Our equality policy

Duties of the Equality Act 2010

The Public Sector Duty of the Equality Act 2010 requires St Helens Borough Council to have "due regard" to the following requirements within its decisions, service delivery and employment:

Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
Foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 requires St Helens Borough Council to

publish information annually to demonstrate its compliance with the Public Sector Duty of the Equality Act 2010
- St Helens Borough Council publishes compliance information annually, most recently the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Monitoring Report for 2022-23, published in March 2024. St Helens Borough Council Annual EDI Monitoring Report 2022-23 (PDF, 1 MB)
at least every four years, prepare and publish one or more specific measurable equality objectives which it thinks it should achieve to meet the Public Sector Duty of the Equality Act 2010
- St Helens Borough Council sets its Measurable Equality Objectives within its Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy, published in 2022.

Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 requires St Helens Borough Council to prepare a written accessibility strategy, which must:

Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the schools' curriculums;
Improve the physical environment of schools for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and benefits, facilities or services provided or offered by the schools; and
Improve the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled.

St Helens Borough Council's Accessibility Strategy includes

Arrangements for increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the schools' curriculums are set out within St Helens Borough Council's Special Educational Needs and Disability - Local Offer.

Arrangements for improving the physical environment of schools are set out within our Programme of School Work, which is based on the assessment of all relevant built assets. Arrangements include contingency to make reasonable adjustments that meet unexpected or unforeseen access needs.

Arrangements for improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to non-disabled pupils is covered by St Helens Information Advice and Support Service.

Disability access

The council has a number of officers with a 'disability access' remit within the following service areas: Asset Management, Architects, Building Control, Building Surveyors, and Engineering. These staff ensure that (i) the Equalities Act (formerly the DDA), (ii) the current Building Regulations, and (iii) associated best practice are incorporated within all projects and services to ensure fair access for all.

For information about accessibility of council services or general disability access enquiries, please contact us using our online form.

Please select 'Equality and Diversity' from the options listed

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Website accessibility statement

The council's website accessibility statement sets out the arrangements we have in place to ensure that as many people as possible have full access to the information we have published on our webpages.

Equality, Diversity, and inclusion Policy

Our St Helens Borough Council Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy (PDF, 329 KB) sets out how we meets our duties under the Equality Act 2010.

It includes the following policy commitments:

St Helens Borough Council's definition of Antisemitism (adopted from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition)
St Helens Borough Council's definition of Islamophobia (adopted from the Tell Mama definition)
St Helens Borough Council's Race Equality Declaration Of Intent
St Helens Borough Council's Accessibility Charter
St Helens Borough Council's Disability Charter
St Helens Borough Council's Disability Impact Pledge