Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Our Equality Ethos

We prides ourselves in our proactive approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion which stems from the Social Model of Disability.

The Social Model of Disability takes the focus away from the individual and gives it to the environment (this could be a person, policy or place). With the belief that it is environmental barriers that cause a person to become disabled, the Council has the opportunity to remove such barriers and promote barrier free design by automatically incorporating aids and adaptions to promote inclusion.

Although this model is specific to disability, the general principals can be and are employed to prevent the discrimination of those with other protected characteristics.

We know some individuals or groups of people can experience or feel more discrimination or unfairness than others.  Under the Equality Act 2010 the characteristics of Age, Sex, Gender Reassignment, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnicity, Religion and Beliefs, Marriage and Civil Partnership and Pregnancy and Maternity are protected by law. 

Our unique approach

However, we believe that separating these characteristics does not help with true inclusion. We acknowledge that people are unique individuals and may have more than one protected characteristic. People can feel excluded through class, poverty and other factors such as poor health, distress, education, etc. As such we aim to ensure, that where possible we support your needs, eliminate discrimination and promote inclusion.  

We believe everyone in North West Leicestershire deserves excellent 'fair and equitable public services', which reflects individual needs and circumstances or situations. 

Equalities in North West Leicestershire means it is a place where:

• Diversity is seen as a strength
• People's differences are understood and respected
• Everyone has a responsibility to promote and support good relations between all local communities
• Services are fully accessible for everyone
• The workforce reflects the community we serve
• There is zero tolerance / acceptance of unlawful discrimination and harassment of any kind
• Everyone is able to access / get to the opportunities and life chances on offer to achieve their potential

NWLDC Equality and Diversity Policy

Our Equality Objective for the period 2019 - 2022 is:

'Carry out an equality analysis in relation to: access to services, the effect of services, proposed policies and changes to existing policies, in respect of the nine protected characteristics. To enable us to fully understand our service users and ensure we have paid ‘due regard’ to those with protected characteristics. The Council will also ensure all members of staff receive face to face equality training which will also form part of staff induction.'

For more information please read our current Equality and Diversity Policy.

Equality & Diversity Policy. 2019 - 2022 (Word Document, 0.1 Mb)

Equality Monitoring

What is equality monitoring?

The Council is committed to the delivery of excellent public services to all communities in the district.

This can only be achieved if we understand and know who the residents, workers and visitors of North West Leicestershire are, together with knowing what their needs are and the impact our services currently have on them. We are only able to do this if we have appropriate monitoring systems in place.

Equality monitoring is the process of collecting, storing, and analysing data about the ethnic background, sex, gender reassignment, age, religion or belief, disability and sexual orientation of service users or potential service users, employees or potential employees.

Why do we need to ask such personal questions?

Ever wondered why we ask you so many personal questions? 

We are not just being nosey - asking questions can help us to improve the services we deliver to our communities and to you. 

If through monitoring, we find certain groups of people are not using certain services, we can address this to make sure everyone gets fair and equal access to our services – regardless of their age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, race/ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual orientation.

We need to be confident in asking these questions of our residents or customers in our day-to–day roles, whether over the phone or in person.  

It is useful to remember:

• Information provided by you is confidential under Data Protection legislation.  
• Information is not passed onto anyone else and is not used to check citizenship status or nationality.  
• You are not obliged to provide this information……….but it's our duty to ask all these questions. 

Equality framework for local government

What is the Equality Framework for Local Government?

The Equality Framework for Local Government (EFLG) replaced the Equality Standard for Local Government when it came into effect on the 1st April 2009. More about the Equality Framework

Equality impact assessment

Equality Impact Assessments or EIA's are a way of finding out whether our services or policies will affect some communities or groups of people differently. More about the Equality Impact Assessment.

Interpretation and translation

We offer interpretation and translations of our documents, as well as making documents available in large print, Braille, on audio cassette or computer disk.  We can also provide information in languages other than English. More about interpretation and translation

Get in touch

For more help and advice in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion please contact us: equality@nwleicestershire.gov.uk

Or call us on 01530 454545