Equality and diversity report

What we have achieved in 2023-24

Political and Officer Leadership

Commitment to Equality and Diversity

Our new Corporate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy (EDI) sets out our commitment as a council to achieve better outcomes for everyone in Gateshead. This policy is for all Gateshead residents, our employees and our councillors. It applies to all council services, including those using volunteers or delivered by other organisations on behalf of the council. It replaces our previous Equal Opportunities policy.

Our vision is to make Gateshead a place where everyone can thrive, no matter who they are or their background or experiences. We will make EDI our shared responsibility and priority, so that we all work to tackle the inequalities faced by people in our communities.

Our commitments in the policy are based on the themes within the Equality Framework for Local Government; Leadership, Communities, Services and Workforce. We will report on progress in delivering against our policy commitments in future annual reports.

Priorities and working in partnership

Voluntary and Community Sector

We have worked in partnership with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to respond to issues faced by our residents. At a strategic level this is through our VCSE Leaders forum. Our Community Health and Wellbeing service also co-ordinates the Gateshead Food partnership of 130 contacts, the Warm Spaces network of 90 partners and the newly developed Gateshead Fuel Poverty forum. These partners deliver vital front-line support to vulnerable residents and signpost onto further help to improve outcomes such as benefit maximisation.

Our Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme delivers across Gateshead with over 70 partners to children and young people who are eligible for Free School Meals, or who have special educational needs. The range of CYP who benefit from this programme includes children with disabilities, refugees and asylum seekers, children from our faith and ethnic minority communities.

Gateshead Volunteer Centre has worked closely with our Localities service to develop volunteering action plans for different areas of Gateshead. In the South this has involved older people within Birtley and Lamesley working together through a Friends of group on environmental tasks, reducing social isolation and improving community pride. The Volunteer coordinators network across Gateshead brings together 120 partners from across the VCS.

Performance monitoring and scrutiny

Equality indicators within the Performance Management and Improvement Framework

Our Performance Management and Improvement Framework (PMIF) enables the council to know how it is delivering on Thrive, our strategic approach and our Health and Wellbeing Strategy.  It has a clear focus on priorities, delivery, measurement and analysis of impact.

The analysis of our year-end performance for April 2023 to March 2024 against each of the 6 policy objectives of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Balanced Scorecard is reported to Overview and Scrutiny committees (OSC) and Cabinet. Corporate Resources OSC considered the organisational 'health check' Balanced Scorecard, which includes equality indicators. Key emerging headlines relevant to equalities include:

• The continuing impacts of rising costs facing local people, families, and businesses, as well as in the delivery of services.
• The demand pressures faced by services continues including support for children's and adult social care which continue to increase, as well as expanding demand for debt advice, with partnership activity underway with Citizens Advice Gateshead.
• Earlier intervention can help to reduce health inequalities faced in later life and improve health and wellbeing outcomes, which can help to reduce demand for services. 
  • Two of the Priority Based Transformation Areas as part of the budget approach are Adults Social Care and Housing Improvement which will directly inform this priority objective.
  • Locality Working was piloted in Birtley and will be further rolled out during 24/25; in short term it will support early intervention with longer term goal of improving life chances and reducing dependence on council services.
• Additional support is still being sought and provided to local people and businesses through various grants, although this is affected additional by burdens relating to central Government's initiatives.
• Many services across the council are working closely with key partners and local communities to deliver support to residents in need.
• Many services are actively engaging with customers to improve their offer and/or customer experience.

Our employee equality indicator, percentage of the workforce self-reporting their protected characteristics, improved from a baseline of 35% (March 21) to our current level of 47.4% (March 24). This is a slight drop of 4% from twelve months ago.

For our residents' equality indicators, percentage of residents who are in vulnerable, just coping, managing or thriving categories taken from our Local index of need (LIoN) data analysis, the picture is mixed. Residents identified as being most vulnerable reduced from a baseline of 39.5% to 31.8%. An increase was seen in the percentage of residents just coping, while those managing remain similar, however a reduction noted in percentage of residents who were thriving from 10% to 7%.

What we have achieved in 2023-24

Collecting and sharing information

Census 2021

Our Research and Intelligence team have published a series of ward factsheets analysing Census 2021 data across Gateshead on the Council's Census 2021 webpage, and linked to from our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) website. The factsheets analyse published Census data, which covers many protected characteristics, at ward level.

