Agenda item

To receive an update report from the Director of Strategy and Resources on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) which includes input and feedback from each of the Council’s staff networks. This item builds on previous work undertaken by the Board in 2022/23 which sought to hear directly about lived experiences working for the Council from the staff networks and also to review and comment on the corporate approach to EDI.

The Board considered a report from the Director of Strategy and Resources providing an update on the Council’s approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) which includes input and feedback from each of the Council’s staff networks. This item follows previous work undertaken by the Board in previous municipal years which sought to hear directly about lived experiences working for the Council from the staff networks and also to review and comment on the Council’s wider approach to EDI.

In attendance for this item were:

·  Cllr Debra Coupar, Executive Board Member for Resources

·  Tom Riordan, Chief Executive

·  Mariana Pexton, Director of Strategy and Resources

·  Andy Dodman, Chief Officer HR

·  John Ebo, Head of HR – EDI

·  Vanessa Wenham, Freedom to Speak Up Guardian (FTSUG)

·  Kat Denvir, LGBT+ Network Chair

·  Terry Pycroft, DAWN Network Chair

·  Maisie Roberts, DAWN Network Vice-Chair

·  Lydia Anchen, Women’s Voice Network Chair

·  Carole Gentles, Race Equality Network Co-Chair

·  Hayley Lloyd-Henry, Race Equality Network Co-Chair

·  Mej Chaudhry, Carers Network Chair

·  Helen Saunders, Healthy Minds Network Chair

·  Sasha Walton, Career Advancement Network Co-Chair

·  Paul Leahy, HR Business Partner

The Chief Executive, Tom Riordan recorded his thanks for the work of the networks and in particular the Chairs who take on the responsibility in addition to their daily roles for the Council. It was noted that EDI is a key priority of the Council to reduce stigma and stereotyping and enable people to bring their whole selves to work and achieve their potential. It was emphasised that EDI is central to the Council and what it is trying to achieve on key issues such as having a workforce that reflects the diversity found in Leeds. It is not an easy agenda and sometimes there are difficult issues to address but progress has been made. The recent drive to provide mandatory EDI training to managers was highlighted as a key example of recent work but there is still work to do to ensure that progress continues.

The Chair of the Board, Cllr Khan also added his thanks and appreciation to the networks for the work they do and highlighted the diversity found in Leeds as a strength of the city adding to its vibrancy and contributing to its success.

The Board received a presentation setting out the Council’s overall approach to EDI and the progress made since the issue was last considered by the Board in the 2022/23 municipal year. Key elements of this included:

·  Details on the five workforce priorities on EDI – Training, Recruitment, Data Monitoring, Speaking Up/Discrimination and Progression

·  Information on the five step Be Your Best training programme for the Council’s 2,200 appraising managers, highlighting that the Council is now on the final step of the five step programme which is review and reflection of what the impact has been following this work

·  Voluntary training has also been delivered to elected members with a focus on the committee chairs, Executive Board and other senior elected members

·  The ongoing work of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian (FTSUG) including the challenges faced and overall aim to create a positive speaking up culture within the Council

·  The role of the staff networks and the importance of their roles including the passion and commitment they bring to this agenda

·  The ongoing role of the Recruitment Task and Finish Group, including embedding clear guidance for managers on inclusive recruitment & selection and the commitment to diverse recruitment selection panels

·  The recently launched 18 month Aspiring Leaders Programme, which has recruited 16 aspiring leaders and is aimed at under-represented groups providing opportunities to build the skills & experience to become future senior leaders

·  The launch of an EDI data dashboard which shows how diverse and representative the workforce is at the Council and offers opportunities to compare across different teams and services against wider averages both in Leeds as a city and the Council workforce as a whole.

·  Details of priorities and next steps including completion of the five step Be Your Best Manager Training Programme, the Annual Equality Report to the July Executive Board, continued communications and engagement and ongoing support to the staff networks and FTSUG.

The Board also received a further presentation which enabled each of the seven staff networks to present their views on the Council’s approach to EDI, including where things have gone well, ongoing challenges and priorities for 2024/25. Each network presented against these key areas providing details on lived experiences of their network members. All networks highlighted the positive way in which challenge has been received by council leadership and that progress has taken place over the past 12-18 months. Key points covered included:

·  The Race Equality network highlighted the need for progression and representation at all levels in the Council, suggesting that at senior manager and wider management levels (above PO2) that is not always the case. Informal progression and succession planning were highlighted as areas that could assist with increased progression of ethnically diverse colleagues.

