Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2022-25

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Foreword

This plan is about the District's people. It's about making sure that each and every one of them gets the opportunities and support they need to be their best, regardless of their background. When everyone can be their best, then we all benefit from the realisation of our full creative, productive, economic and cultural potential.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are critical factors in ensuring that Bradford Council and Bradford District are the best they can possibly be. In 2020, when the Council published its draft equality plan, I made a personal commitment to keeping it under regular review. I wanted to ensure that our plan could evolve and adapt to changing circumstances representing a living, breathing commitment to making Bradford Council an equitable, diverse and inclusive organisation in all that it does.

That original plan was developed in the midst of a global pandemic. Covid-19 hit Bradford District hard, exposing and exacerbating inequalities affecting the lives of thousands of people, often with multiple impacts on individuals, families and households, where a range of overlapping factors such as disability, gender, race and low income converge to form a complex web of disadvantage, discrimination and inequality.

We have emerged from the pandemic to be faced with a cost of living crisis, the like of which we haven't seen for years and which threatens to deepen inequality and its associated social, economic and environmental costs, at a time when public finances are under huge pressure.

So this is the right time to look again at our approach, at the different ways that people interact with the Council and what we could do better to help them achieve their goals; to review our objectives and actions and make sure that resources are deployed to maximum effect. 

Unlocking the full potential of our District means that we have to share different perspectives, think about how what we do as a Council affects different people, improve our understanding of the barriers holding too many citizens back, and recognise that we must be prepared to give some people an extra hand.

We are building on solid foundations and have much to take pride in. This plan reflects some of the ground breaking work spanning a wide array of Council activities that have improved services, changed lives, unlocked potential and delivered better outcomes.

We're making progress but must sustain and deepen our focus. Achieving our goals for equality, diversity and inclusion is everyone's business. It's not "someone else's job” or something that we need to do on top of the day job, it is the day job. It is central to achieving our ambitions for the District, to building a representative workforce, delivering creative, responsive and cost-effective services, and to shaping a society and economy in which everyone living and working here has a genuine stake. It is an investment in the rich human capital of this District, in transforming its fortunes and in making it a better, fairer place, and it is the right thing to do. 

Councillor Jabar

Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety

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Introduction

Bradford District is synonymous with diversity. Its sheer size, its youth and its longstanding traditions of welcoming people from across the world mean that Bradford is one of the most diverse places in the UK and among the world's leading intercultural cities.

We value our diversity and recognise it as a significant strength bringing different perspectives, knowledge, skills, experience and cultural assets. It makes us more interesting, creative and innovative and a growing body of evidence demonstrates that diversity can help boost productivity and performance in cities and workplaces alike. 

Inequality and discrimination however continue to hold people back and too many face barriers that prevent them from realising their potential. The District has some stark differences in outcomes between different people and places. Some 266,000 people live in the most deprived areas, a third of children live in poverty, 67,000 employees work in low-paid occupations and rates of youth unemployment are among the highest in the country. Social, economic and health inequalities are reflected in the fact that there is an average of 9.1 years' difference in life expectancy between men in the most affluent and the poorest parts of the District and 8 years for women. Many people are affected by a combination of different dimensions of inequality for example income, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, faith or disability.

Bradford was disproportionately hit by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which affected certain groups more than others: our Black and Asian communities, our young people, migrant communities, people with disabilities and/or existing conditions, people on the lowest incomes. Post pandemic those groups are among the people most vulnerable to the current cost of living crisis.

In order to unlock the full potential of our diverse population we must ensure that everyone is included and able to participate in, and contribute to their communities, society and the economy and that no one faces discrimination or unfair barriers when accessing services. This in turn means treating everyone fairly and understanding their income, age, sexuality, race, gender, faith, disability or any other combination of characteristics that make them more likely to encounter disadvantage in being different from other people.

Promoting equality within the District's current context means not only recognising difference and meeting legal requirements, but also being proactive in tackling disadvantage, reducing inequality and including people in shaping the services and decisions that affect their lives.

