Quality Services and Opportunities For All

A Single Corporate Equality Scheme for Tameside 2008-2011

Download an Accessible Version of the Corporate Equality Scheme 3.24 MB

What is the Single Corporate Equality Scheme?

The Single Corporate Equality Scheme is a plan that sets out what the Council will do to ensure that everyone has access to services and can have a good quality of life regardless of who they are.

Why is it important that people in the community know about it?

We want everyone in the borough to know how the Council is meeting its responsibility to make quality services and opportunities available to all.  You might have suggestions about how we can improve what we do even further.

Why do we have the scheme?

The Scheme helps us provide quality of life for all residents.  In everything we do we are trying to narrow the gap between the experiences of different groups within our community.  The overarching aim of the Community Strategy for the borough is to reduce inequality.  The Equality Scheme is one of the main ways we make this happen.

The scheme also helps us meet our legal responsibilities.  There are a number of laws which are there to prevent discrimination and promote equal opportunities. As part of these laws, Tameside Council must produce and keep up to date a Corporate Equality Plan, a Race Equality Scheme, a Gender Equality Scheme and a Disability Equality Scheme.  From 2008 TMBC has combined these documents in to a Single Equality Scheme which covers all sections of the community.

Who is it for?

For Tameside, equality is about equality for everyone but there are some groups that the Scheme is particularly aimed at supporting.  These are groups of people often in the minority in society who tend to bear the brunt of discrimination or who are unintentionally excluded through no fault of their own.  They can be:

• People of any race or ethnicity
• People of any sexual orientation
• People of any gender
• People of any religion or belief
• People who are disabled
• People of any age

How is it put together?

• The Scheme is based on local priorities and what people tell us is important 
• In 2007/08 we consulted over 300 people about what they wanted the Scheme to focus on. We also used information about living in Tameside which helped us to decide what to focus on such as education results and health statistics.
• This is the fifth time we have produced a scheme like this and the first time we have put all the areas together.
• The Single Equality Scheme will be updated every year.

Our Plan: Where we are now?

Over the years we have made significant progress in a number of important areas. Each of the four sections below gives examples of achievement and change.

1. ‘Cross-cutting’ issues that affect more than one group
2. Race Equality
3. Disability Equality
4. Gender Equality

Each section has a plan to make sure that Everyone can:

• have an equal chance of working for the Council if they want to
• access the services and information they need
• have a say in local priorities and how services are run
• have a say in what the Scheme itself says

The Four Sections:

1. Cross-Cutting issues that affect more than one group

 We will continue to:

• make sure there is clear political and management responsibility and leadership for equality and diversity issues.
• act as a ‘community leader’ for equalities by working with other service providers on the Tameside Strategic Partnership (TSP).
• track the ‘employment journey’ of all our employees to make sure everyone is getting equal access to training and opportunities to progress.

We will also make sure that:

• all staff are trained to provide services that are accessible to all.
• when we ‘buy-in’ services, such as some social care services for adults, they meet the needs of all service users and that contractors support equal opportunities.
• everyone has access to services and information which help them lead healthier lifestyles.
• when we produce Council publications, we use pictures of all different types of people to reflect our diverse community.

Examples of achievement and change:

• In Adults Services a DVD is available in community languages and sign language to improve access to information about the support available.
• The Council received top-marks from Government for the ‘Supporting People’ housing service which helps vulnerable people including disabled people and young people live independently.
• Mystery shopping continues to be an effective way of checking the accessibility of services; for example, disabled people and young people have been involved in testing services important to them.
• A comprehensive programme of equality and diversity training has been in place for a number of years and is regularly improved. Basic training is compulsory for all Council staff and more specialist training is completed by those working closely with people with particular access requirements such as disabled people and people from different ethnic groups.
• To encourage residents to report hate crime of all kinds, representatives from over twenty local partners which host hate crime ‘Reporting Centres’ have recently received additional training and a publicity campaign will be launched in Spring 2008.
• Council services record the profile of services users and clients, and people taking part in consultation and engagement exercises to identify the particular views and experiences of different sections of the community.

