Council given four stars for equalities

Rochdale Council has been externally assessed as having reached level four of the equality standard for local government. Only 14% of all metropolitan authorities in England have achieved level four or five status.

The Council's policies and processes were examined to determine how fair and equal services and employment practices are in the organisation, regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

Chief Executive Roger Ellis said that Reaching level 4 was a fantastic achievement that reflects the council’s commitment to equality: “This is a great achievement for the council and testament to the hard work and effort put in by our staff. However, we are not complacent and our aim is to now go on and achieve level five.”

The Equality Standard has five levels, which exist to ensure fair and good quality service delivery and employment is mainstreamed across the council.

The assessment process looked at leadership and corporate commitment, community engagement and accountability, service delivery and customer care, employment and training.

Councillor Keith Swift, Cabinet Member Champion for Equality and Diversity said that while the result is a robust foundation, a good deal of hard work lies ahead: “We believe that equality should be part of the fabric of the organisation and be reflected in the way we work, provide services and recruit staff. The achievement of Level 4 shows the hard work and commitment of the Service Equality Contacts (Equalities Champions) across the organisation, they should be congratulated on the work they’ve done.”