Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Resilience, Councillor David Wood

Officer: Interim Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell

Key decision: no

This item was taken as the second substantive item of the meeting following the Renewing Croydon Improvement Plan – Update.

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Resilience thanked the Equalities Manager, Yvonne Okiyo, and Director of Policy & Partnerships, Gavin Handford, for all of their work in developing the new Equalities Strategy. It was stated by the Cabinet Member that the council had a clear vision for Croydon to be a place of opportunity where everyone could belong. The challenge for the council was to make a difference through its work to continue to improve the life chances and lived experiences for its residents. It was noted that Cabinet was being asked to refer the adoption of the Equalities Strategy and new equality objectives to Council for adoption and to note the engagement and consultation which had been undertaken to develop the new Strategy.

The new priorities outlined within the Strategy were to address social inequalities through the council’s role as a community leader and employer, that the council work with residents to better understand the communities within the borough and that residents are encouraged and supported to live healthy lives. It was highlighted that the outcomes within the report closely aligned with the Equality Framework for Local Government. Additionally, the Equality Peer Challenge by the Local Government Association which had taken place in 2019 was also drawn upon to develop the Strategy.

The Cabinet Member thanked the Scrutiny & Overview Committee, partners and stakeholders for their invaluable feedback throughout the drafting process of the Strategy which had been incorporated where possible.

It was highlighted that the Strategy was designed to be a living document which was owned by the council and ran through all aspects of the council’s activities. At Section 4.7 of the report, it was noted by the Cabinet Member outlined that a high level board would be formed to coordinate the arrangement for embedding the policy and managing the implementation of the Strategy. As outlined within the appendices, each outcome had been considered on what actions would be taken and what success would look like with realistic timelines.

It was stated by the Cabinet Member that work had begun to align the Strategy with existing strategies and policies to avoid duplication and ensure there were compatible objectives throughout all of the policies and strategies of the council. It was recognised that the council was in a very different position than it was when work on developing the Strategy first began but the Cabinet Member assured Members that they had reappraised the objectives to reflect the new priorities and ways of working; as such it was suggested the document was working towards delivering achievable ambition.

The Leader also thanked the Equalities Manager and the Director of Policy & Partnerships for their work in developing the Strategy as it was recognised that a huge amount of work had gone into its development and also supporting the Peer Review. Tackling structural inequality was stated to be a central consideration of the work of the council.

The Equalities Manager thanked Members for their support in developing the Strategy but noted that it was just the beginning and that work would continue to deliver the objectives within the Strategy.

The Interim Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell, noted that given the issues which the council was tackling it may seem to some that tackling inequalities was not the most important area of consideration. However, for the management team, and for the council as a whole, this was fundamental aspect of the Croydon Renewal Improvement Plan. The Interim Chief Executive advised Members that a new council was being built that would be financially balanced over the following three years and that it was integral that equalities ran through every aspect of what the council did and it was important that the Strategy was a living document.

Whilst it was recognised by the Interim Chief Executive that the council had statutory duties to fulfil; the principles and objectives of the Strategy were far reaching and it was important to ensure that the council lived them. Members were advised that the Interim Chief Executive and her colleagues were fully committed to the delivery of the Strategy.

It was noted by the Director of Policy & Partnerships, Gavin Handford, that the Strategy was a culmination of 12 months’ work with the aim being to engage councillors from across the Chamber throughout the development as well as engaging the communities of Croydon. The Director highlighted that the Equalities Manager had undertaken a large volume of research and sought to understand best practice from across local government and the wider public sector which could be seen within the Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon thanked all involved on producing the Strategy during the middle of a pandemic. It was noted that the diverse communities of Croydon, and in particular the BAME community, had been significantly impacted by covid-19 and queried how the Strategy would support ongoing work to support those communities and overcome inequalities. In response, the Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Resilience noted that there were specific objectives in relation to health. In particular, it was highlighted that the report included a section on the inequalities faced during the pandemic.

