We will work with our partners to reduce inequalities between people and places in the borough, and champion equality

Why is this important?

We recognise that Bexley is greatly enriched by the work of our partners and our community and voluntary sector and believe that effective partnership working enables us to innovative with our resources, and achieve the best for Bexley residents.

The London Borough of Bexley is in a position of influence to other organisations and employers in Bexley. We can be a force for positive change in Bexley if we influence all our partners to promote equality alongside us.

A reputation as a strong and inclusive leader will help to build trust in us and improve civic participation amongst residents from all backgrounds.

Providing equal access to opportunities and services, and working to prevent discrimination, abuse, hate crime and modern slavery, will help all of our residents to thrive and meet their potential.

Some of the work we are already doing to achieve this:

• our Bexley Twofold Scheme supports disabled residents into work
• our Equality and Inclusion Steering Group, made up of representatives across the organisation, provides strategic oversight of our equalities work
• Councillors are provided with equalities training
• we are part of the London Council’s Race Equality Project
• we have commissioned Stop Hate UK, funded by the Bexley Safer Neighbourhood Board and MOPAC, to provide support to residents affected by hate crime and to help prevent hate crime
• our Community Safety Partnership works to ensure that Bexley is a safe place for everyone
• our libraries are welcoming, inclusive and safe spaces for everyone

We will commission and deliver effective and inclusive services that meet the needs of all residents

Why is this important?

We provide and commission a wide range of services to Bexley residents – who all have different backgrounds and needs. Some groups and individuals may have more complex needs, be under-reached, be harder to reach, or need adjustments so that they can access our services.

Providing the right services for people who need them and spending wisely to have a positive impact is part of our commitment in our Bexley Plan to be an efficient and effective council. We want to tackle barriers and see more equitable outcomes between people and places across Bexley. 

Some of the work we are already doing to achieve this:

• we provide mandatory equality training to all staff, as well as service specific training
• we use Equality Impact Assessments and provide guidance and training to staff on how to effectively do them
• we collate information about our residents in our regularly updated Data Hub
• we monitor and analyse data about residents and the people our services are supporting
• we provide Easy Read versions of many of our policies
• we continuously update our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment so that we can understand the health and wellbeing needs of our residents and plan our services
• our Bexley Youth Council gives young people an opportunity to engage in our work
• our Community Champions programme provides an ongoing mechanism for residents to discuss what matters to them

We will recruit, develop and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects our population

Why is this important?

We have a duty of care towards our staff and want to do what we can to support our staff to be healthy and feel a sense of belonging at work. Some of our staff are disabled or have long-term health conditions and we need to ensure they can access the support they need. There is clear evidence that organisations made up of diverse teams working in inclusive environments perform better, more creatively, and have engaged and happier staff. Having a diverse workforce means we benefit from diversity of ideas and perspectives.

The London Borough of Bexley will benefit from growing its reputation as an inclusive employer of diverse, happy, and high-performing staff. This will enable us to attract the best workforce, from the widest talent pool, possible. It is important our recruitment processes are fair to everyone, unbiased, and attract a diverse set of candidates. This will mean we are recruiting from the widest talent pool possible and can appoint the best people possible our workforce.  In turn, this will allow us to best serve the residents of Bexley.

Some of the work we are already doing to achieve this:

• each member of our Corporate Leadership Team has a champion role for a specific protected characteristic
• we have staff networks for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, LGBTQ+, disabled, and women staff. We provide annual funding and communications support to the networks - all staff are encouraged to attend special network events, as allies, and for learning and development
• we complete annual staff equalities monitoring, benchmarked against other local authorities and the borough population
• our induction and Manager Essentials Training programme includes training on equality, diversity and inclusion
• we publish internal communications to celebrate cultural awareness dates
• our Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) Steering Group meets regularly to discuss progress against our WRES Action Plan
• we are a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2)