Our Council Plan recognises this need to put equalities at the forefront of our thinking and makes a clear commitment to striving to secure equality of opportunity for everyone. A fair, inclusive and sustainable recovery from the pandemic is at its heart and in so doing, working towards becoming a fairer and equal employer and district is fundamental to each of its priority outcomes. Our Council Plan includes commitments to:

• Put equalities at the heart of all we do so everyone can access services regardless of their background, protected characteristics, including low income groups, we embrace our different communities and build an inclusive organisation
• Work together with communities to involve them and empower people in designing the ways that we achieve better outcomes
• Support people early to prevent needs from escalating and to improve their life chances and outcomes
• Improve equality of opportunity by addressing factors affecting economic participation and poverty
• Make it easier for people to adopt healthier lifestyles and reduce health inequalities;
• Support people furthest from the labour market into work
• Provide access to specialist housing
• Improve social mobility for children including a focus on children in the most deprived parts of the District
• Use a targeted approach to reducing health inequalities
• Increase awareness and reporting of hate crime
• Build and encourage a workforce that represents the communities we serve at all levels.

Equalities is everyone's business and our Equality Objectives are there to help ensure that it is understood in all its complexity, mainstreamed throughout the organisation and embedded in all that we do. The objectives and associated actions build on an outstanding body of existing work, some of which is highlighted in the document.  We know however, that there is more to do and we aim to be a learning organisation which is why we invited the Local Government Association to review our approach to equalities, leading to our decision to refresh and strengthen our current objectives and plan.   

Equality is in everyone's interests and it is key to the successful delivery of cost-effective council services, cohesive communities and building a sustainable, inclusive economy. Only through harnessing all of the District's talents and assets and giving everyone the opportunities they need to thrive can we unleash the full potential of Bradford District.

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Meeting our Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)

General Duty

The Council has a statutory duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 that requires all public bodies to consider the needs of all individuals, as part of their day-to-day work.  This duty covers: shaping policy, delivering services, and equality in relation to employees. The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a duty on public bodies and others carrying out public functions.

There are key strands in the delivery of the PSED, these are to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by, or under, the Act
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
• foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it; and

The second aim (advancing equality of opportunity) involves, in particular, having due regard to the need to:

• remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics
• take steps to meet the needs of people with certain protected characteristics where these are different from the needs of other people
• encourage people with certain protected characteristics to participate in public life, or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low

Specific Duty

As a large employer, the Council also has a responsibility to meet what are called Specific Duties.  The specific duties were created by secondary legislation in the form of the Equality Act 2010.

In summary, the Council is required to:

1. Publish gender pay gap information
2. Publish information to demonstrate its compliance with the general equality duty
3. At least once every four years, prepare and publish one or more equality objectives that it believes it needs to achieve to further any of the aims of the general equality duty

Further information on the Public Sector Duty in the Equality Act 2010 can be found on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.

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Bradford Council's Equality Objectives

Bradford Council delivers its Public Sector Equality Duty through its equality objectives, which are contained in its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan (EDI Plan) which is published on the Council's website. 

The Equality Objectives and Action Plan published in 2020, has now been reviewed and refreshed following a Local Government Association (LGA) Peer Review in late 2021, and further stakeholder consultation in 2022.

The Council's equality objectives align with our Council Plan and take into account the LGA Equality Framework for local government.  The objectives are set out in four key areas:

• Objective 1: An equal diverse and inclusive workplace
• Objective 2: Inclusive and accessible services
• Objective 3: An inclusive economy
• Objective 4: Inclusive communities

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Publishing data and information

Information in relation to our equality objectives and performance is produced and is discussed on a monthly basis with the Council’s Leader and Portfolio Holder. This includes information on workforce make-up (including by protected characteristics) and also measures in relation to the equality objectives. Information can be found on our Workforce Profile page.

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Bradford Council publishes gender pay gap data on an annual basis and this information is also shared and discussed publically through the Council committee scrutiny process. Information can be found on our Pay, grading structure and senior salaries page.

The Council has also committed to publishing pay gap data related to ethnicity in future years.

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Engagement

A wide range of participatory methods and opportunities are in place to engage with both staff internally, and externally with partners in relation to our work on equality. Internally this includes: seven active staff networks, an Allyship programme, an advocacy scheme, and the Cross Council Equalities Working Group. Our Stronger Communities team work closely with local community-based stakeholders and leaders to deliver a programme of engagement which is focused on including people from all protected characteristics across the district. This team will incorporate learning from the Bradford For Everyone programme, that highlighted what works, in building inclusive, cohesive and resilient communities.

