Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendations.

Councillor Mullin introduced the report which presented the annual Strategic Equality Plan (SEP) Annual Report 2019/20, which was appended to the report.

            The Council published its equality objectives and four year SEP in April 2016, to meet the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duties (PSED) as set out in the Equality Act 2010.  The aim of the equality objectives was to address the most significant issues and areas of inequality that faced people from the protected groups (people sharing one or more protected characteristic age, disability, gender realignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation).

            The Strategic Policy Advisor explained that the Equality Act 2010 specific duties Wales required an annual report on progress on meeting the PSED, and to achieving the objectives set out in the SEP, be published by 31^st March each year.  The report highlighted the Council’s progress on implementing the SEP and meeting the equality objectives during 2019/20.

In response to a question from Councillor Jones, the Strategic Policy Advisor said that details from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the armed forces would be fed into the Armed Forces Covenant. 

Councillor Bithell commented on hate crime and stressed the importance of national government leading on the management of it, particularly on social media.

            RESOLVED:

            (a)       That Cabinet be assured that progress has been made during the year to

meet the statutory duties; and

            (b)       That the progress made against the Strategic Equality Plan 2019/20, prior to

publication of the annual report on the Council website, be endorsed.