This policy guides our Councillors, staff, partner activities and decision-making and lets our residents know what they can expect from us and how they can contribute to an inclusive borough.
We ran a public consultation on this policy and the policy has been shaped by what we heard matters to our residents and staff.
We want to help enable everyone in Bexley to reach their full potential and benefit from everything Bexley has to offer. This will mean Bexley, as a borough, can reach its full potential too - with a thriving economy and cohesive and strong communities.
We recognise and welcome our commitments under the Public Sector Equality Duty to have due regard to the need to:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
- advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
- foster or encourage good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not share that characteristic. The duty applies across the nine protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010 (with the exception of marriage and civil partnership, where the council is only required to eliminate unlawful discrimination with regard to this characteristic)
The protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
We recognise that socio-economic factors, such as income, housing, job security, and education, underpin and reinforce many inequalities. For example, the areas in Bexley that are the most deprived, with the highest levels of income poverty, are also the most ethnically diverse. We are committed to understanding and tackling these challenges too.
