Latest News

Black History Month, which runs throughout October, is an opportunity to celebrate the incredible history and contributions of our Black and ethnically diverse communities. I am really proud of the fantastic work that is going on across our Borough to promote equality, inclusion and empowerment within the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community.

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 a member of our Senior Leadership team, supports the Council in making sure equality and diversity is at the top of our agenda, internally and externally.

In addition to this, Sefton has established its own Black and Ethnically Diverse Staff Group. As well as providing a confidential space where members can share experiences, this Group plays a vital role in helping the Council to identify and address issues relating to race inequality.

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 currently developing a ‘Race Equality Declaration of Intent’, which cements our commitment to ensure we promote 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.

We are proud to be part of a new programme led by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which brings together leaders from Merseyside Councils, community organisations, businesses and the public sector, to tackle race inequality.

As part of our involvement, Sefton’s Learning and Development team are playing an active role in the establishment of a £3.2 million Liverpool City Region Race Equality Hub.

One of the first of its kind in the country, the Hub, will focus on training, employment and support for people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. It will target employment inequalities and remove barriers in the labour market.

As part of the Hub’s development Sefton is currently in the planning stages of a project which will see the roll-out of a programme of race equality training to the 22,000 people employed by the Combined Authority and all staff at the six Local Authorities.

As well as this, 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.

This programme of work is so important in tackling racial injustice and inequality across the City Region. 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.

Hugh Baird College has reaffirmed its commitment to staff and students by signing up to a national mental health and wellbeing charter – created by the Association of Colleges (AoC) in conjunction with mental health experts.

Commitments

The 11-point document includes commitments to:

• Promoting equality of opportunity and challenging mental health stigma
• Providing appropriate mental health training for staff
• Providing targeted individual mental health support where appropriate

Colleges across England teach and train 2.2 million people each year – including 685,000 young people. Every year, 1 in 10 young people experience a mental health problem and 1 in 5 young people aged 16-24 experience a common mental illness such as anxiety or depression at any one time. Add to these facts, 75% of adults with a diagnosable mental health problem experience their first symptoms before the age of 24 means Hugh Baird College plays a vital role in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of its students and staff.

Wellbeing

Rachael Hennigan, Principal at Hugh Baird College, said: “The mental wellbeing of our students and staff is an absolute priority for Hugh Baird College. Every learner and staff member deserves to work, study and train in an environment that supports them to be healthy, happy and secure. That is why we are proud to join the AoC Mental Health and Wellbeing Charter.”

“Whilst the College has comprehensive and effective support systems in place for those experiencing mental wellbeing challenges, we are always keen to do more. This charter provides a clear direction of travel for the College as we continue to work together to support the health and wellbeing of our students and staff.”

World-class

Richard Caulfield, Mental Health Lead at the Association of Colleges, said: “Every single day colleges like Hugh Baird College provide a world-class education and transform the lives of millions of people. This includes providing support for both staff and student wellbeing at the right time, in the right place. This charter gives colleges the chance to publicly state their commitment to the mental health agenda.”

Find out more about Hugh Baird College.

Sefton Council is proud to celebrate ‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ awareness week and is encouraging people to talk and learn about accessibility, diversity, and inclusion.

Running from Monday 18^th to Friday 22^nd October,  this first ‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ is an opportunity for people come together and recognise the differences within our communities to support a diverse range of people.

One in every five people has a disability that may impact their access to information, services, experiences, and opportunities.

Recognising this, Sefton Council formed an Improving Information Group to continue conversations with residents on accessible information. The group is made up of people living in Sefton, all of whom use different methods of communication.

Since the group formed, its members have coproduced accessible communication guides that are shared Council-wide and have established Accessible Information Advocates to ensure accessibility is at the forefront in all areas of the Council’s work.

And most recently, the group coproduced the Council’s Accessible Information eLearning training programme that was launched in November 2020. The training is freely available for all external partners who support the work of Sefton Council. To learn more, people can visit the Sefton Corporate Learning Centre website at https://seftonclc.co.uk/

Cllr Hardy, Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing at Sefton Council said: “The Council are proud to be supporting this awareness week and encourage our residents to share their understanding and thoughts on what accessibility means to them.

“Improving access and inclusion starts by creating awareness and I look forward to continuing to work together to make our Borough an accessible and inclusive place to live, work and visit.”

‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ awareness week is supported by Recite Me, the company that provides the accessibility tool on the Sefton Council website.

By turning on Recite Me, people visiting the Council’s website at sefton.gov.uk can use the service to read website pages out loud in different voices and languages, increase and decrease the size of the text and change the type-style – including into a Dyslexic-friendly font.

To use the service, visitors to the website just need to click on Listen and Translate at the top of every page. People will then see a toolbar of functions that will help make the pages more accessible for them in multiple ways. There is also a user guide to tell people more and an option to switch the service on and off.

People can join the conversation on what accessibility means to them, by using the hashtag #AccessibilityToMe across social media platforms.

Today, Monday 18th October, is UK Anti-Slavery Day, which is an opportunity to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery, and encourage government, local authorities, companies, charities and individuals to do what they can to address the problem.

Individuals are trafficked into, out of or within the UK for a number of reasons including sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude and organ harvesting. There are thought to be around 13,000 victims and survivors of modern slavery in the UK.

In 2019, Sefton Council passed a motion setting out our commitment to helping eradicate slavery and labour exploitation. People can find help with what to look for if they suspect modern slavery is taking place at www.sefton.gov.uk/modernslavery . There is also information on how to seek help and to report the issue.

Find out about the The Purple Teardrop Campaign ‘Stop the Trafficking, Stop the Tears’.  

Recently, Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “Examples of modern Slavery taking place in Merseyside have been found recently so it is important we all remain alert to the signs that could be happening in our neighbourhood or at a business we use.

“Those signs can include a person living at their workplace with their employer, someone housed with multiple other people in a cramped living space or a person who has no identification or travel documents.

“Signs of physical abuse and their psychological effects or a someone insisting on being present or interpreting any conversations could also mean modern slavery is taking place.”

In September 2020, the Home Office introduced new measures to tackle modern slavery in supply chains. This means businesses and public bodies are accountable for tackling modern slavery and are required to produce an annual statement for each financial year setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains.

Organisations can find out more from the Government’s website.