·  The Women’s Voice network were keen to emphasise internal changes including the new Chair and the potential for added capacity through ongoing development as a network. There is now a new steering group with more regular meetings and elected member and CLT representation. Priorities included: the need for a clear strategy to address gender equality in the workplace including a focus on women’s life course/well-being and a desire to benchmark against other organisations in terms of gender equality.

·  The LGBT+ Network highlighted the quick changes delivered to IT functionality around use of pronouns on MS Teams as well as benchmarking through completion and submission of the Workplace Equality Index as recent, positive work. A key concern of the network remains around the continued politicisation of LGBT+ identities and rights and the hostility and hate crime that can lead from this with impacts on staff in terms of depression which can impact on the workplace. There was a wider concern around consistency of approach in relation to LGBT+ inclusion and ownership the view being that the Equality Team or the Network itself run the overwhelming majority of the work.

·  The Dawn Network highlighted the positive progress made since 2019 both internally and externally to the Council. Key challenges were around application and manager understanding of reasonable adjustments, the volume of disabled colleagues who are in the attendance and performance management processes with a focus on developing a refreshed disability strategy to address this and improving representation within the workforce to better reflect the city demographics through positive action initiatives and removal of barriers that disabled colleagues face on progression.

·  The Carers Network highlighted the Super Families element of the network and the work they do. Work life balance was stressed as an issue with network members often having busy work and home lives. A key focus in the future is enhanced membership and ambassadors/allies, work on a survey with the DAWN and Healthy Minds network to better understand the challenges faced by colleagues and development of the Carer Confident Accreditation working with colleagues in HR on a submission for next year.

·  Healthy Minds Network highlighted increased links to frontline staff through a men’s and women’s talking group established at Leeds Building Services and the Mental Health First Aider conference held in December 2023 to provide support to that staff cohort and with plans to run the conference again in April 2024. In terms of challenge a key issue raised was around staff being allowed the time off to attend some of the sessions offered by the network such as the ‘How are You Feeling’ events. Providing more support to the frontline was highlighted as a key ambition for 2024/25.

·  The Career Advancement Network highlighted internal changes that have strengthened the steering group and should increase capacity of the network and external links being developed to run new programmes in 2024/25. In 2024 the network will be involved in the Aspiring Leaders Programme, will look to develop bespoke approaches to support for different services and relaunching the informal coffee mornings and events. The network will also continue to focus on support to individuals as requests arise.

In response to questions and comments from the Board the following issues were discussed:

·  The Executive Board Member for Resources added her thanks to the networks for the work they do as well as thanking the DAWN Network Chair, Terry Pycroft, for his service as he will be retiring in March 2024.

·  Members wanted to understand more about how the Council workforce reflects the wider demographics in the city and embedding change in the culture of the authority. The Board also wanted to know more about recognising meritocracy and ensuring that positive action does not become positive discrimination. In response the board heard that culture change is a key element of the work and embedding it in day to day activity and that all staff are engaged in the agenda, led by managers. On positive action, the approaches are taken based on the law and on the data available to the authority which highlights that some groups are clearly underrepresented, the new Aspiring Leaders Programme is based on analysis of data.

·  The Board asked about the 0.8% of managers who have not yet had the Be Your Best Manager Training, whether staff who have protected characteristics think there has been positive progress and what will happen after step 5 in the be your best approach with an emphasis on developing a plan to move forward with once that programme has concluded. In response the Board heard that the manager training is mandated, and managers will not be able to wilfully avoid the training and the 0.8% will to some extent reflect staff turnover which will be followed up on through additional training sessions. Post step 5 the plan is still in development but there are plans to do service specific work to move the EDI journey on particularly in areas where the culture in the organisation varies, it will be a targeted, ‘hot spot’ approach. Capacity of the HR EDI Team is limited, having done the strategic piece for managers accountability is encouraged and managers are encouraged to own that through objectives rather than a continuous training journey. This is an issue of capacity as well as embedding accountability and the change in culture.