We have also used the Council's Census 2021 webpage to make ONS' build a custom area profile (opens new window) tool available. The tool enables users to create custom areas and view Census 2021 data, including many protected characteristics. The geographical building block for the tool is Output Area, of which there are 705 across Gateshead and on average have a population of 278 people. Protected characteristics are therefore available for these small Output Areas.

Equalities Profile

The Equalities Profile (PDF, 112 KB) for Gateshead has been updated with the latest population data and is published at Appendix 2.

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)

Our JSNA website continues to be maintained by the Research and Intelligence Team in conjunction with Public Health. The JSNA is updated throughout the year on a rolling annual basis. The 'Headline Data' pages for each topic include protected characteristics where appropriate, and each topic aims to include a narrative with a 'Groups Most at Risk' page where potential inequalities can be highlighted. The JSNA contains key evidence for developing the policies of the Council and wider partners.

Analysing and using data and information

Public Health Needs Assessments

Sexual Health Needs Assessment

We have recently completed a Sexual Health Needs Assessment. This is a priority area for action in Gateshead to tackle inequality and ensure equality. To ensure the voices of our community are incorporated we held focus groups with groups classed as more vulnerable to sexual health issues (for example, where cultural influence could mean gaps in knowledge around certain aspects of sexual health). These groups included a diverse range of representatives, for example the LGBTQ+ community, ethnic minority community, our young people's drug and alcohol service, Gateshead College and other stakeholders. There was a range of diversity in the individuals who participated, ensuring we evaluated the sexual health service's accessibility and inclusivity. For example: 8% were transgender, 20% were Muslim, 24.4% were bisexual and 26.7% had a physical or mental illness or disability expected to last beyond 12 months.

We also carried out a survey to see how our residents would want to improve our sexual health service, such as changes to the opening hours to make it more accessible or making information more readable for all abilities. The survey included questions around stigma and support in our services, to provide an insight into whether the service currently feels inclusive of all users, or whether this is something we could improve.

The data provided in the health needs assessment analyses the demographic of the population rather than just looking at overall rate, for example rates of STIs in 15 to 24 year olds or areas which have higher rates of teenage pregnancy, which has helped us identify areas which may need more targeted interventions going forward.

Children and Young People's Mental Health

A Children and Young People Mental Health Needs assessment for Gateshead has been commissioned by the Public Health Team and Integrated Care Board.  The HNA will cover Children and Young People aged 0-24 and tackle health inequalities by scoping population needs across a range of groups as well as preventative opportunities.

Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment  

A Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment has been carried out to get a better understanding of patterns and trends of Domestic Abuse locally and assess the need for all forms of victim support and perpetrator interventions. It will be used to shape the Domestic Abuse Strategy and service design and delivery.

2023 Annual Report from Director of Public Health

Our Director of Public Health produced their statutory annual report for 2023, Profit Before People: The commercial determinants of health and lessons from the tobacco epidemic. The report examines how tobacco came to be the original commercial determinant of health, demonstrating that profit ultimately outweighs health and wellbeing considerations, how a Tobacco Control approach to reduce the harm caused by tobacco has (with great effort) made progress in the last few decades, and most importantly, what now needs to happen to create a smokefree generation and finally end the tobacco epidemic in our area. It also considers the lessons learned from the Tobacco Control success story and what that may mean for some other key commercial determinants of health including alcohol, gambling and ultra processed foods and drink.

Although smoking prevalence continued to decrease between 2016 and 2021, it continued to disproportionately affect those on lower incomes who were more than twice as likely to smoke and less likely to quit. Alcohol related harm disproportionately impacts our more deprived communities. The prevalence of obesity for children in the most deprived areas continues to be more than double that of those in the least deprived areas. In England, the North-East has the highest number of gamblers who are at risk of developing harms from gambling (4.9%). These harms represent a disorder, rather than a disease that directly causes ill health or death, but evidence shows that it can lead to significant adverse health and wellbeing outcomes.

The report makes recommendations to reduce harm across these commercial determinants of health. These include; to support and advocate for the reduced age of sale legislation, to reduce the negative impact on future generations and to support and enforce vape regulation, including reducing the appeal and accessibility to children.

Stop Smoking Service

We recently completed a health equity audit of our stop smoking service to better understand if the provision we were offering met the needs of our communities. As a result of this, we are currently re-designing our stop smoking service offer to ensure what we offer is equitable and inclusive for all.

