Inclusion & Equality Forum Agenda and Papers

Agenda

Item	Subject	Who
1.	Apologies
2.	Declarations of Interest
3.	Minutes of the meeting held 6 September 2022
4.	Minutes of the Independent Community Inclusion Board held on 8 September 2022
5.	Public Sector Equality Duty (verbal update)	Area Manager Clive Stanbrook
6.	Positive Action in the Fire & Rescue Service (verbal update)	Gina Staley
7.	Report on Inclusion Activities	Area Manager Clive Stanbrook Station Manager Mick Wyldbore-Wood
8.	Presentation on Inclusion and Equality in the Fire and Rescue Service	Councillor Ramsay

3. Minutes of the meeting held 6 September 2022

DERBYSHIRE FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE
INCLUSION & EQUALITY FORUM
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 6 SEPTEMBER 2022

Present:

• Cllr Jack Woolley (Chair)
• Cllr Sue Burfoot
• Cllr Evonne Williams
• Cllr Ludwig Ramsey
• Rob Taylor
• Clive Stanbrook
• Louise Taylor
• Mick Wyldbore-Wood
• David Diggins
• Siobhan Donnelly
• Gina Staley

Committee Clerk: Marie Lloyd-Jones

Apologies:

• Cllr David Taylor
• Tania Stevenson
• Simon Allsop
• Judi Beresford
• Lee Smith
• Paul Moreland

1. Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest from Members.

2. Minutes of the Inclusion & Equality Board Meeting held on 26 April 2022

The minutes were agreed as an accurate record.

3. Minutes of the Independent Community Inclusion Board (ICIB) Meeting held on 8 June 2022

The minutes were noted.

4. Public Sector Equality Duty Report

Action - Public Sector Equality Duty will become an agenda item at each meeting.

Members noted that a new version of the Public Sector Equality Duty Report has been launched on the website and will be reviewed in May 2023. Following a request from the ICIB, DFRS are producing a new Community Risk Management Plan with equality objectives and considerations to link into decision-making. Each department will produce their own strategy, and the Inclusion and Equality Team will advise and assist. Training will be undertaken by senior managers to support them .

Members were assured that departments will be offered advice and resources where required.

Members were assured that the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) on-line process is working well It is critical that decisions are informed by an EQIA which pays due regard to protected characteristics.

Members thanked the Inclusion and Equality Team for the work they have undertaken.

5. Positive Action

Members noted the following positive action activities:

• DFRS were well represented at various community events throughout the Summer, building relationships within the community. Action - I&E Team to make a commitment to finding a solution to having a larger visual representation at events. Approach to be made to the Multi-cultural Network/regional colleagues/AFSA.
• Mailchimp has been signed off which will monitor equality data and allow emails to include links/videos etc. which can signpost people to additional advice and support. The Inclusion and Equality Team are looking at the possibility of anonymised reports to inform future decision-making. Members agreed that this is a good tool to use within DFRS.
• The Inclusion and Equality Team are meeting with the Data Management Team to look into how to look at reporting options to assist decision-making.
• More Positive Action sessions are booked in for September and November 2022. Although DFRS are not recruiting for Wholetime the Team will be asking if people are interested in On-call opportunities. Online awareness sessions have been made available for people who have showed interest in joining DFRS and there has been a lot of interest in the On-call Firefighting role.
• Members noted that the Cadet Schemes continue to be well received. A unique joint Police and Fire Cadet Scheme has been run in Buxton.
• Members noted that DFRS is considering running a Duke of Edinburgh Scheme instead of a BTEC.
• Members noted that the photographs used on recruitment adverts are aimed at appealing to a diverse audience.

6. Report on Inclusion Activities

Members noted the following inclusion activities:

• The Inclusion and Equality Team have been involved in the recent HMICFRS inspection of DFRS.
• The Inclusive Companies application has been submitted.
  A Pay Gap review has taken place which included those from underrepresented groups. Action - nationally the pay gap will impact on people who identify as disabled and DFRS will look into this area in further detail as a priority. A Disability Network Group will be introduced to support that group in the workforce.
• There is a knowledge gap around neuro diversity And Members noted that training has been given to the HR department to help support the workforce in this aspect.
• A new process has been negotiated with regard to IFE examinations and Neuro diverse needs are being considered with regard to this.
• Approval has been given for a joint Police/Fire Multi Faith room at HQ which aims to create an environment where everyone can be comfortable at work. Members noted this as a positive step forward and commitment from DFRS. DFRS will include Multi Faith rooms in all new builds in the future.
• The Inclusion and Equality Team are working with the Black Police Association to look at areas of learning for future projects.
• The EQIA process is now on the new SharePoint web page and is becoming increasingly embedded within DFRS.
• Training packages across the organisation are tied in with the EDI hub with one place to go for information.
• An Open Day for BSL users only, working with Police and partner agencies was very well received. Members noted that this was a unique event that had not been held before with people travelling from all over the County to attend. A new service is now available where BSL users can make direct contact with Control. Derby has the second highest deaf community outside of London in the UK and DFRS are building relationships within the Deaf community.
• Members noted a new Terms of Reference will be produced across all networks, aligning with NFCC aims and objectives.