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Developing Policy and Services

Bradford uses its equality impact assessment process to evaluate the impact of policy and service changes, including the impact of its budget proposals, on residents, including those individuals and groups who share one or more protected characteristics, and against the those who share the locally agreed characteristic of low income.

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Procurement

We consider equality to be a cornerstone of public procurement. It is embedded in both the legislative framework that governs procurement, the Council's constitution and its organisational Procurement Strategy.

Equality is at the heart of procurement at Bradford Council. We aim to ensure that our money is not only delivering high quality but also promotes equality of opportunity. Procurement professionals ensure equality objectives are incorporated in our policies, strategies and delivery. We expect suppliers to provide services on our behalf to promote equality within their businesses. The promotion of equality in procurement helps us deliver more responsive, accessible and appropriate services that meet the needs of the districts residents.

The legal requirement, echoed in Contracts Standing Orders (part of the Council's constitution), is that public procurement must be undertaken in a way that ensures equal treatment without any form of discrimination, and that it is undertaken using processes that are proportionate and transparent. Procurement colleagues provide guidance and where appropriate challenge to ensure that the Council's requirements for goods, services and works are procured fairly and that the decisions for which organisations will be awarded a contract are taken objectively, and without discrimination to deliver good value for money in the delivery of public services. Once a contract is awarded the Council then requires its suppliers to ensure their supply chains are also free from discrimination or unfair treatment.

Progress towards this is demonstrated through the Council's procurement staff (as part of the Council's commitment to the Co-Operative Modern Slavery Charter) undertaking annual ethical procurement e-learning and testing through CIPS (Charted Institute of Procurement and Supply) to obtain the CIPS Corporate Ethics accreditation.

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Governance, Monitoring and Evaluation

The Executive of the Council is responsible for approving our equality objectives and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Plan (EDI Plan) and for monitoring the plan's implementation.  Our Council Management Team (CMT) has responsibility for delivery of the plan.

The programme board for the plan is the Cross Council Equalities Working Group, which is chaired by the Assistant Director for the Office of the Chief Executive.

Progress on the delivery of the EDI Plan, and the outcome measures, are reported regularly to both CMT and to the Council's Executive.  The Council's Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee receive reports on progress where both the EDI Plan and its outcomes are scrutinised. Both Executive and Scrutiny are meetings in public.

Progress against key performance indicators is measured and reported to ensure that priority actions are being progressed to meet the overall Council Plan outcome priorities, the related service plan actions, and ensuring we meet our equality duties under the Equality Act 2010, and our overall commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion.

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Linking to the Council Plan and Individual Staff Plans

The equality objectives and EDI Plan link directly to the Council Plan priorities. These priorities include community-focused outcomes, which are referenced in the EDI Plan.

The Council Plan links to departmental service delivery plans.  In turn, these link to individual staff personal development plans.  This ensures there is consistency and alignment throughout our planning, delivery and the monitoring of our equality objectives at all levels.  All managers have an equality goal as part of their performance appraisal.

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Partnership and a Place-based Approach 

Whilst this plan, and its targets,  are led by Bradford Council, our objectives are shared with many stakeholders and, as part of our wider partnership working, are being progressed through work with our partners. The Wellbeing Board has system oversight with the System Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Group taking the lead responsibility for cross partnership EDI work. 

The System EDI strategic lead works closely with all partners, including the Council, on developing shared equality goals at a place level. 

Both the Safer and the Stronger partnerships also have key roles in ensuring wider engagement with community-based partners, including the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS).

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Where can you find more information

The Council's EDI Plan, that contains its equality objectives, is published on the Council's website alongside the Council Plan. Data on performance against our plans is also on the website, and is reported through our council committee process.

You can find minutes of all Council meetings on our Local Democracy website.

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Case Studies

Whilst this plan sets out our objectives for 2022 – 2025, and what we will do to achieve these objectives, the case studies below illustrate the progress we have made so far since our last plan was published in April 2021:

Staff Networks

Over the last two years, we have supported the creation of five staff networks, with two new networks coming on stream in Summer 2022. These networks are staff directed, and each has a sponsoring director from CMT. The current networks are: The Race Equality Staff Network (RESN), LGBTQ+, Working Carers, Women's Voice, and Disability. Staff networks provide safe spaces for staff to share their experiences and also to use their lived experience to shape the work of the Council. Each of the networks has developed differently, with their work including a new app for staff; a survey of staff; an action plan for accessibility changes and a district Root Out Racism event.

