The Equalities team are seeking the views of people living and working in North Ayrshire on our proposals to take forward Equality and Diversity work both within the council and across North Ayrshire.
The team are looking for the views of as many people as possible as the activities we undertake will impact on a wide range of people.
To help us gather a range of views we have created a short survey.
You can access the survey here – Improving Equality and Diversity in North Ayrshire
Please note the survey deadline has been extended to Wednesday 26 March.
Background
Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council has a responsibility to review and develop what are called Equality Outcomes and Actions. These actions are designed to support and enhance the lives of people who often face a number of challenges and issues in their day-to-day life, that may not always be faced by other people or to the same extent as other people. Within the Equality Act these are defined as people with certain protected characteristics and are highlighted below.
The protected characteristics are:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender Reassignment
- Marriage & Civil Partnership
- Pregnancy & Maternity
- Race
- Religion or Belief
- Sex
- Sexual Orientation
- Care Experienced
There are 9 protected characteristics identified within the Equality Act (and within North Ayrshire we have an additional characteristic for people who are Care Experienced bringing our total to 10). It should be noted that everyone falls into at least 5 of these, including Age, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Race and Religion or Belief (which includes having no religion).
The focus on the protected characteristics in most cases is related to issues of discrimination or inequality, where people can be supported through various activities to help them get onto a level footing along with everyone else, so it is also about advancing equality of opportunity and building better understanding and relationships between people.
‘We would greatly appreciate colleagues taking the time to fill out our Equalities Survey as the results will inform our proposals and strategies moving forward over the next four years. The more people who fill out the survey, the higher range of views we will capture which will feed directly in to our reports and support the council’s overall mission of reducing inequalities and supporting people to lead better lives.”Amy Mullen, Equalities Inclusion Officer
Council Services have reviewed both local and national sources of evidence to consider key outcomes and action areas to take forward and these are highlighted in the survey. We are seeking your views on whether you agree these are the best outcomes to take forward over the next four years from 2025 to 2029.
Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. If you have any further questions please email: Equalities@north-ayrshire.gov.uk