Equality & Diversity

Canterbury City Council’s commitment

Canterbury City Council are committed to promoting equality and diversity in everything they do. They provide a safe and welcoming environment where everyone is valued, included and respected.

They foster good relations among their communities. They are clear discrimination, harassment and victimisation in any form are not acceptable. Their motivation is more than needing to fulfil their statutory duty. It is an important part of the council’s culture.

Their objectives

• They aim to embed their approach to equalities in how they:
• Recruit staff and support their career development
• Care for their customers by taking their needs and circumstances into account
• Plan and deliver their services
• Design their buildings and public realm improvements to make them accessible
• Communicate with residents and customers
• Consult and engage with users and residents
• Work with contractors who deliver services on their behalf
• Assess the equality implications in their decision-making processes
• Enable staff and councillors to fulfil their roles

The practical steps they take to meet their responsibilities include:

• Appointing a lead officer and councillor champion
• Providing regular training for staff and councillors
• Making reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of staff
• Consulting with their users including the Disability Advisory Panel
• Having robust and fair recruitment and disciplinary procedures
• Ensuring managers and staff lead by example
• Assessing equalities implications in their decision-making
• Monitoring their employment data and reporting on it every year

The Public Sector Equality Duty

Under the Equality Act 2010’s Public Sector Equality Duty they must have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
• Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not
• Fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not

The nine protected characteristics

Age, disability, sex, pregnancy and maternity, gender, reassignment, race, religion or belief, sexual, orientation, marriage and civil partnership.