Issue - meetings

Report of the Chief Executive

The Service Manager for Economic Growth and Property presented the Diversity Annual Report to the Group and explained that the report included information about Rushcliffe Borough Councillors, information from the 2021 census and that the number of Council employees had increased due to bringing Streetwise Environmental in-house.

The Service Manager for Economic Growth and Property took the Group through the demographic data, highlighting that 89% of residents were white, 28% of residents were aged 60+, that 6% of residents had a long term health problem or disability which limited their daily activity and that there were slightly more males than females in the Borough. In comparison, 84% of Rushcliffe Borough Council staff were white, with this standing at 88% for the East Midlands and 25% of East Midlands’ residents were aged 60+. The Council had 38% female and 62% male employees, likely impacted by it having a manual workforce.

In relation to gender pay gap reporting, the Service Manager for Economic Growth and Property explained that all employers with 250+ employees had to declare this information and that for the Council the ratio in 2022 was 3.46% higher for women.

In relation to job applicants, the Service Manager for Economic Growth and Property said that 60% had been white, 92% had not reported a disability and the majority were aged between 25 and 34, which was lower than the majority Council employee age which was between 45 to 54.

In relation to Rushcliffe Borough Councillors, the Service Manager for Economic Growth and Property said that 66% were male and the majority were aged 65+. The Council did not currently record Councillor ethnicity.

The Service Manager for Economic Growth and Property presented an update on the Equality and Diversity Scheme and explained that the scheme had evolved to become a live document with a supporting action plan to proactively monitor progress. She confirmed that the Action Plan had been adopted in May 2021 and was reported to this Group annually, to review work carried out over the last 12 months and to influence planning for the coming 12 months.

The Service Manager for Economic Growth and Property said that the focus was to make Rushcliffe a welcoming place with easy to access services for everyone, and a place where everyone could achieve their potential. She said that the aim was for these ambitions to be embedded across the Council and as such it had been designated as a strategic task which would be regularly reported on. Training had also been provided for all staff and Councillors and the Council would be further supported by East Midlands Councils in shaping the work of the Steering Group.

The Service Manager for Economic Growth and Property highlighted schemes which had been delivered by the Council over the past year, including at Rushcliffe Country Park which had a new shelter with hard flooring and wheelchair accessible benches and paths and a changing places toilet, Bingham Arena which had been built to the highest accessibility standards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5