This Committee at its meeting held on 14th of October 2021, requested a report on the Stonewall Workplace Equalities Index submission.

The Human Resources Director will submit a report (Document “N”) which outlines the process and purpose of the Stonewall submission.

Recommended –

That the committee notes the contents of Document “N” and agrees that further updates on LGBTQ+ representation are provided as part of wider equalities reporting and updates presented to the committee.

(Khalida Ashrafi)

This Committee at its meeting held on 14th of October 2021, requested a report on the Stonewall Workplace Equalities Index submission.

The Human Resources Director submitted a report (Document “N”) which outlined the process and purpose of the Stonewall submission.

In consultation with the LGBTQ+ Staff Network, Champions and Senior Leaders both internally and across the district, the Council decided to make a submission for the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI).

The WEI is a benchmarking tool for organisations to measure their progress on lesbian, gay, bi and trans inclusion in the workplace. Work on the submission has proven invaluable in checking that our organisational policies are communicated using appropriate language and we believe that the submission will secure positive change as part of our equality, diversity and inclusion commitment that will benefit the organisation, its employees and the public and assist us in our journey to a workplace that is fully inclusive of all staff irrespective of their gender, sexuality or any of the other protected characteristics under the Equality Act.

During the discussion, a Member expressed concerns and ascertained why it had taken over a year for a report to be submitted, following a specific request from this Committee, adding that the report submitted lacked any detail.  In response it was stated that given the volume of work in the equalities area, a report had not been produced and that a suitable date to bring a report back to Committee had not been identified.

The Member added that although the questions from Stonewall were detailed in the report, the responses to those questions were not contained in the report.  In response it was stressed that the responses were still being finalised and once ready they will be detailed and shared in a report to this Committee.

The Member highlighted that many of the issues contained in the report still needed political as well as public discussion, prior to their adoption, as many of them were open to interpretation, depending on which side of the fence you were sitting on, such as the concerns and debate around single sex spaces and their safety.  The Councils’ response to the questions posed was therefore crucial.

He added that spending £2,000 on the submission and going to an organisation that had a very specific remit had to be questioned; and that this report in no way reflected what the Committee had asked for a year ago, including details around the process and finances.  In response it was stated that benchmarking had been undertaken and that all the issues raised would be subject to the normal political processes as well as legal appraisal, prior to adoption of any of the standards.

A number of Members expresses similar concerns as already outlined above and that the report posed more questions than it answered, and that it was imperative that a more comprehensive report was submitted to this Committee in due course which addressed all the issues raised at today’s meeting and at the meeting 12 months ago.

It was stressed by a Member that a number of organisations had withdrawn from the Stonewall scheme following concerns, and so the question was why were still using Stonewall?  In acknowledging the concerns, it was stressed that a decision had been made to pursue with the submission, however has had been indicated, no decision had been taken to adopt the standards at this stage, and that further discussions will also be had with the LGBTQ+ network.

Resolved –

This Committee requests that a detailed report relating to the Stonewall Submission be presented to the committee by the end of this year, which specifically focuses on:

-       The process;

-       Costs relating to the submission;

-       Details of the reasons for the Stonewall submission;

-       Questionnaire details and methodology;

-       Responses to the Stonewall Questionnaire.

ACTION:  Strategic Director, Corporate Resources