The Equalities Manager further advised Members that during the development of the Strategy there had been two main aspects to consider; the Black Lives Matter movement and covid-19 and the disproportionate impact of the BAME community. The report, it was stated, included references to the need to incorporate social economic determinants of health within strategies in relation to the economy to support the development of an inclusive economy with sustainable quality jobs. Members were advised that there were two specific objectives which sought to tackle the issue; upskilling of residents in terms of qualifications and ensuring they were job ready, but also in terms of health there was an objective to work with health partners and to use data to inform future provision. Finally, the Equalities Manager highlighted the importance of the document being a living document to ensure it was able to adapt to the developing needs of communities and reflected other upcoming strategies of the council.

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance queried how the council would tackle the middle management blockages of increasing diversity within the workplace. In response, the Interim Chief Executive advised Members that her position was that equalities should be a central element of the organisational development programme and that it should be an integral part of how managers managed their teams to ensure a working environment where staff can thrive was formed. She stated that she felt there were a number of ways you could encourage middle managers to see the opportunities to support and develop staff. It was important to ensure managers were properly trained to enhance and recognise talent within their teams which she hoped to encourage within Croydon.

It was stated by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning that the Strategy reflected the heart of what Croydon aimed to be and she welcomed the commitment to tackle issues such as child poverty. It was further noted that there was a focus within the Strategy in providing the best start in life for children, with educational attainment be key factor and tackling the disproportionate impact of exclusions. The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning stated that the Southbank University will be opening a campus in Croydon in 2021 which would support and train the next generation of nurses which was hoped would support with training residents to acquire sustainable jobs. The Equalities Manager was thanked for her work on the Race Equality Review Board and for supporting the development of the Strategy.

The Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board noted that work continued to be undertaken which focussed on the health inequalities in response to the impact of covid-19 on BAME groups. Workshops had taken place with colleagues from the BAME Forum and the Asian Resources Centre and specific targeted work was ongoing within the community. Members were informed that the Health & Wellbeing Strategy would be updated to take into account the issues raised in relation to health inequalities in the borough.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery & Skills highlighted the importance of upskilling and reskilling of residents in light of the high unemployment rates and with around 57,000 residents on furlough. The Equalities Strategy, it was stated, would play a big part of the economic recovery of the borough following the pandemic with the creation of green jobs and addressing the skill shortage within the health and social care sector.

It was noted by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities that equalities was an important aspect and was specifically important to me but raised concerns as to the lived experiences of residents. It was highlighted by the Shadow Cabinet Member that his own experience, of being a councillor with a disability, had not been positive; following being appointed a Shadow Cabinet Member in 2019 he spoke to the Interim Chief Executive about support which could be provided to ensure he was able to undertake his role. Office space and accessible parking had been arranged following that meeting, however he had not been contacted by the Head of Equalities to discuss reasonable adjustments to support him to undertake his role, as had been agreed. Concerns were raised that if the council was unable to meet its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act to make reasonable adjustments then there was little hope for residents that positive change would take place. The work undertaken on the Strategy was commended by the Shadow Cabinet Member but he remained concerned that there was a culture of writing good strategies in Croydon but there was less success in the implementation of those strategies. 

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Resilience committed to speak with the Shadow Cabinet Member to ensure reasonable adjustments were made. Furthermore he welcomed working with the Shadow Cabinet Member going forward to ensure the council was able to tackle the issues the Strategy spoke to.

The Director Policy & Partnerships apologised that the Shadow Cabinet Member had not had a meeting to discuss his requirements and committed to speaking with him to discuss the adjustments which could be made.

It was stressed by the Leader that the Strategy was central to the council’s improvement journey. It was noted that organisations that excelled in tackling inequalities made better decisions.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.     Refer the adoption of the Equalities Strategy to Full Council with a recommendation for approval.

2.     Refer the adoption of the new Equalities Objectives to Full Council with a recommendation for approval.

3.     Note the engagement and consultation that has been undertaken to develop this strategy and supporting action plan to deliver its key priorities. Its content is applicable across the borough and is intended to benefit all our staff, residents and communities and thereby all who live and/or work in the borough, or working directly with Croydon’s residents and communities.