Effective community engagement

Council Consultation opportunities

There were 58 public consultations or consultations targeted at specific groups publicised and/or run through the Council's consultation portal or subsequent corporate consultation system in 2023-24, with more than 17,400 responses received (Note: total responses will be higher as some responses are received outside of the consultation system due to varying methods used). These consultations included surveys on the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Policy, the Budget 2024-25 Survey, Leisure Service Consultation, Gateshead International Stadium Stakeholder Engagement, Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans, Gateshead Libraries Annual Customer Survey 2023, Further Development of the Gateshead Housing Standard for Ageing Well, Safer Gateshead Survey, 0-19 Services Partnership Agreement with the NHS, School Admission Arrangements and others.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We consulted on our draft Equality Diversity and Inclusion policy. The consultation ran for 5 weeks in Winter 2024. We received over 200 responses to the online survey and engaged with trade unions, partners, tenants, our workforce and residents. Analysis of the respondent profile showed that demographics are broadly aligned with what we know about our population, although of those, people with disabilities and caregivers were over-represented and young people were under-represented.

75% of consultees agreed or strongly agreed with our vision for Equality Diversity and Inclusion and approximately 75% agreed with our commitments within each policy theme.  The results of the Consultation feedback report (opens new window) were considered by Cabinet when the final policy was recommended for approval.

Suicide Prevention

 Gateshead Suicide Prevention Network event was hosted in March 2024 which was co-hosted by Public Health and local charity If U Care Share. The aim of the event was to include the voices of people living and working in Gateshead in the creation of Gateshead's Suicide Prevention Plan.  Over 90 people attended the event including 12 VCSE organisations representing the following communities in Gateshead: Jewish community, LGBTQ+, young men, veterans, women, homeless and people with substance misuse addiction. There was further representation from council services, Ambulance service, Police and Fire and Rescue, alongside people with lived experience of suicide. Workshops were held to gather knowledge, expertise, thoughts and opinions on how to reduce the suicide rate in Gateshead and how best to support those affected by suicide and self-harm.

People's Voice - Adult Social Care engagement

Our ASC service worked with the National Development Team for Inclusion, to ensure our People's Voice reference group is representative of our local communities and key work is taking place to ensure those whose voices are often seldom heard are encouraged to sign up to People's Voice. This work includes working with 'Haref Allies' through' Connected Voice', which helps improve how services work with ethically marginalized communities and those with learning disabilities.

Developing our approach to Resident Influence

Within housing services we work closely with customers and offer a wide range of accessible opportunities for as many residents as possible to engage, provide feedback and influence decision making. The framework includes three groups as well as task and finish groups that meet when required.

Resident Influence Panel

Including tenants, leaseholders and housing services, the Resident Influence Panel has two main aims:

• to make sure that residents' experiences are influencing service design and delivery
• to make sure we act on what customers tell us through formal engagement, but to also make sure that we proactively listen and gather feedback from the wider resident base

Activity carried out during 2023-24 includes:

• commissioning a scrutiny review of stage 1 formal complaint responses. This review led to a number of recommendations including; improving the letter template to ensure clarity and consistency, ensure language used is easy to understand and free from jargon, ensure contact details of the investigating officer are included and easy to find, to deliver further training to colleagues on complaint handling and to improve the quality of customer service.
• Commissioning a focus group to develop an Annual Report for social housing in line with regulatory requirements
• Engagement with our self-assessment against the new Transparency, Influence and Accountability Regulatory Standard
• Commissioned us to undertake the TPAS accreditation through our membership, to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to resident engagement across housing services.

Multi-Storey Safety Group

This group aims to make sure we deliver multi-storey housing that is safe to live in and that we provide relevant and up-to-date information to residents. Tenants, leaseholders and housing services work together to oversee how we deliver on the resident engagement requirements of the Building Safety Act.

During 2023-24 the group reviewed and developed the building safety information provided to residents of high-rise blocks on our website. Members of the group ensured that building safety is included in the new 'block inspectors' programme alongside checking cleaning standards, to ensure safety checks are also embedded. Members also invited the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service to share vital safety information with the group.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group

Tenants, housing staff and partners work together to ensure that the housing services we provide are fair, accessible, and designed around the needs of all our customers.

We welcome members from diverse communities, particularly LGBTQ+, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, who can share their lived experiences to help us provide housing services that work for everyone.