·  In discussion it was noted that the elected members training was voluntary as opposed to mandatory but that it had been a positive cross party discussion on EDI, it was suggested that the report should note that it was voluntary for members as opposed to the approach with staff.

·  In response to a question on liaison between the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian (FTSUG) and Trade Unions the Board heard that there is a positive working relationship between the FTSUG and Unions but there is room for improvement in terms of working together strategically through more attendance by the FTSUG at the Joint Trade Union meetings that take place.

·  On a wider point on FTSUG there are examples of staff who speak up that are not directly affected by behaviours but who have witnessed poor practice or behaviour.

·  The capacity of the FTSUG was also discussed by the Board. The idea of champions was mentioned but ultimately the workload would fall on the appointed FTSUG as a champion could not replace the role fully. There are links between the FTSUG and Internal Audit along with the role played by staff networks in referring cases to the FTSUG.

·  The Board were interested in the digital divide where some staff are harder to reach both through the staff networks and the FTSUG. Members were keen to know if the planned digital app work which would make functionality available through personal devices was still on track, to which the answer was in the affirmative linked to the Core Business Transformation developments.

·  Members wanted to know more about the impact of the work being done by the Council on EDI both through the workforce priorities initiative and the FTSUG particularly focussing on data and statistics to back this up in terms of reductions in negative behaviour and discrimination. A key question being; has there been a reduction in the volume of complaints and grievances as well as anecdotal evidence that improvements are being seen. In response, and also in answer to the question about those with protected characteristics and how they feel about the Council’s approach to EDI, the Board were informed that the staff survey revealed positive data on whether services and teams take EDI seriously, there was a positive response overall and only slightly lower for those with protected characteristics, in the region of 8 or 9 out of 10 responders felt it was taken seriously.

·  The Board also asked about a trauma informed approach and what this means on the ground in terms of behaviour and does the Council have its own version of being trauma informed. The Board were informed that it is based on being compassionate, kind and understanding but also acting on issues, so compassion leading to action.

·  The Board also sought to understand more about allyship and how much value it brings. In response the Board were informed that allyship is seen as an activity and not just a title so activities such as examining of biases and delivering proactive work in support of networks. It was also added that allies can assist in identifying and challenging micro-aggressions in support of colleagues with protected characteristics.

·  In response to a query about ministerial statements on EDI linked to financial pressures, the Chief Executive was clear that any work on productivity plans would emphasise that there is confidence about the value of EDI work, with none discredited (as was suggested in some of the statements) and that this is backed up with productivity and performance at the Council which compares well with other similar organisations. It was also noted that this challenge is welcome and it is why the EDI agenda is at the centre of the Council’s activity as it can assist with improving experiences at work, reducing sickness and improving performance by allowing everyone to be their best. Whilst the data is positive this does not always match lived experiences and there is therefore more work to do on this in the coming months and years.

·  In response to a question about the Aspiring Leaders Programme members were informed that the key difference with this programme, compared to others, is intention and clear priorities around outcomes in trying to deliver a more diverse position in future years at senior levels in the authority. It was made clear that there is no job guarantee through the programme, so it is based on merit but aimed at underrepresented groups and protected characteristics.

·  The Board heard more about recruitment and the commitment to inclusion during the application process with inclusion at the heart of interview processes and trying to ensure that applicants feel it has been a fair and transparent process. It was also noted that diversity of thought is an important element of recruitment panels not all protected characteristics are visible. The Recruitment Task and Finish Group has been central in delivering changes in this area with the network leads well represented on this group.

·  The Executive Member for Resources noted the past discussion that has taken place on EDI at Scrutiny. The organisation has clearly progressed during the time it has featured on the Board’s work programme and is an issue that is has clear commitment from senior leadership of the authority that has been developed quickly and is making a difference within the Council. It was also noted that there is still much to do in terms of improving staff experience across the piece and noted the ongoing role of scrutiny in terms of check and challenge of the work that is going on.

Approved

The Board:

a)  noted the content of the report and the positive work that has been done on EDI over the past 12 to 18 months.

b)  Agreed to the Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Board providing formal comment on the ongoing EDI work being carried out by the authority, through a Scrutiny Board statement that would reflect the Board’s consideration of this issue since the 2021/22 municipal year.