RESPECT Allyship Programme

In May 2022 the Allyship Programme was launched as a key part of the wider RESPECT campaign. Within 10 weeks of its launch, 407 Allies had committed to this programme. This represents nearly five percent of Council staff. The Allyship Programme provides a powerful and valuable opportunity for staff to develop their knowledge and skills in becoming allies to colleagues who may or may not share the same protected characteristics. The programme, incorporating the values of the RESPECT campaign, aims to create a culture of mutual support and understanding across all staff groups, and build a truly inclusive workforce. Allies make an equality commitment during the signing up process, and have access to monthly training to develop their understanding. Examples of training include: transgender and non-binary awareness, and misogyny in the work place. Future planned sessions will cover: race and language, disabilities, mental health champions, and understanding intersectionality. The additional benefit of these sessions is not only to support staff to be allies to each other, but also to the diverse communities and people they support within their roles.

RESPECT Campaign

The RESPECT campaign started as a grass-roots suggestion from a colleague based in our Department of Health and Wellbeing. It was a way to frame our internal equality vision for all colleagues. RESPECT stands for: rights, equality, speak up, person-centred, education, champion, and think first. The campaign includes an equality e-learning module, (which includes lived experience videos produced using actors and based on real life staff experiences. The module has been completed by over 500 members of staff to date), the Allyship Programme; a SharePoint site containing information on equality, calendars and online networking opportunities. The programme, led by Jody Leach who has also told his story powerfully, has provided a catalyst for real change in how equality is viewed in the Council. The programme has led to many staff reporting feeling confident, as a result of the programme, to challenge inequality and to share their stories and lives with colleagues.

Celebrating Diversity

There has been a variety of campaigns, celebrations and awareness-raising events during the past year. Highlights of this have included the Root Out Racism event held in City Park in summer 2021 and the Pride celebrations held in summer 2022. In between these events we have contributed to UK Disability History Month, Refugee Week, Black History Month, Black Lives Matter, International Women's Day, LGBTQ+ History Month, International Migrants Day, Islamophobia Awareness Month, Disability History Month and Inclusion Week.

Make Sure It Adds Up

Bradford For Everyone has led a number of inclusive programmes focusing on equality and cohesion. The ‘Make Sure It Adds Up' anti-rumour and critical thinking strategy involved working with partners to reduce rumours and prejudice. It supported people from across the District to practice and promote critical thinking when receiving and sharing uncertain information. The critical thinking campaign worked with people from Muslim, LGBTQ+, working class and migrant communities to reduce hate crime and incidents and increase understanding around these diverse areas. The campaign was also used to tackle Covid-19 inequalities. This learning project, working with partners including: City of Sanctuary, Linking Network, Bradford African Community, Hope Not Hate, Integrated Community Learning Schools, Bradford Rohingya Community and Community Action Bradford & District, ran training courses in a range of settings involving 600 people across the District.

Nearly 90 percent of those who have taken the course said it directly gave them a further understanding of diversity and just under 80 percent said they had less negative personal beliefs as a result of the course.

LGBTQ+ Staff Network - App

The LGBTQ+ Staff Network, working alongside colleagues at the University of Bradford, has developed a mobile app to enhance engagement with LGBTQ+ staff. The app has a number of features, including: useful links, contacts, information on support, and the facility for those accessing it to comment and contribute to key issues and changes. The app is available to download on any smartphone, and can reach the widest audience, as many staff do not have laptop or computer access. The app also aims to address isolation for some LGBTQ+ staff in dispersed services. It will launch formally in Autumn 2022.

Citizen Coin 

Promoting inclusive activity and a feeling of belonging is key to the cohesion work of the Bradford For Everyone team. The team developed the innovative Citizen Coin app which enables people to earn virtual coins for undertaking social value activities, such as volunteering. People can ‘spend' their earned coins at an increasing number of local businesses to receive discounts against goods and services. The app automatically records their volunteering hours, helping those who need to it, to build their CVs which will support them gain paid employment. By March 2022, 992 people were using the app across the district.

