Issue - meetings

The report of the Executive Manager – Transformation is attached.

The Human Resources Manager presented the report of the Executive Manager – Transformation which set out the Council’s performance against the objectives set out in the Single Equality Scheme during 2018/19. It was noted that the information presented in the report compared demographic information for the Borough, using the latest census information, with that of the Council’s workforce with this information being taken from the HR Payroll system.

The Human Resources Manager noted that the majority of the population of Rushcliffe was over 60 whereas the majority of Rushcliffe Borough Council employees were aged between 35 – 44 years. It was also explained that during 2018/19 there was an increase of Rushcliffe Borough Council employees who had declared that they had a disability. The Human Resources Manager was pleased to note that the Council had recently employed its first woman HGV driver and hoped that more women would be encouraged to apply for manual labour jobs. It was noted more women had received bonus payments due to performance related pay being introduced for the customer services team based at the Rushcliffe Community Contact Centre in West Bridgford.

Members of the Group asked questions regarding the recording of equality data for Councillors. The Human Resources Manager noted that equality data of Councillors was not required and that Councillors were selected firstly by political parties and electors. It was noted however that the Local Government Association encouraged political parties to select a diverse range of candidates. It was suggested that this issue could be discussed at Member Development Group about how the Council could encourage more women and residents from different ethnicities to stand for election. It was noted that the Council encouraged the promotion of women in the Council’s senior leadership team. 

It was RESOLVED that the report be endorsed by the Corporate Overview Group.