Promoting equalities

  • By lisa.dominic

London Councils supports all 33 London boroughs in promoting equality and respecting diversity so that the needs of all communities in London are met. 

London Councils meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010. The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), part of the Equality Act, came into force in April 2011. The Equality Duty has three aims. It requires public bodies to have 'due regard' to the need to:

  • Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act
  • Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it
  • Foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it.

This requirement is primarily about decision making and ensuring that the organisation pays 'due regard' to the Equality Duty when making decisions about policies and services. There is also a specific duty to:

  • Publish information to demonstrate compliance with the PSED at least annually starting from 31 January 2012
  • Prepare and publish equality objectives at least every four years starting from 6 April 2012.

Published information

We publish our Equal Opportunities Policy which outlines how London Councils will ensure that equality and diversity issues are positively and fully incorporated in all aspects of London Councils’ work and our expectations of our staff in regard to equalities. We also publish reports to our members committees on reviews or proposed changes to services which include, where appropriate, Equalities Impact Assessments. If you are looking for particular information and would like assistance locating it, please contact our FOI officer.

As our organisation employs less than 150 staff, we are not required to publish workforce information however we do publish summaries of our annual workforce audit.