Motion proposed by Councillor Orson and Councillor Browne
The Council resolves :
To reaffirm its commitment to
promoting equality and fairness for all, and condemns any and all forms of racism; wherever it
is found.
As a Council to challenge ourselves to do more and
commit to do the following
·
Develop our councillors and workforce and take time to learn more about
racism and understand the impact on our communities.
·
Deliver the objectives set out in the
Corporate Equalities Policy;
·
Ask the Council’s Scrutiny Committee to consider the government’s
recently published “Covid-19: Understanding the impact on BAME communities”
report and consider the implications for Council services and the community and
make recommendations to Cabinet as to how the Council should respond; and
·
Designate one elected member as an
Equalities Champion who will work with the Council’s Equalities lead officer on
this agenda, providing further challenge and support to officers, Cabinet and Council
as appropriate
Minutes:
In support of the motion, Councillor Orson said
·
‘We live in unprecedented times, but despite
the heavy burden placed upon us all by this crisis, I am incredibly proud of
how both our community and this council has responded. Melton is an amazing
place and it is a great privilege to live here and serve here, but we cannot
ignore that covid-19 will mean that the things which make our communities
unequal will become even more pronounced;
·
Now more than ever we will need to redouble
our efforts to challenge disadvantage and discrimination and ensure we lead
from the front in seeking a fair and inclusive society for all;
·
The tragic death of George Floyd and the outpouring
of concern expressed by millions across the country highlights the very real
issues that many face and reminds us that we must not be complacent,
and that we must keep up the fight against racism, discrimination and
inequality;
·
As a Council we need to continuously
challenge ourselves, by asking what we can do better, we must create an
environment where everyone, from any racial background feels able to speak up
and expose racism with the confidence that the Council will respond in a
supportive and proactive way. We must
better understand the views of those who feel disadvantaged in our society and
we must seek out and tackle discrimination and prejudice wherever it exists. We
should not re-write our history but must learn from mistakes of the past and
ensure they are not repeated;
·
We must recognise the unconscious bias
within us all, which will shape our thinking and influence our behaviours, and
which can lead to inadvertent discrimination. And let’s be clear, whether
intentional or not, discrimination is discrimination and we must all take
responsibility for the impact of our own biases and prejudices and work to
combat them;
·
This Council welcomes and values the
diversity of its workforce, the people and the communities in the Borough, and
everyone who uses our services. The strength of our organisation comes from the
richness of our diversity and all that we can learn from each other. We are all
worthy of respect and dignity, and all of us should be judged by our actions
not by the colour of our skin or any other innate characteristic. We must
work hard to promote inclusivity and celebrate diversity, I know that we are
working hard to achieve this throughout the organisation, but we must continue
to look for ways in which we can improve;
·
As leaders of this organisation we must not
shy away from difficult conversations, but rather foster an environment where
questions can be asked and honest self-reflection encouraged. We should
recognise these are complex issues and should approach them with gentle
humility, rather than arrogance and pomposity. We should encourage debate and
discussion such that we collectively learn and develop, rather than becoming
more entrenched in our views. Through
our collective dialogue and determination to do better and tackle
discrimination we can respond to any inadequacies with an optimistic spirit and
positive action;
·
I would therefore request that Members join me in
supporting the following motion.’
The Council
resolves :
To reaffirm its commitment to promoting equality and fairness for all,
and condemns any and all forms of racism and all
discrimination; wherever it is found.
As a Council to
challenge ourselves to do more and commit to do the following
·
Develop our councillors
and workforce and take time to learn more about racism and understand the
impact on our communities.
·
Deliver
the objectives set out in the Corporate Equalities Policy;
·
Ask the Council’s
Scrutiny Committee to consider the government’s recently published “Covid-19:
Understanding the impact on BAME communities” report and consider the
implications for Council services and the community and make recommendations to
Cabinet as to how the Council should respond; and
·
Designate
one elected member as an Equalities Champion who will work with the Council’s
Equalities lead officer on this agenda, providing further challenge and support
to officers, Cabinet and Council as appropriate
(Councillor Chandler here re-joined the
meeting.)
Councillor Browne
seconded the motion and relayed his personal experiences of racism from living
in Northern Ireland during the troubles and emphasised how important it was for
leaders to work together and ensure all people were able to integrate together.
Councillor Evans
felt this was a sensitive subject area and although he supported the motion he
considered there were bigger issues to deal with during the pandemic.
Several Members
spoke in support of the motion and it was suggested that equalities training be
arranged for Members and Officers to attend together.
Councillor Lumley
also supported the motion but expressed concern regarding the media’s portrayal
of the Black Lives Matters campaign. Councillor Lumley expressed his support
for equal opportunities and stated that racism was not acceptable, but also
believed that free speech should not be hindered and that the media should
provide a more balanced representation of the issues. He felt that the Council
was already doing an excellent job regarding equalities.
RESOLVED
To reaffirm its commitment to promoting equality and fairness for all,
and condemns any and all forms of racism and all
discrimination; wherever it is found.
As a Council to
challenge ourselves to do more and commit to do the following
·
Develop our councillors
and workforce and take time to learn more about racism and understand the
impact on our communities.
·
Deliver
the objectives set out in the Corporate Equalities Policy;
·
Ask the Council’s
Scrutiny Committee to consider the government’s recently published “Covid-19:
Understanding the impact on BAME communities” report and consider the
implications for Council services and the community and make recommendations to
Cabinet as to how the Council should respond; and
·
Designate
one elected member as an Equalities Champion who will work with the Council’s
Equalities lead officer on this agenda, providing further challenge and support
to officers, Cabinet and Council as appropriate
(Unanimous)
(Councillor Illingworth left the meeting
during the preceding item and on leaving expressed his support for the motion
and that he would have voted in favour had he been present at the time of the
vote.)
(Councillor Wood left the meeting during the
preceding item and did not vote thereon.)