During 2023-24 members were involved in creating a film to raise awareness of the importance of ensuring our customers provide us with up-to-date personal information and how you can save time and do this online through your 'My Housing Account'. Members of the EDI group feature in the film and share lived experiences of how providing up to date information can enable us to provide a more tailored service to our customers.  

The EDI group were also involved in reviewing and developing the content of the corporate EDI Policy and made recommendations on accessibility, clear and understandable language, ensure it is everyone's responsibility to deliver and available online for all.

Housing Task and Finish Focus Groups

Gateshead Standard for Ageing Well

In 2023 we worked in partnership with Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) to develop a Gateshead standard for older persons' accommodation. As we recognise that the population of older residents is growing, the purpose of the project was to establish the needs and aspirations of older residents and develop a standard to ensure there were choices available that meet their needs. Two focus groups were established of people aged 55+, those living in sheltered accommodation and those living in general needs housing. Housing LIN also worked with other groups across Gateshead. This was a great opportunity for older people to share their experiences and views on what matters to them with regard to their housing needs. Feedback was incorporated into a final standard for ageing well and will be available for use by stakeholders such as commissioners and other housing providers.

Community Engagement

We recognise the importance of engaging with residents informally in their own communities and during 2023-24 we visited a range of community groups across Gateshead. This provided an opportunity to talk to residents in person and hear what they had to say about their homes and the neighbourhoods they live in. This was a great way of meeting a diverse cross-section of our communities and ensure different voices were captured. The feedback from these sessions was very positive and residents said they liked the opportunity to talk directly with officers from the Council.

Fostering good community relations

Gateshead Community Safety board

The Gateshead Hate Crime Strategy (PDF, 558 KB) and Action Plan2024-26 was approved by the Community Safety Board in May 2024. It states there is no place for Hate Crime in Gateshead. Everyone has the right to be safe and live without fear. A Hate incident is defined as: 'Any incident that does not constitute a criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity.' The strategy outlines Gateshead's plans to proactively reduce the harm caused by Hate Crime to individuals, families and communities. It has been informed by Gateshead Hate Crime Analysis 2023, our previous Hate Crime Strategy and co-produced by members of the Gateshead Hate Crime Tensions and Monitoring Group.

Equality Data - Hate Crime reports

Hate crimes and incidents are reported either via Northumbria Police or through the Council's online reporting system.  The majority of reports made to the Council's online reporting system are reports made by schools.  Data has been cross-checked to ensure that all reports are just counted once. 

In 2023-24 reports of hate crime increased by 11% in Gateshead, slightly lower than numbers reported in 2022-23.  Racist incidents continue to be the most common form of hate incidents reported in Gateshead, followed by religious and homophobic incidents.  These have consistently been the most common forms of hate incidents reported in recent years. 

Our refreshed Hate Crime Strategy for Gateshead will be supported by a delivery plan which aims to improve reporting mechanisms and raise awareness of hate crime and hate incidents.

Equality Data - Domestic Abuse 

Police incidents of domestic abuse increased by 10.4% in 2023-24, with 6,490 incidents reported.  From those incidents, 3,406 individual victims were identified.  70% of victims identified were female.  This figure has reduced slightly when compared to the previous year but is in line with the overall figure for the Northumbria Police force area.

The percentage of victims from a Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority background (where ethnicity is recorded) is increasing and now represents 5% of all victims of domestic abuse.  Again, this is a figure that continues to increase, up 30% in the last 12 months.   

2% of domestic abuse victims were aged between 16 and 17, while 14% were aged over 55, figures very similar to previous years.

A domestic abuse needs assessment is being developed.  Initial findings have identified some gaps in recording which will be progressed in the next 12 months.  A domestic abuse strategy will also be produced in the next year, outlining the Domestic Abuse Partnership Board's plans to address domestic abuse in Gateshead.

What we have achieved in 2023-24

Commissioning and procuring services

Corporate Commissioning and Procurement Strategy

Over the last 12 months we have updated our tender document to include a section on equality, diversity and inclusion.  This goes out in all council tender documents. We intend to update our market engagement questionnaires to ask providers if they need any adjustments (in line with protected characteristics) in order for them to take part in market engagement, to increase inclusion and diversity of our providers.

Current commissioning exercises for Home Care and Carers contracts our Adult Commissioning have carried out extensive consultation with their service users as part of developing new service delivery models. 

