Sexuality – the New Agenda a Guide for Local Authorities on Engaging with Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Communities Revised April 2007 Acknowledgements
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sexuality – the new agenda a guide for local authorities on engaging with lesbian, gay and bisexual communities revised April 2007 Acknowledgements....................................................................... 5 Foreword ........................................................................................ 6 Introduction.................................................................................... 7 1. Getting started ........................................................................ 8 Context ........................................................................................................ 8 Challenges.................................................................................................... 9 Experiences................................................................................................. 12 Checklist for action ..................................................................................... 15 2. Corporate planning ............................................................... 19 Making a corporate commitment ................................................................ 19 Working with partners ................................................................................ 20 Corporate levers.......................................................................................... 20 Legislative requirements.............................................................................. 21 Taking responsibility.................................................................................... 22 Cultural and organisational change ............................................................. 23 The business case........................................................................................ 23 Developing a media strategy ....................................................................... 24 Experiences................................................................................................. 25 Checklist for action ..................................................................................... 30 3. Service delivery and customer care ..................................... 33 The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 and discrimination in the provision of goods, services and facilities ............................................... 33 Public service reform and citizen centred services......................................... 34 Best Value and Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA)................... 35 Lesbian, gay and bisexual people as service users......................................... 35 Quality planning for lesbian, gay and bisexual service users.......................... 36 The Civil Partnership Act ............................................................................. 36 Procurement and contracting ...................................................................... 37 Experiences................................................................................................. 37 Checklist for action ..................................................................................... 48 1 4 Community development and involvement ....................... 65 Tools for community engagement............................................................... 65 Engaging with lesbian, gay and bisexual communities ................................. 66 Funding ...................................................................................................... 67 Taking responsibility.................................................................................... 68 Experiences................................................................................................. 68 Checklist for action ..................................................................................... 73 5. Local authority employees ................................................... 76 Discrimination at work ................................................................................ 76 The statutory framework............................................................................. 78 Dignity and respect at work ........................................................................ 80 Taking responsibility.................................................................................... 80 Experiences................................................................................................. 81 Checklist for action ..................................................................................... 87 6. Monitoring and evaluation .................................................. 89 An outcome focus....................................................................................... 89 Diversity monitoring.................................................................................... 89 Collecting and using data............................................................................ 90 Developing performance indicators ............................................................. 90 Experiences................................................................................................. 91 Checklist for action ..................................................................................... 93 Appendix 1 Legislation ........................................................... 95 Adoption .................................................................................................... 95 Best Value................................................................................................... 95 Community Strategies................................................................................. 96 Children...................................................................................................... 97 Civil Partnership .......................................................................................... 97 Crime ......................................................................................................... 98 Employment ............................................................................................... 99 Goods, Facilities and Services ...................................................................... 99 Health....................................................................................................... 100 Human Rights........................................................................................... 100 2 Appendix 2 Local Government Organisations.................... 101 London Councils ....................................................................................... 101 Lesbian and Gay Organisations.................................................................. 101 Trade Unions ............................................................................................ 102 Publications and resources ........................................................................ 103 3 The first edition of this guide was published in 2004. It was published by the Employer’s Organisation for Local Government and the Local Government Association in collaboration with the Association of London Government, Stonewall and UNISON. This second edition was published in 2007 by the Improvement and Development Agency. The guide was originally written by Chris Creegan and Sarah Lee and updated by Chris Creegan in association with Ellen Reynolds at the Improvement and Development Agency. Chris Creegan is a Research Director in the Qualitative Research Unit at the National Centre for Social Research Sarah Lee is a freelance writer and researcher 4 Acknowledgements We are grateful to the following for their assistance and support in the production of the first edition of this guide: Project steering group: Ellen Reynolds and Mandy Wright (Employers’ Organisation), Paul Dutton (Local Government Association), Ali Harris and Maria Stanley (Citizenship 21, Stonewall), Carola Towle (UNISON), Sylvia Kelcher (Association of London Government). Representatives of local authorities: Siobhan England and Nicki Eames (Birmingham City Council), Cllr Brian Oakley (Brighton and Hove Council), Jan Youngs (Bristol City Council), Glenn Cleary (Dorset County Council), Gerard McGuickin (Greater London Authority), Brenda Richards (Leeds City Council), Cllr Laura Willoughby (Islington Council), Andrew Milea (Kirklees Metropolitan Council), Cllr Paul Fairweather and Terry Waller (Manchester City Council), Sean Silver (Northampton Borough Council), Chandran Owen (Nottingham City Council), Maggie Else and Richard Woronowicz (Nottinghamshire County Council), Gill Coffin (Staffordshire County Council), Janice Markey and Damian Roberts (London Borough of Tower Hamlets), Angela Walsh (Devon County Council), Gail Cooke (Leicester City Council), Lata McWatt (Croydon Council), Janet Doran (Wellingborough District Council). Representatives of LGBT organisations: Philip Bowen (Birmingham LGB Community Forum), Michael Halls (Intercom Trust, Exeter), Phil Greasley (Lesbian and Gay Employment Rights), Garry Allessio and Alison Livingstone-Whitton (Consortium of LGB Community and Voluntary Organisations), Parminder Sekhorn (Naz), Tim Franks (Metro Centre, Greenwich), Dana Cohen (Spectrum, Brighton and Hove), Derek Walker (Stonewall Cymru), Carole Thomson (Albert Kennedy Trust) Mike Homfrey (Merseyside LGBT Forum), Michelle Grimwood and Stuart McQuade (Northamptonshire LGB Alliance). Representatives of trade unions, voluntary sector and academic organisations: Cleve McCollins (Council for