Shared Values Campaign

Bradford District Shared Values, which are to:  respect, share, care and protect, is a people-led campaign that inspires and aspires to get all communities and organisations in the Bradford District to live and celebrate these four human values that bring us together. The Bradford For Everyone team listened to over 1000 people living in the district, who told them having a set of shared values that belong to all, will connect us more, help us grow, shine and create the future we want to experience.

People Library

Bradford's People Library was created as a collection of ‘human books' highlighting the many things we have in common as people, as well as celebrating our differences. The library showcases inspiring stories which are from people who were born and bred here, or those newly arrived. People participated in creating the library from all parts of the district.

UniformSavers

This is a co-designed partnership project, to tackle some of the impacts of the cost of living crisis, between Public Health Bradford and Bradford and District Credit Union. The focus is to help single parents save for the cost of school uniforms. The scheme offers single parents a special account with the Credit Union. The account offers a £100 bonus paid in August to parents who save at least £100 during the year. Up to 285 parents can benefit from this scheme.

Supporting our communities through the pandemic and in pandemic recovery

Our partnerships supporting diverse and vulnerable communities over the pandemic have been a strong part of the work we have done across the District. Examples of this work include:

• work by the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) project in delivering food parcels and activities for children and families from low income groups
• funding of the Race Equality Network to provide support on guidance, testing and vaccine programmes with BME communities in the district and in BME languages and through social media
• supporting the needs of diverse and vulnerable groups through the Inclusion Health programme, which works alongside our VCS partners in supporting the homeless, those with substance abuse issues, people with mental health issues, working women and LGBTQ+ groups

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Equality Objectives

Objective 1: An equal, diverse and inclusive workplace

Bradford District is a large and diverse place and our Council Plan commits to developing a workforce that properly reflects the people and places that we serve and a workplace that offers opportunities for people to progress regardless of their background and where people can thrive and feel confident and comfortable at work. This objective will help us make better decisions and support the delivery of innovative services.

Outcome	Action	How will we know?	Link to Council Plan Priority Outcome / Corporate strategies
1.1 Increased diversity of senior leaders in the workforce in relation to underrepresented groups) and work towards a workforce that reflects the makeup of the working age population of the district.	Deliver a programme of talent management and professional development which ensures that staff at all levels (are able to progress within the organisation).  Make sure that recruitment panels are diverse.	Numbers for race, gender, LGBTQ and disability in top 5% and Special A and above and also in relation to those in the top 5% in relation to earnings.. % of top 5% who are female – 54.6%. % of top 5% who are BME – 20.0%. % of Special A+ who are female – 52.8%. % of Special A+ who are BME – 20.2%. Numbers in the above groups who progress successfully internally compared with the total workforce.	Enabling Council
1.2 Council managers and staff have a comprehensive understanding of equalities issues in the workplace.	Develop  a clear  training offer in relation to equalities and ensure that all managers undertake a programme of equality training.	Training offer set out. Number of managers accessing training.	Enabling Council
1.3 Access to safe spaces is available for all staff,	Support for and development of staff networks. Deliver access to access to RESPECT Allies and Advocates.	Membership of networks. Number of allies and advocates. Attendance at safe space events.	Enabling Council
1.4 Zero tolerance of workplace discrimination and prejudice with staff accountable at all levels having a greater understanding of the issues and how to identify and respond to them.	Deliver through a specific workforce development programme for equalities which includes the roll out widely of the RESPECT programme and a full programme which engages staff at all levels	Zero tolerance policy agreed. Supporting programmes in place advocacy and Allyship. Record of issues raised and resolution.	Enabling Council
1.5 Disability accessible workspace is maximised.	All Council services to produce a disability access audit.	Audit within the lifetime of the plan. Measure by service.	Enabling Council
1.6 All staff have access to corporate communications	Work with staff networks and services to develop communication channels beyond Bradnet to reach all staff, with a particular review to ensure that communication reaches staff in all settings	Measure channels available. Staff survey to check impact.	Enabling Council

Objective 2: Inclusive and accessible services

Services delivered and commissioned by the Council can play a significant part in addressing inequality, improving well-being and widening access to opportunities. In order to make the biggest impact on outcomes, ensure that they meet the needs of diverse communities and individuals and to maximise value for money we need to better understand who uses our services and where there are any gaps are in provision, the needs of our communities and the impact of our decisions about service provision. This means collecting appropriate data and intelligence, involving people in service design and delivery and ensuring that decisions about services and resource allocation are properly informed in terms of their impact on equalities and targeted appropriately. 

