Equality & Diversity

The Public Sector Equality Duty or “general duty” created under the Equality Act 2010, requires us to have a due regard to:

• Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
• Advancing equality of opportunity between different groups
• Fostering good relations between different groups.

The general duty is supported by two “specific duties” which requires us to:

• Publish information to show compliance with the equality duty every year
• Publish specific and measurable​​ equality objectives at least every 4 years.

The general duty protects people from discrimination on the basis of certain categories which are known as 'protected characteristics'. These include:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage / civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation.

We are committed to celebrating diversity and promoting equality throughout our services.

The Council's vision embodied in the Corporate Plan ensures that Halton is a place where people are supported to live healthy, fulfilling lives in thriving communities, particularly those most dependent on public services.  Please note that the Council is currently developing a new Corporate Plan.

How we achieve this is routinely monitored with equality and diversity targets forming an integral part of the Council’s core priorities and as part of this process publishes completed Equality Impact Assessments.

Knowing our workforce

We want to ensure our workforce has the same opportunities to reach their potential, free from barriers, prejudice and discrimination.

By recruiting and retaining high-calibre individuals from a range of social backgrounds, we're able to reflect the diversities of the communities we serve in our workforce. 

To achieve this, we collect equality information on the recruitment and make-up of our staff to help us track our progress. This includes meeting our requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Please find below a number of profiles that helps us understand our workforce and meet the Public Sector Equality Duty

• Workforce Profile
• Gender Pay Gap Summary (last 3 years)

Knowing our communities

Our equality duty aims to embed equality and good relations into the day-to-day business of the Council. By routinely collecting and analysing information about our communities, we can identify where need is greatest and respond in a fair, transparent way.

Area Profiles and JSNA 

The Council’s area profiles are a living resource providing information on the demographic profiles of the borough, including any protected characteristics. It shares updates about our residents and the impact public services are having on their lives.

We regularly maintain a number of profiles that provide information on our Borough and potential service users.  These can be found here: www.halton.gov.uk/areaprofiles

However below are a list of those that may be of most interest when comparing our workforce data:

• Borough Profile
• Ward Profiles
• 2021 Census profile
• 2021 Identity maps

Equality Analysis

• Each of the council's service areas has its own equality assessments
• Analysis of Adult and Children Social Care users
• Pupil Characteristics

Identifying high risk residents

Known as 'risk stratification', this involves sharing intelligence between public services to identify high risk residents and ensure they are supported in the best possible way.

Corporate Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Objectives​

We recognise the importance of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and as such have established a new set of corporate objectives and recognised our achievements in these.