Council Policies

The Council's Commitment to Equality

Rossendale Borough Council is committed to tackling discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity and good community relations.

Our commitment applies to all areas of our work including service provision and commissioning, employment and regulation. We will work with our partners in the private, public and community sectors to achieve our objectives. We believe that the diversity of Rossendale is one of our greatest assets and should be celebrated and valued.

Our Equality Policy sets out our key commitments and identifies who is responsible for ensuring they are implemented. 

The Council's Responsibilities

Rossendale Borough Council is required by the general public sector duty of the Equality Act 2010 to "have due regard to the need to":

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

The duty applies in respect of:

• age
• disability
• race
• sex
• religion or belief
• sexual orientation
• gender reassignment
• pregnancy and maternity
• marriage and civil partnership (employment only).

The Council's Equality Objectives 

• Ensuring that equalities policies and procedures are applied consistently and sensitively across the Council.
• Make sure our workforce is representative of the wider population.
• Ensure that senior management take the lead in promoting equality and embed it across the organisation through their own model behaviour.
• Encouraging knowledge and resource sharing within the organisation and supporting our staff and most vulnerable residents to achieve their best.
• Improving and developing our services through feedback, to make sure residents' needs are better met, with a focus on those with protected characteristics. 
• Ensuring that managers receive training to make all staff are supported in their roles and career development, and better understanding is promoted in teams.