Equality Objectives Annual Report 2023-24

The focus of this objective is to ensure that Council services, information, consultation and engagement opportunities remain accessible to all residents, particularly those with protected characteristics.

Areas of Activity

A) Better understanding of the nature of our customer contact

We have mapped our customer contact activity and identified trends in user activity. This insight will be used to improve our customer contact approach, to meet the needs of both digital and non-digital citizens. Existing data and secondary research have also been analysed, partly to understand reasons behind digital exclusion and to inform a suitable future approach.

This work builds upon our existing approach to provide and maintain customer contact that is accessible to all. Much Council information is available on our website in an accessible format and contact can also be made via social media channels; for those not able or comfortable using online contact methods, we offer a phone and SMS contact option through our Customer Contact Centre, The same team also monitors postal correspondence and staff’s our Town Hall Reception in Reigate, where guidance and signposting can be given to those attending in person. 

B) Making sure services and information are accessible for those with protected characteristics

Communications

The council uses a wide variety of communication methods to make information and news available to as many as possible within the borough. Our regular communication channels include both digital media, such as email, social media and the Council website, along with more traditional forms, such as our printed resident magazine, Borough News, flyers, posters and banners, and stories in local print media. We also use TV and radio broadcast opportunities, putting senior council leaders forward for interview. Printed material is available in a range of languages and accessible formats on request.

Using information from the 2021 Census, we updated the range of translations provided to reflect the languages most commonly spoken within the borough.

As part of ensuring information is available to those who do not use digital channels, the council uses its network of local connections, local organisations, community development workers and champions to disseminate information. Our physical sites, such as community centres, also help provide news and information for visitors.

Consultation and engagement

Equality and diversity considerations are explicitly incorporated into the design of Council consultation and engagement projects. This includes considering the needs of participants and utilising the most appropriate methods to enable them to both access and respond to the process. This approach is supported in our Consultation Toolkit, and we’re continuing to look at how we do more to make sure consultations reach all parts of the borough and are accessible to everyone.

As with other areas, where we use online and electronic tools for conducting consultations, we offer options for accessing information and responding through other channels, including papers copies, over the phone assistance, and specific language and accessibility support where required.

In line with data privacy regulation, and with participants’ consent, data such as gender, age, ethnicity, and long term health and disability is collected to monitor how well we have reached different demographics within our consultations and other engagement. This enables us to boost participation in under-represented groups where possible and, where appropriate, we can analyse responses according to these groups to provide insight into the different perceptions and experiences of sections of our community. With the availability of the 2021 Census data, we can compare the data we collect with that for the borough to help us better identify where those gaps in representation may be.

Website accessibility

All online material published by the Council must be compliant with national accessibility regulations. This means that all users should be able to access online services, and all new content created should be fully accessible. We are constantly updating our website with the assistance of an online accessibility audit tool, and our website provider has updated the site to be WCAG 2.2 compliant. WCAG 2.2 is the latest version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which are an internationally recognised set of recommendations for improving web accessibility. How our website complies with the regulations is set out in our website accessibility statement, which is published at: www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/accessibility-statement.

Work is ongoing to ensure new content is fully compliant with all regulations. For a second year running we’ve expanded the training for the organisations online content editors on creating accessible content that complies with current and future regulations, and makes material easy to access and understand.

Future Focus

We work to make sure that our services are accessible to all, and the information we provide matches the needs of local people. By continuing to build our understanding of resident needs and preferences in accessing information, we can continually improve our offer to those needing information and support. Whilst digital media is increasing in popularity, we will ensure that news and information remains accessible to those without digital access.

The Council’s website and online services will continue to be updated to reflect accessibility objectives, and understanding of these needs will be expanded across the organisation. In this we are helped by newly introduced automated accessibility checking software to improve the website experience for everyone.

These considerations will also continue to be reflected and maintained in the wider work of the organisation, including both specific consultations and engagement and the day to day work of services. We will seek to continue to build on the lessons of recent years, and use our strengthened connections to local communities and organisations to enhance this approach.