Our commitment to equality and diversity

Outcome: A stronger understanding of the nature of equality, disadvantage, and discrimination in RBWM

1.1 Activities: Strengthen the council’s insights and evidence on inequalities and disadvantage 

• Develop a stronger, cross-council evidence base on inequality and disadvantage in the borough through Phase 1 of the Inequalities Project.
• Analyse and use information from census, the Residents Survey, to strengthen our understanding of the nature and impact of inequalities.
• Strengthen performance measures on equalities within the Corporate Plan and across Service Plans and contract monitoring.

Progress update: The Inequalities Project evidence pack was completed and shared ¬¬with council officers and councillors and with the individuals and groups who had been involved in the project. Along with information from the Census, the Residents survey and other sources of data, it continues to inform our understanding of the experience of inequality and disadvantage across the borough. 

Work to strengthen the consideration of equalities within the council’s performance management framework and other processes such as contract management and monitoring is ongoing.

1.2 Activities: Strengthen relationships with diverse groups in our communities, and specifically those with, or representing those with, protected characteristics

• Build and maintain relationships with groups who reflect the diversity of the community and represent the protected characteristics, including the Disability and Inclusion Forum, the Older Persons’ Advisory Forum, KickBack and the interfaith WAM Community Forum.
• Develop a better understanding of the diversity of local faiths and cultures and take advantage of festivals, awareness events and celebration days to celebrate that diversity through external communications and engagement.
• Continue to empower and engage with the community through the Embedding Community Response programme and initiatives such as the World Cafés.

Progress update: The relationships that the council has with community and voluntary groups within the borough are central to our understanding of the strengths and the needs of our communities and residents. 

We continually seek new opportunities to engage with groups that can provide insight into the rich diversity of our borough, as well as seeking to maintain our relationships with existing groups and partners. 

For example, we have previously had limited engagement with the borough’s LGBTQ+ community but the forthcoming Windsor Pride event has presented an opportunity to develop that engagement.

1.3 Activities: Ensure engagement activities are inclusive and provide opportunities for community involvement in decision making

• Support the identification of appropriate stakeholders to contribute to engagement activities that seek to improve equality and inclusion.
• Develop an engagement framework which can be used by RBWM staff to understand the different levels of engagement (i.e. informing, consulting, participating, co-producing) and identify opportunities for community engagement and participation.
• Undertake effective and mutually beneficial engagement activities, with a focus on ensuring that those with protected characteristics and from under-represented communities are encouraged to participate and have their voices heard.
• Communicate information in an inclusive way, taking account of the language and format preferences/needs of different groups

Progress update: An Engagement Framework was created to support and inform the engagement activities carried out by council staff, and to help us engage positively and appropriately with our communities. 

There is also new guidance around running public consultations, which includes advice on how to use demographic questions to understand who we are hearing from and how people’s opinion and experiences may differ based on who they are. 

We are also exploring how to make our communication and engagement more inclusive, including through wider use of Easy Read, and through our adoption of a Youth Engagement Pledge.

Outcome: An organisation focused on reducing inequalities

2.1 Activities: Embed a greater awareness of equalities across the organisation

• Promote an evidence-based narrative around inequalities in RBWM and raise the profile of equalities work.
• Engage with colleagues and partners to share insights gained from inequalities data gathering and communicate where findings have relevance for a certain service and area of work.

Progress update: The equalities function has engaged with colleagues across the organisation and at a range of levels of seniority to raise awareness of the processes and resources around equality, diversity and inclusion, and to maximise our use of insights gathered through engagement, consultation and performance monitoring.

2.2 Activities: Improve the consistency and quality of Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) to influence and support decision-making

• Develop comprehensive guidance in relation to EQIA development, including training and support for officers and elected members
• Improve the use of evidence to support EQIA through an Equalities Evidence Matrix and targeted support to services to ensure equality impacts are assessed and reflected in key decisions.
• Ensure that appropriate action plans are developed in cases where EQIA identify negative equality impacts and monitor the delivery of these mitigating actions.
• Review and improve the efficiency of the EQIA development process by grouping relevant papers under a single EQIA, particularly those relating to the budget.
• Embed EQIAs into the early development of policies, strategies and related projects to improve their potential impact on decision-making.
• Promote the use of EQIAs as iterative documents which should be reviewed and updated over the course of the development and delivery of a policy/strategy/project.
• Include ‘Children in care/Care leavers’ alongside other protected characteristics, in recognition of the council’s responsibilities as Corporate Parent

Progress update: New guidance was created on carrying out equality impact assessments and an updated process was put in place to make them more efficient and more meaningful. This included the development of a resource for staff to use data more effectively in equality impact assessments. 

