Minutes:
The Council had before it a Notice of Motion set out in the agenda papers standing in the names of Cllrs Mel Allcott, Richard Udall, Dan Boatright-Greene and Luke Mallett.
The motion was moved by Cllr Dan Boatright-Greene and seconded by Cllr Lynn Denham, who both spoke in favour of it, and Council agreed to deal with it on the day.
The following amendment was moved by Cllr Marcus Hart and seconded by Cllr Emma Marshall:
“Council sends its support and greetings to Worcestershire Pride and the wider Worcestershire LGBTQIA+ community.
Worcestershire Pride is due to take place on Saturday 15th July, in Worcester City Centre.
Council also notes that a number of Pride events are held in other places across Worcestershire.
Council calls upon the Leader of the Council to request that the Cabinet Member for Communities investigate how even more support can be provided for Pride events in Worcestershire.
Council agrees that the Cabinet Member for Communities in their Cabinet role is the best person to champion this.
Council also agrees that the Cabinet Member for Communities should ensure that Worcestershire County Council works with all community groups and embraces diversity.”
Those in favour of the amendment commented:
· The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Communities commented that the amendment recognised the value of pride events across the whole of the county, not just Worcester City. The Council should celebrate the progress made in supporting the LGBTQIA+ community over recent decades. As a general rule, this Council did not have member champions especially in this case as the role of championing the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community rested with him as the relevant Cabinet Member. The county had a very diverse community and it was important that this Council was inclusive and respected all members of the community
· The Pride event in Redditch helped to bring the local community together to show the progress made in supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, and that residents had more in common than divided them. The event had the added benefit of supporting local businesses in the town centre
· All members of the Council were diversity champions under the Equalities Act therefore a separate member champion was not necessary. The position with regard to the Armed Forces Member Champion was different as different parties held different political stances
· Any concerns about the quality of Equality Impact Statements should be raised with relevant officers
· The Council should champion all sections of the community as a whole, not certain sections in isolation
· As much as gender equality of representation on the Cabinet should be encouraged, it was important that the best person was appointed to the role irrespective of gender
Those against the amendment commented:
· Although significant progress had been made in this country with respect to attitudes towards the LGBTQIA+ community, it was still important as a liberal country to promote Pride events. This Council should lead the way by providing support for local Worcestershire pride events
· The Council had focussed on mental health as a key health and well-being priority. It was clear that the discrimination towards certain members of society had a severe impact on mental health
· It was important to take proactive measures to support the LGBTQIA+ community and the appointment of an equality and diversity champion would be an important step forward in providing that support
· The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Communities should not stand alone as the diversity champion. A separate member champion would provide support, assistance and enable co-operation with other councillors similar to that provided by the Armed Forces Champion
· The inadequacy of the Equality Impact assessments set out in committee reports indicated that cabinet members had not fully embraced their role as member champions for diversity
· The Council should look at best practice elsewhere for example at Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority where the role of member champion had been successfully introduced
· To show the Council’s commitment to equality and diversity, the membership of the Cabinet should reflect the diverse nature of the community it served, particularly in terms of establishing a gender balance amongst its membership
· Treating people the same was not equality. Recognising that people were different, understanding those differences and addressing them in proportion was the key issue. A member champion from outside the Cabinet would be in a better position to progress this important issue.
On being put to a vote, the amendment was carried and put as the substantive motion.
The mover of the original motion summed up the debate by commenting that he would support the substantive motion but it was disappointing that a member champion from outside the Cabinet was not being adopted by the Council. He was not in favour of power being concentrated in one councillor. Speakers in the debate appeared to confuse equality with equity. Different groups in society did not necessarily want to be treated the same as everyone else and adjustments sometimes had to be made to address different needs. However he welcomed the support provided for Worcestershire Pride events.
On a named vote thesubstantive motion was agreed.
RESOLVED “Council sends its support and greetings to Worcestershire Pride and the wider Worcestershire LGBTQIA+ community.
Worcestershire Pride is due to take place on Saturday 15th July, in Worcester City Centre.
Council also notes that a number of Pride events are held in other places across Worcestershire.
Council calls upon the Leader of the Council to request that the Cabinet Member for Communities investigate how even more support can be provided for Pride events in Worcestershire.
Council agrees that the Cabinet Member for Communities in their Cabinet role is the best person to champion this.
Council also agrees that the Cabinet Member for Communities should ensure that Worcestershire County Council works with all community groups and embraces diversity.”
Those in favour of the motion were: Cllr Kyle Daisley, Cllr Alastair Adams, Cllr Salman Akbar, Cllr Mel Allcott, Cllr Allan Amos, Cllr Marc Bayliss, Cllr Dan Boatright-Greene, Cllr Bob Brookes, Cllr David Chambers, Cllr Lynn Denham, Cllr Nathan Desmond, Cllr Allah Ditta, Cllr Elizabeth Eyre, Cllr Andy Fry, Cllr Simon Geraghty, Cllr Laura Gretton, Cllr Peter Griffiths, Cllr Karen Hanks, Cllr Ian Hardiman, Cllr Adrian Hardman, Cllr Paul Harrison, Cllr Marcus Hart, Cllr Bill Hopkins, Cllr Matt Jenkins, Cllr Adrian Kriss, Cllr Steve Mackay, Cllr Emma Marshall, Cllr Karen May, Cllr Natalie McVey, Cllr Tony Miller, Cllr Jo Monk, Cllr Dan Morehead, Cllr Richard Morris, Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Cllr Tracey Onslow, Cllr Scott Richardson Brown, Cllr Josh Robinson, Cllr Linda Robinson, Cllr Chris Rogers, Cllr David Ross, Cllr Mike Rouse, Cllr James Stanley, Cllr Emma Stokes, Cllr Kit Taylor, Cllr Richard Udall, Cllr Malcolm Victory, Cllr Craig Warhurst, Cllr Shirley Webb, and Cllr Tom Wells. (49)