Promoting equality

Nearly all of the City Council's functions and services advance equality of opportunity in some way.  We have also put in place other initiatives to foster good relations between people who share different protected characteristics. 

Here are a few examples of the work we are doing:

Safeguarding older people

Older people, people who have a disability or who lack mental capacity are more likely to be victims of abuse.

Through our Safeguarding older people scheme the council promotes the well-being and safety of older people in Westminster. 

The three strands of the safeguarding older people scheme are: 

- using the expertise and experience of older people to shape the strategic priorities and procurement of good quality services for older people;

- making it easy for older people to raise concerns on behalf of themselves and others;

- ensuring staff and volunteers listen to older people’s concerns, and have the skills and knowledge to be able to provide timely and appropriate help and advice to address these concerns.

Older people are involved in shaping priorities; designing services; selecting potential suppliers; and in monitoring the performance of providers through feedback from other older people using these services.

 

Westminster Plus and the Local Information Network provide up-to-date information to older residents and include sign-posting to helpful organisations, the web-site, and the designated adult Safeguarding help-line.  Members of the public, concerned neighbours, friends, or advocates can ring this number to report their concerns and get advice and help to be safer.

It is now a key responsibility for all staff and volunteers working for, or on behalf of the City Council, to know how to recognise and report the abuse of older people. Staff are made aware of their general safeguarding responsibilities through the City Council’s induction programme and also through targeted training for people working in particular roles with older members of the public.

All these well-publicised initiatives provide older people with assurance that disrespect, abuse, discrimination and harassment will be challenged in Westminster, and that older people can expect to receive support from all of the City Council’s agents and partners to promote their safety and well-being. 

Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy Service

Statistics show that the majority of victims of domestic violence are women and children, and therefore the Independent Domestic Advocacy service is catered towards providing a safe, secure and welcoming environment for those people who predominately need to make use of such a service.  With one of the protected characteristics in the Equalities Act 2010 being gender, it is crucial that these services are accessible for those residents most affected by domestic violence, whilst at the same time signposting other victims of domestic violence to the appropriate service. 

The Safer Westminster Partnership and Kensington and Chelsea jointly fund the Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy service covering both boroughs.

The service provides 24 hour support and advocacy for female victims of domestic violence within the Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea area and is an accredited Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy Service (IDVA). The overall aims of the service are to:

• Provide a wide range of support for victims of domestic violence and their families, including emotional support, safety planning and information on rights and legal options

• Ensure that women are aware of and/or referred to the range of services that are available to them

• Improve accessibility to the Criminal Justice System for women who choose to take this course of action

• Improve safety for women and children affected by domestic violence

• Increase offenders’ accountability for their actions and increase conviction rates for domestic violence related crime

• Reduce repeat victimisation

The Council recognises domestic violence affects both men and women and can occur in a range of relationships including heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender relationships. Statistics have shown that the vast majority of the victims of domestic violence are women and children, and women are also considerably more likely to experience repeated and severe forms of violence and sexual abuse.  As a consequence most services are aimed at women.  However, the IDVA service offers male victims of domestic violence advice and males are signposted to services offering support to male victims of domestic violence including those offering service to LGBT male victims.  Furthermore, the IDVA service, delivers an outreach element of the service, particularly through targeted work with the LGBT community.

Since the start of the new contract on 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2011, 256 women aged 15 and over were referred to the service for advice and support.  Of which 49.6% identified themselves as White, 14.4% Black, 8.2% Asian, 1.9% Mixed, 4.6% Arab and 3.9%.  In addition 1.1% disclosed that they were from the LGBT community and a further 3.1% suffered from mental health issues. 

During this period no male residents contacted the service.

Many services that Westminster City Council provides are universal services accessible for all residents.  For these services it is crucial that usage is monitored and active steps are taken to address issues which may prevent certain groups of people using a particular service. 

Active Westminster

Sport and physical activity helps to keep people fit and healthy and improves the quality of life through friendship, team working and personal esteem. It also provides an effective deterrent for combating crime and improves the environment through parks, open spaces and more green forms of transport, such as cycling and walking. 

While 25% of Westminster residents participate in regular sport and physical activity, which is above the national average of 21%, nearly 45% of residents do no physical activity at all.

The groups which have significantly lower participation rates than the average include women (especially 16-24 years), older people, people with a limiting physical disability, people with learning difficulties, black and minority ethnic groups and people on low incomes.

81% of people with limiting long term illness are inactive, as are 69% of people on low incomes.

Within Westminster, there is also a very strong relationship between low participation and areas of high deprivation, especially in the wards of Queen’s Park, Westbourne and Church Street.

Active Westminster is the mixed stakeholder body comprised of a significant number of interest groups in this sector, comprising of the local authority, the business community, voluntary sector organisations, the large club sector and related community interest groups. It is therefore highly representative of the communities in which services provided and delivered through all stakeholders to common benefit.

The service positively responds to the inclusive needs of the community, including residents, commuters and tourists to the City. It offers open access and targeted provision to inclusive programmes and these are monitored and redesigned and agreed every six months. An annually approved and structured and affordable access charging policy is adopted across the facilities and services. This includes free and discounted access to specific activities for target groups and also concession arrangements identified as needing support.

Where services are delivered from purpose designed facilities, these facilities and programmes have had a full Equalities Impact Assessment review and appropriate revisions made to facilities and programmes where appropriate. Of the eight major public leisure centre sites, six have gained the external and national accreditation IFI Mark (Inclusive Fitness Initiative). The remaining two will have the accreditation in 2012. 

This is the most awards in any local authority in the UK and Westminster was the first to achieve the Excellent IFI Mark.

Westminster Faith Exchange 

Within the boundaries of the City of Westminster there are many places of worship. Some places, such as Westminster Abbey, have played, and continue to play, an important role in London's and England's religious life.

Today, Westminster is very much a city of diverse faith communities with the synagogue, the mosque and the temple as well as the church all now evident in the city.

The whole spectrum of religious belief is represented in Westminster, from the Baha'i, the Hindu, the Jain, the Jewish, the Muslim, the Sikh and the Zoroastrian through to the many Christian denominations.

The Westminster Faith Exchange is a City Council initiative to encourage dialogue between the Council and faith organisations, and between the different faith communities in Westminster. The Faith Exchange is chaired by Councillor Suhail Rahuja and its programme is managed by an Executive Committee of Westminster faith group representatives.