2. Race Equality

We will:

• Continue to monitor the experience of BME applicants and employees to make sure there is equal access to jobs, training and career progression.
• Develop a further strategy to provide ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages).
• Encourage BME residents to attend District Assemblies and to get involved in public life in different ways.
• Provide personal care services for older BME people which are culturally sensitive.

Examples of achievement and change:

• The proportion of black and minority ethnic employees amongst the top 5% of earners within the Council is increasing.
• Tameside’s Bangladeshi pupils performed above the national average at GCSE (70% achieved at least five grades A*-C). Bangladeshi pupils now match the Tameside average for achieving Level 4 at Key Stage 2 in English and Maths.
• Tameside Council and the Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust are working together to produce an information booklet on the different cultures in Tameside and what this means for service delivery.
• The St Peters Youth Project has received national recognition for giving local people in a largely Asian community the opportunity to work in their local area, develop skills, provide positive role models for those around them and promote community cohesion.
• The Arts and Events team, Museums and libraries celebrated Chinese New Year with performances, a parade and family activities.
• ‘The Telling Lives’ exhibition at Portland Basin Museum was the culmination of a year-long project involving local South-East Asian groups. The exhibition told the story of people moving to Tameside in the 1950s and 60s.

3. Disability Equality

We will:

• Identify and address barriers to employment including help with training opportunities and encouraging people to apply for jobs with the Council.
• Make sure services and support for disabled people provide choice, promote equality and put disabled people at the centre – this includes services working together to allocate spending on service users to create ‘individual budgets’
• Identify and address barriers to services – this includes making it easier get around, staying safe and accessing leisure facilities.
• Make sure Council publications are accessible to all and can be made available in alternative formats

Examples of achievement and change:

• The ‘Listen Here!’ Disability Network for Tameside was officially launched in September 2007 – the second annual conference took place in September 2008.
• We have built new accommodation for people with learning disabilities.
• People with disabilities have been involved in designing new facilities and improving old ones for example libraries, Ashton Market Hall, residential accommodation, sports centres, parks and play areas and schools.
• A review of mental health day services has seen the creation of a Wellbeing Centre and community social drop-ins.
• Coaching sessions based on Paralympic sports are encouraging young disabled people to be more active.
• The Council has received Big Lottery funding to improve access to play facilities for children with disabilities and their families and carers.
• The Council’s website is accessible to the highest possible standards and includes information in audio format and sign language.
• ‘Routes to Work’ supports disabled people in the workplace and uses the internet, local newspapers and the Council’s staff newsletter to promote positive images.
• Ongoing and personalised changes are made to the working environment of disabled employees to ensure they are able to carry out their roles.
  

4. Gender Equality

We will:

• Encourage girls as well as boys to take up sports and other physical activities
• Address ‘occupational segregation’ and ensure men and women have equal access to different professions
• Encourage men as well as women to use libraries and museums
• Continue to address fear of crime amongst women
• Make sure that fathers can access parenting support as well as mothers
• Continue to tackle teenage pregnancy and support young parents

Examples of achievement and change:

• The proportion of women amongst the top 5% of earners within the Council is increasing – women hold almost half of most senior positions at Tameside Council
• The Tameside School Sports Partnership has invested over £13,000 a year of Big Lottery Fund resources to roll out the ‘Healthworks’ programme targeting teenage girls age 13-15 years. The programme has attracted over 250 girls who are not currently participating in sport or active recreation
• Various initiatives have been introduced in local libraries and museums to attract more male visitors, including horror book collections, a graphic novels readers group, a ‘Manga’ comics group, and exhibitions on military history
• Tameside Council has continued to ensure that no households including children or pregnant women are accommodated in bed and breakfast or hostel accommodation

More detail about the action plans and progress please can be found in the full document available online through the links in our equality and diversity page, or at your local library.  Alternatively please contact us through the details at the bottom of this page. 

Contact Information
Send us a Message	Policy Unit Tameside MBC Council Offices Wellington Road Ashton under Lyne Lancs OL6 6DL View local map
0161 342 3529