Equality objectives
We are committed to promoting equality and values diversity, encouraging fairness with equal chances for all to work, learn and be free from any barriers, discrimination or victimisation.
We are committed to promoting equality and values diversity, encouraging fairness with equal chances for all to work, learn and be free from any barriers, discrimination or victimisation.
The Combined Authority’s vision is to be a leader recognised nationally for our focus and commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
We celebrate the difference of all the people we serve, work with and employ. We will hold itself to the highest standards in relation to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion and evidence our commitment in the following ways:
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority is aware of the recent definition clarification from the Supreme Court regarding the Equality Act and the protected characteristic of ‘sex’. We await further guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission in response to the judgement.
As a public sector organisation, we honour our legal responsibilities and the existing legal protections afforded to all protected groups under the Equality Act. Our organisation continues to be committed to creating a safe and inclusive region for all people.
We continue working with our local authority partners to ensure that policies and practices are consistent and coherent across West Yorkshire.
The Equality Act 2010 replaced and harmonised all previous equality law contained in the Race Relations Act, the Sex Discrimination Act and the Disability Discrimination Act.
Visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission website for further information (opens in new window)
The Equality Act places a 'Public Sector Equality Duty' on public authorities like the Combined Authority to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunities and foster good relations between people.
We set objectives to achieve specific equality outcomes. Our equality objectives for 2022-2025 are:
We consider the equality impact of any new project or service that we're planning to introduce, and any significant change in existing projects and services. We assess impacts early in the process of change in order to embed equality, diversity and inclusion from the start, using a consistent analytical approach that incorporates best practice. In setting equality objectives and considering equality impacts, we analyse a wide range of information relating to people, place and region including users and our employees.
An Impact Assessment is not a box-ticking exercise; it’s a process to make sure we have considered the most effective way to use our resources to advance equality, equity, diversity and inclusion and reduce inequalities between groups, and support working together for an inclusive West Yorkshire. The form is just a way to record what we have considered and what evidence we used to come to a recommendation or decision.
By integrating consideration of equality, diversity, and inclusion into our day-to-day business we can demonstrate that we are paying due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty. The three main elements of the Public Sector Equality Duty are:
Having due regard means:
The Equality Act 2010 offers protection from types of discrimination, harassment, and victimisation on the grounds of people’s characteristics.
These protected characteristics are:
We recognise people belong to more than one protected characteristic whilst consider further demographics and intersectionality. The Act also offers protection on the grounds of discrimination by association. This provision relates to people who do not necessarily have a protected characteristics themselves, but who may face discrimination because they are associated with individual(s) who do have/share protected characteristics.