Outcome	Action	How will we know?	Link to Council Plan Priority Outcome / Corporate strategies
2.1 Current policies support the equality objectives of the organisation.	Review of policies set out in the LGA guidance on achieving equality to ensure the Council equality agenda is balanced across all protected characteristics and low income.	Measure the number of policies reviewed against those set out in the LGA guidance. Audit of reviewed policies for balance across all protected characteristics and low income.	Enabling Council
2.2 Improved understanding of service use by people with different protected characteristics and/or low income groups and steps taken to address gaps in provision.	Services to undertake data collection and research into user base. This will deliver a minimum data set and a more robust understanding of the diverse communities that we serve. Put in place plans to address any underuse of services by specific groups when appropriate.	Collect data on race, gender, LGBTQ and disability, postcode. Increase in social trust between community and services.	Enabling Council
2.3 A diverse range of service users and communities (including communities of interest) are engaged and involved in co-creation of services and outcomes.	Establish processes, guidance, training and evaluation for consultation and co creation within Council services.	Guidance and processes in place.	Enabling Council
2.4 Equality is a central consideration in decision making	Ensure all key decisions are informed by analysis and evidence of the implications for equalities. Review the process and practice of Equality Impact Assessments.	Annual review of a sample of EIAs	Enabling Council
2.5 All service plans to include specific equalities objectives	Audit service plans.	All service plans include specific equalities objectives.	Enabling Council
2.6 Reduced health inequalities through targeted interventions	Support to residents that is targeted and appropriate to their needs. A localities-based early help offer provides support tailored and responsive to the needs of local communities.	Indicators on: Gaps in healthy life expectancy Air quality Childhood obesity, Physical activity. Mental health	Better Health Better Lives
2.7 Ensure new services are designed with equality as a key driver	Develop an inclusive service and policy design guide that highlights the need to address barriers to access for low income individuals and families along with highlighting barriers to be removed for people who share other protected characteristics. This will include content on digital services, their inclusivity and the potential barriers to access.  The guide will also define when provision may be ‘exclusive' to support fair access to services.	Participation in the design stage. Equality data collected by services on usage. Complaints about access to services. Complaints about delivery of services.

Objective 3: An inclusive economy

People's economic circumstances can have a big impact on health and well-being, the housing that they live in and on social mobility. Bradford has higher than average rates of unemployment, high rates of youth unemployment, relatively low levels of participation in the economy and lower than average wages. Bradford offers significant potential for economic growth and we need to make sure that everyone has the chance to benefit from it. By supporting people into good work, building our skills base, investing locally and delivering decent housing to meet everyone's needs we can progress towards our goal of building an inclusive economy that works for everyone.  