Integration of equality objectives into planned service outcomes

Corporate Equality objective

Our corporate Equality Objective agreed at Cabinet in April 2021 is; to establish an equality baseline and deeper understanding of the issues and needs for Gateshead by protected characteristic; to include our residents and our workforce, to support delivery of our strategic approach Thrive and the council pledges.

Progress has been made on understanding our workforce, with the current workforce data (non-schools) published in Appendix 1 to this report. This is data from our people management system at 31.03.24 with self-reported protected characteristics from across our employees.

The 2021 Census data releases were analysed to develop topic briefings on our Gateshead population by protected characteristic and have been further developed at a ward level with census factsheets and locality mapping. Our Gateshead Equality Profile using this intelligence is published in Appendix 2 to this report.

Following on from our LGA Peer review in Adult Social Care (ASC) we have committed to improving our use of data to better understand the protected characteristics of those who use our ASC service, and whether any particular groups are not experiencing equitable access.

Service Design and Delivery

Adult Social Care - Jewish community

In 2023, we worked with the leaders of the Orthodox Jewish Community to understand the barriers to social care for them and to agree how to improve our support. Two main areas have become apparent; specialist social housing for people with disabilities who want to remain in the community, and access to services that meet specific cultural needs. We have worked with the community who want to develop a small scale supported housing scheme within the community and work is ongoing to develop the offer working with a Jewish registered provider to ensure access to housing benefits where appropriate. In terms of direct social care services, we recognised that a commissioned service would still leave gaps, so we have agreed to work together to increase take up of direct payments so that a more bespoke offer can be provided. A training session for the community was held in February 2024 to detail what can be achieved through the take up of direct payments. This was positively received, and we continue to work together to improve access and take up of services and support needed.

Elections - Accessibility

The Elections Act 2022 brought in additional duties to make sure that elections are as accessible as possible to all voters with disabilities. We have taken steps to support electors with disabilities being able to vote at polling stations.  This has included:

• accessibility training for over 500 polling station staff
• purchase of support equipment such as large pencils, pencil grips, 'here to help' badges, magnifiers and tactile devices
• updating the information available to voters on the council's website who need additional help
• developing QR codes to read out local candidate information for voters with visual impairment

Business, Employment and Skills

We work with local and regional partners to create an environment where all business can thrive and to create economic opportunities for residents. Through the council's UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme, we have commissioned initiatives to stimulate levels of enterprise ambition within our communities, help residents explore self-employment and increase business formation rates, particularly among underrepresented groups. This has included an enterprise support programme for the Jewish Community and a women's enterprise support project for women and female- led businesses.

Libraries, Arts and Heritage

Libraries and Heritage procured the Royal Voluntary Service to deliver books to residents at home if they are unable to visit a library building. This ensures the Library Service's Readers at Home service can be sustained. This service primarily delivers books to older people and ensures access to books and reading in a variety of formats including large print and CD. Procurement took place in 2023-24 to begin from 1 April 2024 and continues a previous contractual arrangement with Royal Voluntary Service. In 2023-24, 43,668 books were borrowed by residents using the Readers at Home Service. This includes book deliveries to residents at home and to residential care settings.

In addition, the Reading for Wellbeing team delivered 57 sessions in the community lounges of assisted living settings and luncheon clubs run by organisations such as Age UK. These sessions were attended by 752 people. These sessions use reminiscence resources from Gateshead Archive (for example photographs or newspaper articles from the Gateshead Post) as a starting point for conversations and sparking memories. This encourages social interaction between residents. Some sessions have included poetry readings. Residents are signposted to the Readers at Home service, Borrowbox (if appropriate) and groups and activities at local libraries.

Libraries Digital team gifted 67 SIM cards to individuals in need, through partnerships with Comfrey Project, Peace of Mind, and 2way Tenancy.

Gateshead Archive hosted talks supporting diverse national heritage months including Women's History Month in March and Black History Month in October. The Archive also supported the Unlocking North East Jewish Heritage Project to map collections relating to the history of the Jewish Community in Gateshead. For Holocaust Memorial Day the Library Service took part in the promotion of books and resources relating to the Holocaust and other genocides.

