Equality and Diversity

The Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October 2010 and brings together over 116 separate pieces of legislation into one single Act. Combined, they make up a new Act that will provide a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all.

The Act covers nine Protected Characteristics

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is supported by "specific duties" to assist public bodies to achieve the aims of the general duty.

Under the specific duties, the Council must:

• Publish equalities information to demonstrate its compliance with the Equality Duty by the 31st January 2012 and then annually after that; and
• Develop and publish equality objectives by 6 April 2012 and then every four years.

In order to demonstrate our compliance with the above requirements, we have compiled a 2023-2024 Equality Report to demonstrate the progress that the Council has made to date.   We are aware that there are gaps in our data and are working to provide more information in an accessible format. Please note that when we publish our Equality report it relates to the previous financial year, for example the 2022/23 report was published by 31st January 2024. Our next report will be for 2024/25 and will be published by 31st January 2026.

We have an agreed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy  which sets out our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. This Policy contains our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement. 

Equality issues must influence the decisions reached by public bodies - in how they act as employers; how they develop, evaluate and review policy; how they design, deliver and evaluate services, and how they commission and procure from others. We do this by undertaking Impact Assessments which are an integral part of our decision making process.

In April 2025 the Council agreed the following equality objectives:

• We will make Hartlepool a safe and welcoming place for people from diverse communities.
• We will ensure that our services and information are easily accessible by everyone, including those with additional needs.
• We will develop our knowledge and understanding of our communities.
• We will act as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion ambassador.
• We will be an equitable employer.