Outcome	Action	How will we know?	Link to Council Plan Priority Outcome / Corporate strategies
3.1 Increased proportion of Council expenditure that is spent with local organisations.	Delivery and reporting on social value procurement and the target for local spend. Increase the overall value of Council commissioning spend on charity and voluntary sector contracts. Target is an increase on current spend of £22.2m per Year. Increase the amount of Council spending on resources locally to 50% of total by 2024.	Percentage Council spend on local suppliers and contractors. Level of spend with VCS organisations	Skills Jobs and Economy. Enabling Council. Pioneering, Confident and Connected – An Economic Strategy for Bradford District 2018-2030. Bradford Council Procurement Strategy
3.2 Support is available to people to prevent them falling into poverty or to help them out of it.	Develop and implement an Anti-Poverty Strategy	Levels of deprivation. Levels of Child Poverty	Anti-Poverty Strategy
3.3 People furthest from the labour market, including those with disabilities, can access targeted support to get them into work.. (no associated metric under this CP outcome)	Deliver specific programmes of work to support people with disabilities, care leavers and people with mental health problems into paid employment	Percentage of adults who have a learning disability in paid employment (national ASCOF measure). Percentage of adults with mental health problems in paid employment (national ASCOF measure)	Skills Jobs and Economy. People, Skills, Prosperity. Better Health Better Lives. People, Skills, Prosperity – Bradford District's Workforce Development Plan
3.4 Increased earnings of employees in the area and close the gap with the national average.	Delivery of an integrated employer offer through SkillsHouse for the development of strategic workforce planning and high-performance workplace practices	Household income levels. Earnings per worker. Earnings per capita	Skills Jobs and Economy
3.5 Our young and enterprising population is equipped with the skills and confidence to succeed.	Increase the percentage of people with NVQ level 3 and above, and close the gap to the national average. Further develop and promote T Level and apprenticeship pathways. Careers and Technical Education (CTE) and The Future Technologies centre(FTC) partnerships secure employer input to curriculum to ensure students acquire relevant, in-demand skills. Deliver careers and work-related learning services into schools and colleges. Support development of proposal for a sixth form centre in Keighley/North of district. Deliver Raising Attainment Strategy across early years, primary and secondary	16-18 destination measures. 16-18 NEET rate. Attainment rate of level 2 and 3 by age 19. Youth claimant rate. Percentage of working age population with NVQ level 3 and above	Skills Jobs and Economy. People, Skills, Prosperity. Good Start, Great Schools
3.6 Leadership and participation in culture and the creative industries will be widened and more representative of our communities.	Draw 50% of Bradford's creative workforce, audiences and cultural leadership from people currently underrepresented in the culture and creative industries sector.. Give 250,000 people in the District's most deprived wards the opportunity to get involved with arts, culture and heritage activities	Measure of the creative workforce through workforce survey. Metrics from City of Culture for participation in cultural activity	Better Health Better Lives. Safe Clean and Active. Culture is our Plan
3.7 Everyone has access to decent housing that meets their needs	Support for our residents who have a range of specific and specialist needs by improving access to suitable housing and help them sustain tenancies through our Housing Enabling Strategy (has no associated metric)	Percentage of adults who have a learning disability in settled accommodation (national ASCOF measure). Percentage  of adults with mental health problems in settled accommodation (national ASCOF measure)	Decent Homes

Objective 4: Inclusive Communities

We cannot tackle inequality without tackling discrimination and standing up to hate crime. We must also work to integrate communities to build understanding and challenge myths and we need to ensure that everyone has the chance to have their voices heard and to play their part in civic life. Tackling hate and discrimination, building cohesion and empowering local people are all central themes in our Council Plan. This objective will help to ensure that Council services are focussed on supporting our communities to be safe, strong and active.

