Temporary phone line disruption
A number of our phone lines will be briefly unavailable on Tuesday 11 February from 6:30pm. Changes are being made outside of opening hours to minimise disruption. Our out of hours services are not impacted.
Find out what equality and diversity means for our staff, residents and businesses
We celebrate difference and work to ensure that no one is disadvantaged when accessing services, employment or public life in Essex. The Equality Act 2010 sets out our duty in this area.
We provide information about how we comply with our equality duties each year and we review our equality objectives at least once every 4 years.
We are committing to addressing inequalities and levelling up life chances for our residents and communities.
We will achieve this by:
Our equality objectives are aligned to our 4-year plan for Essex: Everyone's Essex.
We are committing to being an employer that values difference. Recruiting talented individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds.
We will support and encourage our employees to be the best they can be at work, and provide them with contracts that are fair and inclusive.
We will achieve this by:
Our Equality Objectives Progress Report (PDF, 6.7 MB) sets out the progress we have made since setting our equality objectives in May 2022. This report will be updated annually.
Read the easy read version of our Equality Objectives Progress Report (PDF,15.31 MB).
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy Statement (PDF, 252.81kB) sets out our responsibilities and commitments in this area. It recognises the importance of tackling discrimination and advancing equality between different groups in the community, whilst also addressing the diverse needs of individuals. It also covers the council’s own employment policies and practices, the provision of services and public functions, and our system leadership role in tackling deprivation and inequality.
Our services are assessed by the Local Government Association using the Equality Framework for Local Government.
Our last inspection was in June 2019 and we were reaccredited as 'excellent'.