Southampton City Council fact sheet
What is an Equality Scheme?
An Equality Scheme is an action plan that commits the council to working for better and more equal outcomes for everyone. In other words, so that all people can experience fair treatment and a more equal opportunity to achieve what they want in their lives.
It is a legal requirement for the council to publish a written Race Equality Scheme, a Disability Equality Scheme and a Gender Equality Scheme. We have combined these Schemes into one document and also included our actions to address inequality issues in respect of age, sexual orientation, religion and belief and gender identity.
What do we want to achieve?
The aim of our Equality Scheme is to help bring about:-
• fair and equal life chances for all;
• a city in which people from different backgrounds will get on well together;
• a measurable difference in equality outcomes.
How are we going to do this?
We will build equality considerations into:-
• our core business;
• our employment practices;
• providing services or buying goods and services from others;
• our partnership working with businesses and other organisations.
What are our priority objectives?
• To eliminate discrimination, hate crime and harassment.
• To tackle long-standing issues of inequality.
• To promote greater equality and increase participation in communities and across communities.
Priority Objective 1: actions to eliminate discrimination, hate crime and harassment
Discrimination, hate crime and harassment on any grounds – race, gender, religion and belief, impairment, sexual orientation, gender identity or age – is unacceptable. Its negative impact is significant. It can undermine self-confidence, wreck individual lives and cause social, economic and environmental damage across communities. Our priority actions will include:-
• preventing incidents of discrimination occurring in the future;
• reducing the risk of hate crime and harassment occurring.
Priority Objective 2: actions to tackle long-standing issues of inequality
We want to continue to identify and address the underlying causes of inequality and increase people's opportunities to achieve. We want to challenge the damaging stereotypes based on race, gender, religion and belief, impairment, sexual orientation, gender identity or age that can reinforce barriers to achievement. Our priority actions will include:-
• addressing inequality through better educational attainment and achievements for children, young people, families and communities;
• addressing inequality through good employment practice and creating wider opportunities;
• supporting better health and well being achievements by working in partnership;
• continuing to improve the quality of the living environment for everyone.
Priority Objective 3: actions to promote greater equality and increase participation in communities and across communities
Combining our data collection, our equality impact assessment work on our major strategies and our consultation on this Equality Scheme has identified where to focus our efforts to drive change and increase opportunities for everyone – irrespective of race, gender, religion and belief, impairment, sexual orientation, gender identify or age. Our priority actions will include:-
• continuing to promote equality of opportunity;
• continuing to develop projects and ways to increase understanding and respect for peoples’ differences;
• developing initiatives and supporting more opportunities for people's participation in and across communities.
What happens now?
• All actions included in our Equality Scheme will be monitored through the council’s performance management system and/or the relevant Partnership Board.
• Annual progress reports will be available on our website.
• The council will continue to undertake equality impact assessments on its services and major new policies, strategies and projects. (We have extended this impact assessment process to include social, economic and environmental impacts as well.)
A more detailed equality action plan lies behind our Equality Scheme and includes a range of individual service-specific actions. You can view the detailed equality action plan on our website.
You can request a hardcopy or another format, tell us more about your views and/or find out more information about our equalities work please contact us.
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Last updated: 24 September 2010