Agenda item

(a)  Approved the draft equality objectives attached at Appendix A for the purposes of consultation.

(b)  Agreed that a report will be brought back to Cabinet with a view to final objectives being approved by Cabinet and Full Council early in 2024.

(c)  Noted that the report was presented to Corporate Improvement Scrutiny Committee on 24 October and a letter from the Chair has been sent to the Leader including additional recommendations for consideration by Cabinet (Appendix C).

The Leader of the Council introduced a report that set out the proposed 2023-2027 statutory equality objectives for the Council in line with the public sector equality duty.  The objectives covered both employment and service provision.

The Council was fully committed to promoting equality in the provision of its services to Slough resident and as an employer to its workforce.  The report set out the current position and progress made in compliance with the provisions under the Equality Act.  The Council had been working closely with the Equality and Human Rights Commission who were advising a number of local authorities on their work to achieve full compliance. The draft equality objectives would be subject to consultation and come back to Cabinet, and then Council, in early 2024 to approve.

The report had been considered by the Corporate Improvement Scrutiny Committee at its meeting held on 24^th October 2023 and the comments and recommendations were contained in Appendix 3 to the report.  The officer responses to the recommendations were set out in paragraphs 1.9 and 1.10 of the report, which were noted.  The relevant points would be taken into account when a report was brought back to Cabinet to approve the final objectives following consultation.

After due consideration the recommendations were agreed.

Resolved –

(a)  That the draft equality objectives attached at Appendix A to the report be approved for the purposes of consultation.

(b)  That it be agreed that a report would be brought back to Cabinet with a view to final objectives being approved by Cabinet and Full Council early in 2024.

(c)  That it be noted that the report was presented to Corporate Improvement Scrutiny Committee on 24 October and a letter from the Chair had been sent to the Leader including additional recommendations for consideration by Cabinet (Appendix C to the report).