October’s Black History Month, has been an opportunity to celebrate the incredible history and contributions of our Black and ethnically diverse communities. As the month comes to a close, I want to reflect on the fantastic work that has been going on across our Borough to promote equality, inclusion and empowerment within the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community.

In The Strand Shopping Centre, The Atkinson and Crosby Library we are hosting art installations as part of The World Reimagined project. These are beautiful globes that tell the public about racial equality and black history. Events have also taken place in conjunction with groups such as Southport Against Racism, with talks and performances by musicians and poets.

Sefton’s libraries have also been involved in an extensive creative writing programme called Different Voices Shared Lives. In this, Members of our ethnically diverse communities came together to work with professional writers to take part in creative workshops to write their stories about their background and experiences. Many more activities have taken place, and it’s been brilliant to see the Borough come together for such an important month.

I want to reiterate that as a Council we are completely committed to driving forward the race equality agenda, as an employer, service provider and as a partner both locally and regionally.

I would also like to take this opportunity to give an update about some of the strategies and projects we are currently involved in that will enable us to tackle race inequalities.

Sefton has a Corporate Equalities Group made up of representatives from across the organisation. The Group, which is chaired by Executive Director, Stephen Watson of our Senior Leadership team, supports the Council in making sure equality and diversity is at the top of our agenda, internally and externally.

Representatives from the Corporate Equalities Group (CEG) have been working with neighbouring authorities since late Autumn 2021 to commission jointly a training provider called EqualiTeach, and to work with local stakeholders to develop a high-quality bespoke race equality training product, with the aim of building a collective level of racial literacy and inclusivity.

Two, 3-hour, face-to-face pilot sessions took place during October to help shape the content and this included representation and attendance from our Senior Leadership Board.  Both pilots were very well received and the feedback will inform the on-going design, development and delivery of the programme.

In addition to this, Sefton has established Sefton’s Diverse and Ethnic Background Group. The group provides a safe and confidential space for Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic employees to share experiences and support development and empowerment.

Feeding back into Sefton’s Corporate Equalities Group, members offer solutions and recommendations about the issues that affect them and the organisation. This includes improving employee progression and empowerment through training and development opportunities, as well as consulting in new or existing policies, practices, procedures and strategies in areas such as Employment and Human Resources.

With the involvement of our Black and Ethnically Diverse Staff Group, Sefton is committed to our ‘Race Equality Declaration of Intent’, which ensures our dedication to promoting equality within our organisation and across the Borough. The Declaration outlines areas of focus including employment, retention and development to leadership within the Council. It also sets priorities, targets and timescales highlighting how we will monitor progress and achieve the actions agreed.

Our Learning and Development team continue to offer a comprehensive, mandatory Equality and Diversity training programme to all staff at Sefton. This includes Equality and Diversity Awareness, Equality and Diversity for Managers as well as Unconscious Bias.

There is still a lot of work to be done locally and nationally but working together with our partners across the whole City Region, we will be committed to being proactive in our fight to overcome racial discrimination.

If you have any feedback or perspectives you would like to share on this important subject, or would like to get involved with the work of the Corporate Equalities Group or its more focused sub-groups, please contact the CEG Chair Stephen Watson at Stephen.watson@sefton.gov.uk