The groups that need to be considered in Equality impact assessments were expanded to include ‘Care experience’, the Armed Forces community and socio-economic disadvantage, in recognition of the specific challenges and vulnerabilities facing individuals within those groups. 

A motion was also passed at full council in July 2024 to adopt ‘care experience’ as an additional protected characteristic.

2.3 Activities: Establish clear political and officer leadership on equalities 

• Elected members demonstrate personal knowledge and understanding of local communities and demonstrate a public commitment to reducing inequality, fostering good community relations and challenging discrimination.
• Provide briefings and reports to councillors, including the Corporate Oversight and Scrutiny Panel, on key equalities issues and activities.
• Mandatory equality, diversity and inclusion training is provided for elected members as part of new member induction and on an ongoing annual basis..
• Support members to be more effective in their ward work and aware of the diversity of the communities they represent.
• Mandatory attendance on KickBack’s Total Respect Training for members of the Corporate Parenting Forum, and attendance encouraged for other officers and Members as part of their role as a Corporate Parent.

Progress update: A new Equality Champion role was established, raising the profile of equalities among elected members, giving a member of Cabinet better oversight of council equalities work and creating a link with the Equalities Officer. Additional training is also being planned for elected members around equality, diversity and inclusion and on the role that councillors play in public consultations, particularly as a way of reaching out to the diverse communities they represent. There has been good uptake of Total Respect training among members of the Corporate Parenting Forum.

Outcome: A council which delivers services effectively for all its communities

3.1 Activities: Ensure that the accessibility of physical and digital spaces and resources is considered in the planning and delivery of policies and services

• Ensure that digital and printed resources continue to meet accessibility requirements.
• Consider the impact of the digitisation of key resources and services and aim to mitigate any negative or exclusionary impacts.
• Ensure that the Report It tool is effective and inclusive for reporting accessibility issues.
• Develop a Customer Strategy which serves all members of our diverse community

Progress update: Accessibility checks are carried out on all material published by the council. Accessibility, both physical and digital, continues to be a key consideration of the council and is included within the equality impact assessment process, where relevant. Work is also ongoing to review and assess the accessibility of services and information available on the council’s website.

3.2 Activities: Strengthen the incorporation of equality considerations within the development of KPIs as part of the pre-procurement process

• Use EQIAs consistently within pre-procurement to ensure that any equality considerations are identified at an early stage.
• Ensure that appropriate KPIs are developed and monitored, where potential equality impacts have been identified.
• Encourage ongoing monitoring of recruitment-related equality considerations by suppliers and partners

Progress update: There is a minimum mandatory requirement for suppliers to confirm that they are compliant with current EDI legislation. All procurements involve an EDI consideration and EDI is also a scored/weighted question, where relevant and depending on the nature of the services being procured.

3.3 Activities: Integrate equality objectives into planned service outcomes

• Integrate equality objectives into organisational strategies and plans, including the Corporate Plan and its associated goals.
• Demonstrate evidence of a link between equality objectives, business planning and performance management.
• Service plans monitored to ensure equality objectives are met, with action taken if risks to achievement are identified

Progress update: The current refresh of the Council Plan and the update of the associated deliverables is being carried out with consideration to the equality objectives. Options for incorporating and aligning the different sets of priorities are being explored.

3.4 Activities: Develop a stronger, community-based approach to prevent and reduce inequalities 

• Strengthen our approach to preventing and reducing inequalities through community-based solutions as identified in Phase 2 of the Inequalities Project

Progress update: This objective has been delivered through the Innovation Funding by supporting residents to grow community prevention projects which address the gaps and inequalities identified. Information on some of the projects funded through the Innovation Fund can be found on the RBWM Innovation Fund Project page on RBWM Together.

