Equality Objectives Annual Report 2021

The focus of this objective is to continue to improve our equality data and use local intelligence and data insight to inform future service planning and formal decision making.

Areas of activity

A) Building our data and insight capability within the organisation

2020 saw the Council establish a new Data and Insight Team. The work of this team was refocused in the summer of 2020 in response to the pandemic, to provide a centralised resource to collect, collate, analyse and present data to help the Council make informed decisions about COVID-19 response and recovery. This work enabled us to help make support available as soon as possible to those with the greatest potential need. As we have progressed through the subsequent stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the team has continued to provide this support, including tracking reported infection and vaccination rates, local outbreaks, and wider regional and national trends.

The team is also working to assist the Council’s understanding of our service users, including the most vulnerable, as reported elsewhere in this document. The team now includes the Council’s consultation and engagement function, which helps us to effectively involve people of all backgrounds to ensure that their views and opinions are reflected in the way we conduct our activities (see below).

In addition, the team has been conducting an internal review of the Council’s data maturity as an organisation. This has included reviewing the organisation’s approach and attitude to the use and consideration of data. Following the conclusion of this review, the lessons learned will enable the team to steer the Council towards how it can increase its effective use of data, through improvements to such factors as systems, culture, and integration with existing processes.

B) Improving the availability of equality data, and raising awareness of service users’ needs to inform service design across the Council

Workforce equality data

In 2020, as part of a wider review of the accuracy of employee data held by the Council, staff were encouraged to update their personal details on the Council’s HR system. Although remaining optional for staff to complete, this information helps us comply with our Public Sector Equality Duty in relation to workforce reporting. Updated workforce equality information is now published on the Council’s website and is available to all those officers involved in service design across the Council. The data was most recently updated in December 2021.

Borough equality data

An overview of the Borough Equality Characteristics - GOV.UK is published on the website, providing useful borough and ward level information about those in the borough with protected characteristics. It remains the case that for much of this information we are reliant on 2011 Census data; however as explained elsewhere in this report work is ongoing to improve the data we have available. The Council also assisted the Office for National Statistics with 2021 Census, including supporting them in securing participation from harder to reach groups in the borough. 

The initial results of the Census are due for release in 2022, and these will provide essential information to enable us to further develop the core equality information for the borough. Awareness of the numbers and geographic distribution of residents with protected characteristics across the borough will inform service development, helping to ensure both that services take account of local needs and guiding the focus and direction of future service offers.

Data and insight about our most vulnerable residents and those needing extra support

As a result of the response to the pandemic, the Council has developed a greater understanding of the needs of our most vulnerable residents. This data (in anonymised form) provides valuable additional insight which can help inform how the Council may need to focus services in the future. The specific information gathered also means that along with our partner organisations we are in a better position to protect vulnerable people (including the financially vulnerable) in responding to future emergencies working with other public sector partners. Examples of the use of this data include developing additional capacity to support the most common homelessness needs, anticipating the challenges faced by families and individuals and providing early support, and providing additional information to help steer community development work to match local requirements.

Future Focus

The ongoing impact of COVID-19 has continued to consume a proportion of the Data and Insight team’s focus in the last year. However, the team is also seeking to provide support across the Council to assist in the delivery of corporate objectives, including insight in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion in the borough. This work will build on and explore in more depth the data already held by the Council, including through the aforementioned data maturity assessment. This work is likely to initially comprise one or more pilot projects as quantified opportunities for using data are identified.

There are also plans to improve understanding and effective use of data across the organisation, as the Council develops its capacity. These will be supported by the Data and Insight team working in conjunction with officers across the organisation, and will be able to draw from emerging information such as the results of the 2021 census to enhance our local knowledge.