Decision to be made on council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

Walsall Council’s plan to ensure the borough is inclusive for all will be set out at a cabinet meeting this week on Wednesday 11 December 2024.

As part of the discussion, two speakers will be attending the meeting to provide an internal and external perspective. They include Maire-Claire Kofi from the charity Plasma of Hope, which supports individuals who are living with Sickle Cell Disease or other related illnesses. Maire-Claire will talk about the inclusion of people with disabilities in access to services, education, employment and health. Another speaker, Kiran Brach, will present an internal perspective. Kiran is Chair of the LGBTQIA+ and the Emerging Professionals networks, and he will represent staff groups.   

Councillor Edward Lee, Portfolio Holder for Internal Resources at Walsall Council, said, “This Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy reflects our commitment to equity within our services, workforce, and communities.   

“Our focus on EDI is central to our mission, and we want to ensure that Walsall remains a great place to live, work, and visit.   

“The EDI strategy has been developed based on extensive feedback from residents, communities, council staff and best practice from across local government. This strategy is a very important piece of work for both the council and the borough, and we want to use it as a base to make a real impact for our residents.”   

The strategy, titled Ensuring Equity, aims to strengthen the council’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. Within the strategy, four clear objectives are set out.   

These are: 

Communities' objective: To work in partnership with our communities to build a borough where people belong and thrive.  

Leadership objective: To embed equitable and inclusive policy and decision making at the heart of the organisation.  

Services objective: To design and deliver accessible services that meet the needs of our diverse population.  

Workforce objective: To be an inclusive organisation, with staff at all levels who represent the diversity of our borough.   

An eight-week public consultation was held in July 2024, with feedback received used to inform the final version of the strategy. Throughout the consultation period, positive feedback was received for each of the four objectives within the strategy. Following approval, work will continue to develop an accompanying EDI action plan.   

Regular updates on progress will be provided through Portfolio Holder briefings at council meetings, with the next report taking place in March 2025 to outline progress made against the new strategy and objectives.  

Cabinet will meet on Wednesday 11 December 2024 at 6pm. An agenda and associated papers for this meeting can be found at: https://cmispublic.walsall.gov.uk/cmis/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/397/Meeting/3935/Committee/514/Default.aspx  

To view the meeting online, visit:  

http://www.walsallcouncilwebcasts.com/