Equality is an important part of what we do. We work hard to ensure that equalities practices are embedded across the organisation.

We have developed a corporate equality, diversity and inclusion statement which outlines our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. We have also produced an equality, diversity and inclusion action plan to support the delivery of our priorities. This will be reviewed annually. 

We aim to develop a culture of understanding and commitment to equalities so that we can continue to deliver appropriate high quality services that are focussed upon the diverse and individual needs of our community.

On 1 October 2010 the Equality Act came into force and replaced the previous discrimination legislation. The Act aims to create a single, harmonised and streamlined approach to provide protection from discrimination for individuals on the basis of 'protected characteristics'. These are on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

To measure our compliance with equality duty we collect data about our workforce, including recruitment, turnover, performance and training.