Accessibility, equality and diversity

This Policy is the Council’s response to legal requirement for compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Duty. This Policy supports St Albans City and District Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

•  Equality Policy March 2020 ( PDF - 177.98 KB )

Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 replaced a large number of previous equality laws with a single Act.  This has helped to simplify the law, remove inconsistencies and make it a lot easier for organisations and individuals to understand.  It strengthens the law tacking discrimination and inequality across all of the ‘protected characteristics’ set out in the Act. 

The Council must have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act.
• Improve equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
• Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

Protected Characteristics

The ‘protected characteristics’ set out in the Act are:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• pregnancy and maternity
• race – this includes ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality
• religion or belief – this includes lack of belief
• sex (men, women, boys, girls and transgender)
• sexual orientation

The duty applies to marriage and civil partnership too, but only in relation to the first aim (to eliminate unlawful discrimination).

The Public Sector Equality Duty

The Public Sector Equality Duty is part of the Equality Act.  It applies to public sector organisations, like councils. It says that we must meet the needs of all individuals in the way we work, when shaping policy, delivering services and in relation to our own employees.

Specific duties require us to set clear and measurable equality objectives and publish information about our performance that is available to everyone. 

We have an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which sets out our vision and objectives for the next three years. This strategy can be accessed below 

The strategy gives detail on the specific things the council are doing which help us to meet our duties. These include:

• We produce a community profile and ward profiles to help us understand the diversity in our communities and to identify any inequalities
• We have a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Partnership Group, which leads on identifying issues and needs relating to deprivation, equalities, diversity and social inclusion and working in partnership to take appropriate action
• We actively work with the local voluntary and community sector to support those organisations to meet the diverse needs of our communities including making sure community funding reaches those who need it most. 
• We use Equality Impact Assessments to inform our planning and decision making and to ensure our policies do not disadvantage any group and that there is fair access to services
• We raise the awareness of all newly elected members and staff of the Equality Act and the Council’s duties under it by providing training and regular updates. 
• We promote equality of opportunity as an employer and seek to have a diverse workforce reflecting the makeup of our local community
• We carry out an equal pay audit every 3 years. 
• We work with AccessAble who surveys services and buildings in the district to provide guides for people with disabilities.

• St Albans City and District EDI Strategy July 2022 ( pdf - 298.29 KB )

FACE - Faith and Culture Enterprise

"FACE's aim is to bring groups and individuals from a variety of faiths and cultures in St Albans and District together in order to promote mutual respect, understanding, acceptance, trust and friendship. We provide support, information, advice and opportunities to network and engage with each other. FACE act as a common voice for members and the community therefore we welcome the Council's statement on Racism and their commitment to promote equality and diversity. FACE will continue to look forward to working with the Council on issues and the needs of the voluntary and community sector and St Albans Police to identify Black Lives Matter issues."

Andrene McDonald, Chair, FACE, June 2020

Racism has no place in our community. The Council is fully supportive of the LGA's statement on local government's commitment to tackling racism. 

If you would like to receive invitations to FACE meetings, please email equality@stalbans.gov.uk. 

SADAF - St Albans and District Access Forum

This group meets regularly to discuss issues and concerns around accessibility and inclusion in St Albans City and District.

Contact equality@stalbans.gov.uk or telephone 01727 819340 if you are interested in attending a future meeting. 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Partnership Group

The purpose of this group is to oversee the action plan that is outlined in the Strategy. It will report to the Housing and Inclusion Committee.

Community Diversity Champions

We invite anyone living, working or studying in the District to help us deliver our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agenda. To find out more about becoming a Community Diversity Champion, contact Peggy Sharp at equality@stalbans.gov.ukor telephone 01727 819340. You should be 18-years-old or over.