The Archives service fostered new links with refugee groups in Gateshead via the Triangular organisation. With Gateshead Arts Team the Archive supported a successful bid from Triangular to the National Lottery to fund local refugees come together in a social space to explore traditional crafts. Through the project new Syrian and Roma women's groups have been established at the Integration Station on Gateshead High Street where the women meet to explore heritage crafts from their birth country. The groups meet regularly at Triangular and sessions have also taken place at the Central Library to explore the Archive and MakerPlace.

In 2023-24, Gateshead Arts Team delivered over 270 workshops for individuals, families, schools and community groups across Gateshead, working with over 60 artists and creative practitioners, from Gateshead and the North East, with diverse identities, cultures and backgrounds. Over 60% were for or attended by older people through either our Art Diamonds programme of creative workshops, events and visits to exhibitions for older people, or our Emerald Explorers programme for wellbeing and engaging with nature either outdoors, or through an indoor nature themed workshop.

The Arts team worked with creative organisation Gem Arts (opens new window) with staffing support and venue space for a Mini Mela at Gateshead Central Library in February 2024 and through funding for the delivery of workshops for both Art Diamonds and Emerald Explorers programmes. We also supported their annual Masala Festival in July 2023 with venue space, workshops and help with marketing the festival.

Support was also provided for Curious Arts (opens new window) through staffing assistance and venue space for a Mini Pride in February half term; funding towards a project for young people at Birkhead Wilds; a workshop about Pride colour and identity with Art Diamonds, and through working with their staff and artists on a range of activities and promoting their events.

Education Gateshead

Our School Admission team and Fair Access team work with a range of ethnic minority families who have arrived through a designated home office programme. We provide advice, guidance and support to these families with regards to admissions to schools and also support at the initial meetings with schools. We also direct referrals to our Ethnic Minority and Achievement Service for pupils arriving in Gateshead so that they receive up to 4 weeks of initial support within school.

Our Ethnic Minority and Achievement Service work alongside pupils who have English as an additional language within school and school leadership teams to ensure that they make academic progress, and that their social and emotional needs are well met. The team also work closely with a range of voluntary sector organisations that support families beyond the classroom door. They are working to promote Schools of Sanctuary an accreditation that acknowledges the work of schools in regard to pupils from different ethnic minority backgrounds.

Learning and Skills

Our primary focus at Learning and Skills is to create an inclusive learning environment that values individuals from diverse backgrounds and gives fair access to education opportunities. Supporting learners to achieve their qualifications is crucial for creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment. This approach is recognised in our diversity of learners and their success rates.

• 17% of our learners are from ethnic minority backgrounds, and a further 5% of learners are White Irish/Other
• 28% of our learners are men
• 28% of learners are aged under 24
• 39% of learners declare having a learning difficulty and or/disability

Our learners can have varied special educational needs that can make it make it harder for individuals to learn or access education compared to others of the same age. The provision supports young people and adults with various special education needs. We support our learners with diverse protected characteristics by:  

• Individual learning plans (ILPS) that clearly identify learners' specifics needs, requirements and any adjustments required are used within the provision. The individual learning plans embed the SEND Thresholds which have recently been introduced within Gateshead.  Tutors are then able to plan and deliver sessions that meet the needs of the learners attending the sessions and make appropriate adjustments.
• Curriculum planning is carried out in collaboration with the learners accessing the provision to ensure there is a varied curriculum offer that meets not only the educational needs of the learners but also their personal development interests.  
• All staff within the provision work to ensure that learners within their learning environment feel safe, supported, and respected. We ensure that inappropriate use of language or behaviour is challenged, we set clear expectations for our learners, and we carry our regular learner voice activities to ensure we are meeting the learners needs.  
• Staff have access to regular CPD (Continuing Professional Development) which enhances their understanding of inclusive practices and support for the learners within our provision recently this has included CPD around Trauma Informed Practice which has subsequently informed our new behaviour policy.  

What we have achieved in 2023-24

Workforce diversity and inclusion

Our Vision is to be an employer who embraces, and welcomes diversity, who is truly inclusive and who demonstrates equality for all. We'll go the extra mile so that our approach is representative of the communities we serve and each other. What we will do will set us apart from others and we'll encourage others to follow our lead, because it's not just the right thing to do, or because the law requires us to, it makes for better outcomes for the council, the community we serve and our people.

At Gateshead Council, we recognise the importance and the need to value Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Creating an environment where differences are embraced allows for alternative ideas and ways of thinking to flourish, both of which are fundamental in ensuring we continue to deliver value for money and exceptional service' in a way that connects with our customers, communities and partners.