4. Minutes of the ICIB held 8 September 2022

DERBYSHIRE FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE
Independent Community Inclusion Board (ICIB) Meeting
8th September 2022, 9.30am

Ascot Drive Community Room

In Attendance:

• Mick Wyldbore Wood DFRS, Station Manager, Prevention and Inclusion
• Clive Stanbrook DFRS Area Manager, Prevention and Inclusion
• Natasha Cover Group Support Officer, Community Action, Derby
• Lud Ramsey African-Caribbean Chesterfield Association
• Ed Duay (via Teams) Senior Adviser of Derby & Derbyshire Filipino Community
• Angela Bell DFRS, Prevention & Inclusion Co-Ordinator
• Gina Staley DFRS, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Officer
• Louise Champion (via Teams) Children and Young People Department, DCC
• Tracey Applegate Hearing Help UK
• Siobhan Donnelly DFRS, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Officer
• Joe Kupranec (via Teams) Ukrainian Community Association

Apologies:

• Ruth Peat Derbyshire County Council
• John Yates-Harold Derbyshire LGBT+

Date of Meeting	Note/Decision	Action By	Due Date
Item 1.	Welcome and Apologies MWW opened the meeting, welcomed all in the room and those joining via Teams. Apologies noted.
Item 2.	Positive Action presentation by Lud Ramsey Questions after NC – how can we work together to make changes to the figures, I’m shocked for example to see no black females at all? LR – need to work with the service, different reps in my community. London the only organisation that have input a lot of time and money. MWW – we are doing a lot of these things already. We ask you to signpost people to us. SD – The issue is black representation across the whole of the business we shouldn’t just focus on wholetime employees all the time MWW – Some remote areas do not have different ethnicities such as Bradwell & Hathersage SD – We need to ensure this is not tokenistic, individuals need to add value as an individual. MWW to NC – can we work together with your Derby Youth Group? NC – I suggested this 2 years ago, the youths I work with say they won’t work for the fire service as there are no other black fire fighters CS – wasn’t there a radio opportunity? NC – a colleague was the BLM rep, but I don’t think the station has gone any further, there are other stations to pursue, one I know of is run by youths. JK – I want to say a big thank you for visiting the Ukranian Centre last month, the kids really enjoyed it.
Item 3. Objective 1.     Objective 2.       Objective 3.   Objective 4.   Objective 5.	Public Sector Equality Duty Report GS – we engaged a lot over the Summer with different communities. It is important to have this group to broaden this reach MWW – the Deaf Awareness Day went really well, having the interpreters alongside the RTC demonstration, it was very well received SD – we cannot rely on one person to be responsible for inclusion. We are creating a 3-year workforce plan ‘Our Plan’ and embedding EDI across the board. Training will be the responsibility of all, and everyone will be equally accountable. CS – everyone must be responsible for EDI, it cannot be down to the people in this room MWW – practical solutions are rolling out, starting at headquarters with the prayer room and washing facilities and we will be able to roll this out to stations also. GS – a few awareness sessions, 40 attendees online, very positive and good discussions were had about On Call, unfortunately they were looking for Wholetime, but I did discuss Support opportunities too. Workbook developed for self-assessment as a support tool, the link of which will be sent over to yourselves for feedback. There will also be options for advertising, Positive Action specific. SD – data is very important, the census information is out at the end of October, updates in our system will give a true measure across the board at every single stage. Meeting with data team and HR next week. GS – we are in the process of building a new Intranet with visible EDI hub, there will be a hole library of resources. This does not replace compulsory training. LR – this needs to be done in the fire service, especially those who want to go for promotion. EDI is not mentioned and tested the same as FF are operationally. There should be some EDI project-based assignment for promotional purposes MWW – I can 100% say that does happen now. Always a question added in the interview process such as ‘what is EDI and what have you done to promote it?’ CS – it is presented at interview from Crew Manager up and it is an automatic failure if you don’t pass that question. We have made a few changes to be job specific, removing the bleep test at recruitment as this is included in the fitness test and not selection process.
	AOB NC – there is a female black fire fighter in service somewhere in the region, maybe they would be interested in joining an awareness session/event. Maybe produce a promotional video for Muslims to show inclusivity? LC – what ages are you recruiting? We’d like an age range, so we don’t lose enthusiasm and what qualifications are required? GS – minimum age is 18 for operational, English and Maths, grades 4 – 9 MWW – possibly carry out awareness day for a group of care leavers? LC – Chesterfield & High Peak, various numbers, maybe we should set up a meeting outside this one. ED – I want to thank you for attending the event recently and I would like to contribute to the Positive Action workbook. We are creating cards to show diverse range of fire fighting safety messages; I will send a sample to GS. Meeting closed 11:30 Next meeting – 08/12/2022

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