Outcome: A reduction in inequalities within the borough, focused particularly upon the following priorities which are also goals within the Corporate Plan

4.1 Activities: An increase in the proportion of women and girls who feel safe in the borough, including through a safe, thriving night-time economy *

• Continue the White Ribbon communication campaign and/or work towards White Ribbon accreditation.
• Use Residents Survey data to assess women and girls’ perception of safety in their local area.

Progress update: The White Ribbon communications campaign ran again in November 2024. No new Residents’ Survey data has been collected since 2022, at which point 75% of women and 89% of men reported feeling safe in their local area at night, compared to 82% overall in RBWM. This is higher than the LGA Benchmark of 76%.

4.2 Activities: An increase in the attainment ranking for children in care, SEND and children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) in GCSE English and Maths *

• Increase the number of children in care, SEND and children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) achieving Grade 4 English and Maths at GCSE. 2022 data will be used to set the baseline.

Progress update: The progress on this so far is mixed, with decreases in the percentages of children achieving English and Maths at Grade 4 amongst those receiving Free School Meals (40.0% in 2023/24 compared to 46.9% in 22/23 and 46.3% in 2021/22); those identified as disadvantaged (40.3% in 2023/24 compared to 46.7% in 22/23 and 49.4% in 2021/22); and those with SEN (40.6% in 2023/24 compared to 43.9% in 22/23 and 48.1% in 2021/22). 

However, the percentage of children with an EHCP that are achieving English and Maths at Grade 4 has increased from 14.9% in 2021/22 and 14.8% in 2022/23 to 18.6% in 2023/24.

4.3 Activities: More people with learning disabilities live in their own homes or with their families, increasing the proportion by 10 percent points by 2025 *

• Increase the percentage of working age learning disabled clients who are living in their own home to 82.4% by 2025 (from a baseline of 72.4% in March 2020).
• Improve outcomes for adults with a learning disability in settled accommodation by improving their safety, reducing their risk of social exclusion and promoting a positive experience of social care.

Progress update: The percentage of adults with learning disabilities who live in their own home or with their family was at 75.1% in March 2023, which is an increase from the March 2020 baseline of 72.4% but a decrease compared to the March 2022 percentage of 79.3%.

4.4 Activities: Help to reduce the impact of cost of living rises on our residents, with a focus on those most at risk, through targeted financial and practical support *

• Key activities under this goal will include:
  • Delivery of a range of central government grants, including Energy and Council Tax rebates.
  • Here to Help campaign.
  • Household Support Fund delivery – partnership approach.
  • Warm Spaces Network.
  • Forthcoming work on budgeting skills through the Multiply Fund.
• Incorporate socio-economic considerations into EQIAs alongside protected characteristics.

Progress update: The Here to Help hub has been established on RBWM Together and continues to be updated and promote with sources of support and information for residents in financial hardship. The category of ‘Socio-economic disadvantage’ has also been added to the Equality Impact Assessment Templates in addition to the legally protected characteristics in order to encourage consideration of the impact of council decisions on those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage.

4.5 Activities: Embed accessibility into the planning and design of our streetscape, buildings and public spaces *

• Engage with communities most likely to experience accessibility issues, specifically people with long term conditions, disabilities and age-related mobility problems, to identify priorities and establish where accessibility improvements have the greatest impact.
• Identify an annual allocation of capital funding to be spent on accessibility priorities, based on analysis of need.
• Reviewing public transport accessibility as part of the new Local Transport Plan.
• Incorporate an engagement step into the capital design process, giving the Disability and Inclusion Forum the opportunity to provide feedback on accessibility at the planning stage.
• Seek to expand the AccessAble online accessibility guide to Maidenhead town centre and reviewing the provision of changing places.  

Progress update: Engagement with the Disability and Inclusion Forum continues to inform our understanding of the accessibility needs of residents in the borough. Work on the Local Transport Plan is in its early stages but opportunities to involve the Disability and Inclusion Forum in its development are being explored. In addition, AccessAble has been expanded to Maidenhead and continues to be promoted to borough businesses.

