Meeting documents

6. Partnerships

6.1 The Council has a role as leader of community partnerships, realised primarily through the Local Strategic Partnership for Bath and North East Somerset. The LSP has produced a Community Strategy for the area which is a key means by which the Council's Equality Commitment and Policy will be implemented.

6.2 `Inclusion' is one of five shared ambitions which cross-cut how each of the six Community Strategy Improvement ambitions are being delivered. To this end each ambition has performance objectives specifically linked to inclusion and equality and a number of early actions have been identified to kick start progress.

6.3 A recent Council Partnership Review highlighted lack of consistency and alignment amongst Partnerships in which we have been involved in the past, and is currently developing a new methodology to ensure all Partnerships are effective in delivering the Community Strategy ambitions. The Council will ensure that this methodology enables the delivery of equality objectives. Specifically:

6.3.1 The Council will ensure that all work undertaken in partnership is in line with our Equality Commitment, and that all services provided in partnership are appropriate and sensitive to the needs of the people of Bath and North East Somerset. All Partners will receive a copy of the Council's Equality Commitment and Policy. Through appropriate monitoring we shall ensure that any agency working in partnership with the Council does not practice unlawful acts of discrimination. ¹⁷

6.3.2 The Council will ensure that all Terms of Reference and other relevant Partnership documentation complies with the Council's equality guidelines and all relevant legislation. It is the responsibility of each Head of Service to ensure that actions to meet the needs of the specific key groups are included in Partnership Plans and Strategies, and that appropriate monitoring mechanisms are in place.

6.3.3 The Council will ensure that all grant-funded partners adhere to our Equality Commitment by the inclusion of equality as a criterion by which grants are allocated and the inclusion of equality objectives in Service Level Agreements.

6.3.4 Equality Impact Assessments for all services will extend to services delivered in partnership, and action plans monitored to ensure there are no significant differences in satisfaction for all groups.

6.3.5 The Council will encourage organisations which represent a range of community interests to become involved in partnership working, and will seek, wherever justifiable, to ensure that the interests of the specific key groups are explicitly represented on each Partnership.

6.3.6 The Council will encourage Partners to undertake equality awareness training.

7. Other parties

7.1 It is recognised that there are other third parties who have a relationship with the Council, either working on behalf of or with the Council, who do not fall into the Partnership or Procurement headings.

7.2 It is expected that these third parties work with the Council in the spirit of this document and that the Council would challenge and disengage from any relationship that was deemed to be working outside of this ethic.