Our greatest asset are our people and by investing in EDI we are investing in them; thereby allowing us to be in the best position possible to strive towards our workforce vision of being an employer who embraces, and welcomes diversity, who's truly inclusive and who demonstrates equality for all.

We recognise the need to value difference, and we have much to be proud of in the progress we have made in recent years, and over the last 12 months. Of course, whilst there have been some notable achievements, there remain challenges we must continue to overcome, as well as new ones being presented by our ever-changing society evolving public service.

Key achievements for 2023-24

• maintained Level 2 DWP Disability Confident Employer status
• launched our Workforce EDI strategy and policy
• developed and launched our Workforce EDI strategic objectives and short-term delivery plan
• accredited a 'one to watch' organisation by Best Companies, following employee survey results
• partnered with Midlife MOT programme and Able Futures to support employee wellbeing
• launched our job evaluation project
• preparing for the first ever Pride in Gateshead events
• developing our Menopause policy

Inclusive strategies and policies

Workforce EDI Strategy and Policy

The importance we place on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is reflected in our new Workforce Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy,  Workforce EDI policy and delivery plan. Our strategic commitments and objectives were designed by our people to represent who we are.

One of our key objectives over the last year was to develop and launch our workforce EDI strategy and policy and we did that in March 2024. Our engagement forums helped to inform and shape the content and over the coming 12 months will be key stakeholders in monitoring progress.

We will develop a Workforce EDI Board chaired by the council's Chief Executive.

Apprenticeship Strategy

Work continues on the Apprenticeship Delivery Plan; embracing a health and safety culture; development of career pathways and succession plans; development and delivery of management development and leadership programmes; and embedding the hybrid working model. We are reviewing our apprenticeship offer and aim to develop a proposal during 2024 which will detail how we attract, recruit and retain our apprenticeships ensuring we attract from a diverse talent pool.

Attracting and Selecting Talent

We have commissioned Sullivan Brown Resourcing Partners to undertake a wholesale review of our attraction, recruitment and on boarding process. Recommendations will be implemented over the next 12 months to improve bringing a new era of HR recruitment, evolving our business, consistently focussing on the needs of both individuals and communities we serve to ensure we deliver the best possible service.

Employee Engagement

Best Companies Employee Engagement Survey

We partnered with Best Companies to understand how well our workforce are engaged and to identify opportunities where we can be better.  We achieved a One to Watch accreditation from Best Companies which makes Gateshead Council an employer with good levels of workforce engagement.

Internal Governance and Consultation

Our governance and consultation structure ensures a diverse approach to meeting our Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) thereby allowing us to provide an outstanding service and ensure we are consulting with groups covered by the Equality Act 2010. The key groups we regularly work with include:

Employee Equality Network

Brings together our employee voice. It is providing an opportunity to engage, update, challenge and strengthen our relationships with our employees. It offers constructive and critical appraisal on strategy, policies, and services with a view to improving service delivery. Work is ongoing to scope the setup of Support Networks to compliment and support this forum.

Engagement Events

Pride 2023

In the summer of 2023, we attended Northern Pride it began with a 5km run, followed by the Pride March and a full weekend of celebrations. Key messaging centred around recruitment, apprenticeships and fostering. It is incredibly important that we participate in the Pride March, stand with our LGBTQ+ colleagues and continue to uphold our ally ship within these communities.

HR Service Manager "It was very educational and helped me gain knowledge about, discrimination and racism."

International Women's Day 2024

We joined the global celebration of International Women's Day, celebrating women's achievement and joined the conversation to raise awareness against bias. This year we've had conversations with women who work in roles across the council which break the bias.

Senior HR adviser "it was inspiring to hear other colleagues' stories".

Collecting, analysing and publishing workforce data

Gender Pay Gap Gateshead

Gateshead Council 2023/24 Gender pay gap report (opens new window)

All public sector organisations employing 250 people or more are required to report on their Gender Pay Gap (GPG) by 31st March each year. This enables us to assess levels of equality in our workforce and put in place an internal action plan with measures to address the GPG, whilst also ensuring we meet our legal obligations set out by The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

The Gender Pay Gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women in an organisation. All data submitted represents a snapshot as of 31 March 2023.

