Panel set up in response to racist attack on schoolboy
A rapid response panel that can act within 24 hours of a discrimination incident has been set up following a racist attack on a Telford schoolboy, a report says.
Telford & Wrekin Council Communities, Customer and Commercial Services Director Fliss Mercer writes that the 'trusted panel' has flexible membership, “depending on the nature of the incident”, but was spurred by the November incident where a Sikh pupil from Wellington’s Charlton School was pushed to the ground and repeatedly punched.
She also describes the authority’s work to make its services and buildings more accessible for disabled people and “positively raise awareness of and celebrate the diverse communities we have” by marking events like Black History Month, Holocaust Memorial Day and South Asian Heritage Month.
The cabinet will discuss Ms Mercer’s Equality and Diversity Update on Thursday, October 7.
She writes that the council’s customer strategy, approved by the cabinet in January, included consulting residents on how to make council services more accessible.
Improvements that have followed include reviewing web-pages and documents to make them easier to read and developing new guidance to help employees communicate with “a diverse range of customers, for example those with hidden disabilities such as autism”.
“As a large local employer and provider and commissioner of services, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity,” Ms Mercer writes.
“Whilst Telford and Wrekin is, overall, a thriving, growing place, the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities.
“In recent surveys, 68 per cent of residents agreed that people in their neighbourhood get on well together and 90 per cent of council employees felt that the council respects its employees irrespective of their ethnicity, sexuality, religion or disabilities.
“However, we recognise that people’s views and experiences differ, and that this is an important issue for many residents and employees.”
She writes that “following a hate crime committed against a Sikh pupil in November 2020, the council engaged with young people, community leaders and key partners such as the police”.
The incident, which took place outside school hours and off school property, was captured on video and circulated online, sparking outrage.
Ms Mercer writes that it also led to “a new trusted panel being set up, who now review, co-ordinate and provide rapid responses to reports of serious incidents under the 2010 Equality Act”.
The 2010 act aims to protect people against harassment or victimisation based on their age, disability, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Ms Mercer says this panel is chaired by Councillor Paul Watling, Telford and Wrekin’s cabinet member responsible for co-operative communities, partnerships and engagement, “with membership of the panel flexible depending on the nature of the incident”.
“In addition, the council’s Multi-Cultural Development Service have been providing free equality and diversity training to staff in schools, and are also enabling all schools to easily report racist incidents to the council through an updated system, so effective support can be provided,” she adds.
