports start off with an executive report, where as our reports start off with detail, then go further on with detail without coming to any highlights. Are executive reports able to be produced in the future?

·         Members wished to acknowledge the hard work that the churches have undertaken through the pandemic for the homeless and rough sleepers.

·         The committee would like to promote the direct interaction between the Youth Council and Newport City Council.

·         Comment was made about data collection, Members would like to know whether Humanist could be added on the Religious beliefs question.

·         Members hope to receive information regarding comparisons with other local authorities from the UK and how we can potentially look at targets and best practice about reducing child poverty.