The report of the Director of Human Resources (Document “I”) asks Members of the Board to consider the work delivered on equality, diversity and inclusion to date, the work planned and approve the actions identified for co-delivery across our system to increase diversity in senior leadership over the coming (next 5) years as set out in the appended detailed slide pack (appendix 1).

Recommended -

That Wellbeing Board Members consider the contents of this report and accompanying presentation slide progress update and provide any feedback that they wish to do so to enable us to incorporate this in our ongoing work.

(Anne Lloyd - 01274 437335) 

The report of the Director of Human Resources (Document “I”) was submitted to the Board Members to provide an update on the work to increase the diversity of Senior Leadership as part of a composite 5 year plan.  The report summarised the role that public sector organisations were taking to embed EDI which would enable diversity in Senior Leadership roles, promoting public sector careers.

The background of the report acknowledged that there was a commitment to inclusivity but that public sector organisations were not where they wished to be in terms of inclusivity and that rates of under representation varied.

The report provided information on the work that had already been carried out to address the issue of EDI in Senior Leadership roles

The previous report which was submitted to the Board on 15 June 2021 set out the context, vision, achievements to date, a baseline of data, the actions, shared outcomes and the next steps in order to realise the ambition and recommended that Wellbeing Board Members approved the actions identified for delivery in the report: 

An action plan with timelines, was included in the current report to inform Members of what would be carried out along with the desired outcomes. Some were fairly imminently due with longer term actions on a timeline of 1 to 4 years for completion.

It was advised that the EDI post that was agreed in June 2021 would be jointly funded and plans were in place to focus on BAME representation beyond two years. Current baseline data was shared with Members and the names of some exemplar companies such as Accenure, Diageo and Thomson Reuters were specified with EDI being at the heart of all of the organisations named.

The Chair asked about the status of the post as there was a need to complete the recruitment.  She further stated that she was pleased with the statistics presented as progress in these areas continued to be made.  It was acknowledged that some organizations worked to national and/or regional targets and had different models for progression.  The Chair queried if there was an opportunity for the District to develop its own targets.  Details of the forthcoming EDI event would also be shared as per the Chair’s request.

The representative from WY Fire and Rescue reflected on the traditional entry methods into the fire service and reaffirmed the commitment of the service to coaching and direct entry.

The WY Police representative stated that mentoring was a really important tool and the organization was keen to support this.  The role of leadership was important but reasonable adjustments for those of an Asian or Jewish background for example was a barrier. 

One Member raised the issue of barriers for women of colour and how could more from the voluntary sector be given the opportunity to progress.  How could this be supported?  In response, it was advised that it was important to support VCS and was already a focus with flexibility key as organisations involved varied.  Some supported work was already taking place via the ICS to encourage voluntary sector participation in the Inequalities Academy fellowship programme, for example.

The question of who would manage the agreed post was asked and it was confirmed that the decision was not yet made. 

It was now a funding priority that was given to VCS to enable people to be available.

Other comments made included:

·         That senior leadership needed to be attractive to people, colleagues needed to promote the benefits or senior leadership

·         Some groups were under represented in senior management roles but over represented in lower band posts in organizations.  The focus should shift to that area to see how help could be given to ‘promote from within’ organisations.

·         In some organizations, historical cuts meant that the gap between levels was considerable and this had the potential to limit progression so a re-organization was needed to address this issue.

Resolved –

That Wellbeing Board Members consider the contents of the report (Document “I”) and accompanying presentation slide progress update and provide any feedback that they wish to do so to enable us to incorporate this in our ongoing work.

Action:Director, Human Resources