4.6 Activities: Ensure that every child in the borough is able to experience positive outcomes in childhood, through healthy living, readiness to learn, and positive parenting, and support targeted at those most at risk *

• Key activities and metrics are set out in the new Children and Young People’s Plan and will include:
  • Improve school readiness in disadvantaged children, particularly those who are eligible for Free School Meals.
  • Reduce differences between wards/communities in the proportion of children who are overweight or obese.

Progress update: The Impact Report for AfC’s Children and Young People’s Plan can be accessed on the AfC website. This includes positive early reports on the impact of the School Readiness Hub, opened in 2023, and the development of new approaches to promoting healthy weight in children and families.

Outcome: A diverse workforce, reflective of the communities we serve, in which all colleagues feel equally valued and respected

5.1 Activities: Continue to encourage and welcome increasing numbers of job applications from candidates with disabilities, who are care leavers, and from the Armed Forces community

• Continue to encourage and welcome job applications from disabled candidates using the Disability Confident Scheme (current accreditation runs until October 2025), which guarantees disabled applicants who meet the minimum job criteria an interview. 
• Provide support and opportunities to ex-military and reservists, as holders of the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award 
• Provide training and employment opportunities to Borough care leavers in our capacity as Corporate Parent

Progress update: The council continues to follow the Disability Confident Scheme, and to provide support to current and prospective employees who are current or former members of the Armed Forces or borough care leavers.

5.2 Activities: Seek to understand the needs of employees with protected characteristics through engagement with employee networks and data gathering through staff surveys and personal diversity records

• Continue to support the Council’s organisational intelligence capability in relation to protected characteristics data through the update of records of existing employee (which recently saw an 89% response rate) and through information collected about protected characteristics from job applicants as part of the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
• Improve the number of staff who provide information about their ethnicity and religion. The workforce profile for 21/22 identified that there has been a slight increase in the number of staff who prefer not to provide this information. 
• Continue to work with the council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion staff network to promote a culture of inclusion and to develop wellbeing support relevant to our workforce.

Progress update: Membership of the staff Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network has grown over the last year, with a current membership of 25, and a schedule of varied activities is planned for the next year, including around Race Equality Week, International Women’s Day, Pride and Black History Month.

The percentage of employees who declared themselves to have a disability in 2023/24 is 3.6%, an increase from 2022/23 (3.2%). Of the remaining 96.4%, 82.1% declared themselves as not disabled and 14.3% did not respond. 

This data is available in the Workforce Profile: RBWM Workforce Profile. All employees are also required to complete Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) training to foster a more inclusive workplace, enhance mutual understanding, and ensure that everyone is equipped to contribute to a respectful and equitable environment.

5.3 Activities: Deliver a range of measures to improve opportunities for those who want to combine work with family or caring responsibilities

• Continue to offer a wide range of flexible working options including a flexi-time scheme, part-time working, term-time only working, nine-day fortnights, remote working, and flexible retirement. Since March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the majority of the workforce working from home and therefore flexibility and employee wellbeing has been at the forefront of supporting all our staff but particularly those with caring responsibilities.
• Continue to support employees who are Foster Carers through additional paid leave and to support families with military connections as an employer holding a Gold Award of the Armed Forces Covenant.  
• Maintain the ‘family friendly’ policies which are part of the Members Allowances scheme, including a Dependants’ Carer’s Allowance, and maternity, adoption and paternity leave.
  Progress update: RBWM continues to offer a wide range of flexible options and support for staff with caring responsibilities, who are Foster Carers or have military connections as part of the Armed Forces Covenant.

5.4 Activities: Commit to becoming an anti-racist organisation

• Create an environment where all members of staff feel able to be their authentic selves in the workplace.
• Explore the use of Reverse Mentoring as a means of promoting awareness of diversity and equality issues with senior management.
• Strengthen the requirement to ensure diversity in all recruitment panels.
• Review employee-related policies and procedures to ensure they contain no bias or discrimination.
• Review corporate policies and decisions through an anti-racist lens using tools such as Equality Impact Assessments

Progress update: The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion network is exploring opportunities to combat racism within the organisation and is working with other local councils and NHS organisations, as part of the Frimley system and its Anti-Racism Alliance, to learn from examples of best practice.