Outcome	Action	How will we know?	Link to Council Plan Priority Outcome / Corporate strategies
4.1 Promote zero tolerance of discrimination.	Support district-wide campaigns for zero tolerance of discrimination across all protected characteristics. Work with Bradford Hate Crime Alliance (BHCA) and West Yorkshire Police (WYP) and partners to develop and deliver campaigns	Council involvement in related campaigns. Number of training events held: in education settings for public for business partners Number of VCS initiatives. Feedback from victims through including from our 27 reporting centres across the district	Safe, Strong and Active
4.2 People are more aware of hate crime, more confident in reporting it and have access to support. Agencies have a better understanding of the dynamics of hate crime.	Work with partners to deliver the Hate Crime Strategy. New arrivals who are asylum seekers and refugees are informed of their rights and responsibilities and how to report through the City of Sanctuary programme. Work with key faith communities of interest partners including Equity Partnership , Equality Together, Council for Mosques etc.	Number of reported hate crime and incidents. Programme of activities offered during October's Hate Crime Week involving: public Partners, including health, education, transport and other key partners Number of internal and external social media campaigns delivered with key partners. Feedback on use and reporting through the BCHA App for hate Crime. Number of training and awareness raising campaigns in school and community organisations
4.3 Progress on Child Friendly District principles to ensure children and young people in our communities have a voice and influence to make change.	Baseline current opportunities and involvement of young people in decision-making across the District. Deliver the Child Friendly Cities programme	Number of young people represented on decision making structures within the Council and through the District and VCS partnerships. Feedback from young people that they have been involved in decisions	Good Start, Great Schools. People, Skills, Prosperity – Bradford District's Workforce Development Plan. Bradford Children, Young People and Families Plan
4.4 People from different backgrounds get on with each other better	Refresh of the Bradford For Everyone Stronger Communities Strategy and plan refresh 2023. Support Windrush, Black History Month, South Asian History Month and other community and cultural events and initiatives. Develop and roll out use of Citizen Coin. Stronger Communities Partnership and Engagement Officers will work with communities of interest groups to support their action plans. Support to VCS sector for local service provision ensuring equity of opportunity under the VCS Service Improvement Programme particularly through the ‘Voice and Influence' element of the contract. To keep ‘Welcome to Bradford' website updated and relevant and support Refugee Week	Increase in number of people from different backgrounds reporting that they get along with others in their local area. Number of people and number of ‘different backgrounds' engaged with campaigns and through social media, and events and consultation. Number of people from 'different backgrounds' participating, co-designing, and giving feedback. Number of people, and number of 'different backgrounds' taking part in activities such as: People Can opportunities Big Lunches Citizen Coin as Citizen Coin data reflecting volunteering and participation across many sectors in the district. Number of COI Action Plans on the Council's website. Quarterly monitoring reports to Stronger Communities Partnership	Safe, Strong and Active
4.5 VCS is actively engaged in decision making	To increase diversity of stakeholders and organisational representation across the strategic partnership structure.. Review of VCS engagement across the Council in a post pandemic environment to ensure it includes large and small organisations. Work in collaboration to ensure flexible delivery on contracts awarded to VCS infrastructure organisations ensuring it meets need. Delivery of a new Service Improvement Programme (for infrastructure support across the district). Co-design and publish a new COMPACT- that aims to support mutual understanding and working between the Council and its voluntary, community, and social enterprise and statutory sectors. Deliver the Volunteering Cities programme with City of Culture 2025 and Community Action Bradford and District (CABAD). Stronger Communities partnership and Engagement Staff work in partnership with VCS staff in a co-designed programme of activity	Representation from CABAD and Race Equality Network (REN) on Wellbeing and Safer and Stronger Boards. Number of co-designed programmes, including: volunteering support to communities of interest Compact Quarter 3 delivery of the Volunteering Cities programme generates a diverse mix of volunteers in readiness of 2025. Number of co-designed projects and initiatives delivered.
4.6 Celebrating diversity through events and civic recognition	Alongside key partners, support memorial and cultural events, such as: Windrush, Black History Month, South Asian History Month, Disability History Month, Pride, Inclusion week, International Women's Day. Work with schools and community organisations to put on events to learn about the Holocaust, Remembering Srebrenica, Windrush, Black History Month, South Asian History Month. Provide a calendar of events that promotes key memorial and cultural dates and coordinates activity with partners. People Can providing opportunities to bring communities together through volunteering. Encourage and support our VCS partners to get involved in Big Lunches. Supporting the consultation for the new Commonwealth War Memorial that will acknowledge contribution of WW1 and 2 soldiers	Events calendar produced and regular bulletins sent to key partners. Use online portal and app based communication of activities and resources available to support communities and individuals volunteering. Level of community involvement, participation and engagement at events
4.7 Help to reduce health inequalities through implementation of the Clean Air Plan	Implement the Clean Air Plan. It is expected that the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will reduce concentrations of nitrogen dioxide by up to 35 percent at key locations in the district. The CAZ will not only improve air quality within the CAZ boundary, but all wards in the district should see improvements in air quality. This will still have health benefits. To work with Born in Bradford (BiB) who are carrying out a Health Impact Assessment (HIA,) on the CAZ, the only one in the UK carrying out a HIA and described by the Government as a project of national significance. Citizen Coin to work with schools, and highways and transport staff to integrate its rewards into existing and new sustainable transport and clean air initiatives. Community clean ups, encouraging people and communities to participate in health activities, walking cycling and other green/ sustainable initiatives, to the range of activities that can be awarded Citizen Coins.	Achieve compliance with Bradford Clean Air Plan by 2022. BiB estimate that the CAZ will reduce emergency hospital admissions for Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, respiratory disease and asthma and provide substantial health cost savings to the NHS. The CAZ involves an extensive monitoring and evaluation programme that is reported to Government on a quarterly basis and includes 400 air quality monitoring points across the district. The 360 CAZ enforcement cameras will provide data as to the continuing improvement in vehicle emission standards. BiB have been working with 20 schools for nearly a year, monitoring pupil exposure to air pollution and carrying out health checks – this programme will continue after CAZ launch. 400 air quality monitoring points across the district. Capture data on usage of Citizen Coin by incentive and use of reward. Capture data through Citizen Coin to report on level of success of initiatives and rewards available

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Easy Read version

You can read an Easy Read version of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan (PDF).