Equality Objectives Consultation

We asked for your views on the council’s draft equality objectives. We asked if respondents agreed with each of the proposed objectives, to rank each objective in order of priority, if anything was missing from the objectives, and for any further comments relating to the objectives.

40 people responded to the consultation. 67.5% of respondents were residents, 72.5% regularly worked in Slough, and 50% worked for Slough Borough Council.

There was strong support for the three objectives focused on residents, with 80-90% strongly agreeing or agreeing with the objectives. There was less support for the two objectives focused on the council’s workforce, with 65-72.5% strongly agreeing or agreeing. The three resident-focused objectives were ranked as the most important, with the two focused on children and young people being ranked as the two most important. There was a variety of additional comments from respondents, particularly on community safety and risks to women being missing from the objectives, the correlation between housing and health inequality, and the potential to combine the two children and young people focused objectives into one objective.

An analysis of the consultation responses was presented to Cabinet on 15 April 2024 and can be read on the council’s website.

Changes were made to the objectives following feedback from the public consultation, stakeholders, additional data, and the LGA Equality Framework. Key changes relating to the consultation responses included combining the two objectives focused on children and young people into one objective, the addition of a new objective focused on community safety (particularly in relation to women and girls), and the specific mention of housing in relation to health inequalities. The objectives focused on the council’s workforce were also rewritten to reflect the LGA Equality Framework. The updated objectives and more detail on the changes can be read in the cabinet report.

Cabinet approved the updated objectives on 15 April 2024. Further information and reports on equalities can be found on the equality and diversity page on the council’s website.