In summary, our mean gender pay gap is 6.18% and our median gender pay gap is 12.96%. Since reporting against the gender pay gap began in 2017, the council have generally demonstrated a trend reduction in the gender pay gap. The council is a diverse organisation employing people across all grades in a wide variety of job roles and across a range of professions, providing a range of services.

It should be noted that gender pay gap differs from equal pay. Whilst equal pay concerns the differences in pay between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs, or work of equal value; gender pay gap reporting shows the differences in the average pay between men and women. If women do more of the less well-paid jobs within an organisation than men, the pay gap is usually bigger. We use job evaluation to address equal pay; however, it can still be the case that there is a gender pay gap due to our employee profile.

Council Workforce Data

People are our greatest asset, and we understand that a workplace which embraces diversity is more likely to attract and retain talented people. As part of the Equality Act, we are required under the public sector equality duty to show how we are meeting our responsibilities as an employer, including a requirement to publish information regarding our workforce.

Our workforce data for all council employees (excluding local authority-maintained schools) is included in Appendix 1 to this report. The workforce data is a snapshot of employee headcount (not posts) taken on 31 March 2023.

Job Evaluation Project

We are undertaking a significant piece of work focussed on pay and job evaluation. We aim to maintain and improve pay equity by modernising our approach to role design aligning pay and benefits with context, culture, and market.

Our project was introduced to ensure that our pay model was representative of the current job market and competitive.

The key objectives of the project are to:

• analyse and fully understand roles
• modernise our reward offer and implement a new pay structure based on job size
• provide a platform to inform career pathways, succession planning and design of our organisational structures and frameworks

The model provides fairness and principles of equal pay legislation. Role holders, managers and heads of department were all involved in the project to ensure fairness, transparency and consistency, along with the completion of an Integrated Impact Assessment.

Next year we will be able demonstrate progress and learning outcomes as the project evolves and continues through to completion.

Learning, development and progression

Workforce development training delivered

Health and Wellbeing

Better Health at Work Award

BHAWA focuses on the health and wellbeing of staff and different interventions that workplaces do to increase the health and wellbeing of their employees against specific criteria. Public Health facilitate and assess this award for Gateshead.

Health Advocates Network

Supports and develops a positive wellbeing culture in the workplace and beyond. During 2023-24 the group have shaped emerging wellbeing policies and practices, in particular the development of the workforce wellbeing strategy and overall workplan.

Smart Working

How and where we carry out our roles to maximise flexibility, whilst ensuring a fair and equal approach to the working environment has been introduced.

In terms of supporting reduced hours workers and those with caring responsibilities, we have generous flexible working arrangements and special leave policies, all of which we regularly review to ensure they remain fit for purpose and reflect current good practice. Where service provision allows, these policies apply across the organisation, regardless of grade.

Workforce strategic commitments and objectives 2024-25:

1.    Understand our workforce through data insight

2.    Develop workforce to create an inclusive culture

3.    Create transparency and implement scrutiny to improve service delivery

To support and achieve the successful delivery of these we are committed to developing projects to increase workforce engagement in EDI. Our employee survey results will give us the opportunity to gain more understanding about how we can create a culture of inclusivity and enhance our policies and processes to support our workforce.   

We want to build the capability and confidence of our leaders to be visible and accountable role models. Our workforce strategy and delivery plan set out all the areas we'll be working on to improve the experience of an employee at Gateshead Council to. There are many factors that make up a great employee experience, with pay and reward being key influencers in our ability to recruit and retain the best talent.

Looking into 2024-25 there are several opportunities to progress even further with our ambitious EDI plans with our leaders and wider workforce.

Key highlights include:

• continuing to listen and engage with our workforce and particularly those from under-represented groups, using this feedback to create an inclusive environment that welcomes and supports differences
• improve and understand our workforce disposition, which will continue to assist us to develop and create an inclusive culture
• develop and promote our employer brand to attract and retain more diversity into the exciting careers we have, by enhancing flexibility, support and commit to reviewing our family friendly policies and employee benefits
• enhance and promote EDI governance and scrutiny to ensure transparency and accountability

(Source: Mid Year Population Estimates 2023, ONS)

(Source: Mid Year Population Estimates 2023, ONS)

(Source: Census 2021, ONS)

(Source: Census 2021, ONS)

(Source: Activities limited -Census 2021, ONS / EA Core or work limiting disabled - Annual Population survey 2023-24, ONS)

(Source: Census 2021, ONS)