Our commitment to equality and diversity

Priority 1: Strengthen the council’s insights and evidence on inequalities and disadvantage

Deliverable: Analyse and use information from census and other council consultations and surveys to strengthen our understanding of the nature and impact of inequalities.

Progress update: Information from council surveys, as well as national data sources such as the census, has been used to strengthen understanding of inequalities and the potential equalities impacts of council decisions and activities. 

This includes the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which used information including a community insights project, a public consultation and national data on indices of multiple deprivation to inform its priorities around tackling health inequality. 

The council monitors national developments in equalities legislation and guidance to ensure it is complying with the Equality Act and following best practice. Engagement with equalities teams at other local councils helps to ensure that our approach and ways of working are consistent with organisations across the sector and within the Berkshire region.  

Priority 2: Strengthen relationships with diverse groups in our communities, and specifically those with, or representing those with, protected characteristics

Deliverable: Build relationships with community groups representing protected characteristics (e.g. Disability and Inclusion Forum, KickBack children in care council, Windsor Pride, Windsor and Maidenhead Community Forum), and promote faith and cultural understanding through events, festivals, and engagement.

Progress update: Engagement has continued with community groups including the Disability and Inclusion Forum, the Youth Council, the Afro-Caribbean Heritage Society, Windsor Pride and the Learning Disability Partnership Board, and internal events led by the staff EDI Network have promoted the values of diversity and inclusion through highlighting key festivals, celebrations and awareness months. 

For example, engagement with the Learning Disability Partnership Board has contributed to improvements in the council’s production of easy read materials, including for the Health and Wellbeing Strategy. 

Support has also been provided to the Youth Council in the analysis of the results from their survey on sexism. Dialogue with the borough’s Muslim community has led to the inclusion of Islamophobia Awareness Month in the council’s internal calendar of EDI-related occasions that will be marked in 2026.

The council, working with contractors, has monitored and in specific cases addressed Union Jack and St. George’s flags which have been erected without authorisation in the borough. Community cohesion and safety has been central to the council’s actions where flags have been removed. Work continues to address where flags are put up without authorisation, balanced with protecting council workers and contractors from harassment.

Priority 3: Ensure engagement activities are inclusive and provide opportunities for community involvement in decision making

Deliverable: Support identification of stakeholders for engagement, ensuring those with protected characteristics and from under-represented communities are encouraged to participate and have their voices heard.

Progress update: The collection of demographic information in council consultations and surveys helps us to understand which voices we are less likely to hear from. We have produced consultation materials in alternative formats including; easy read, large print and video to make our consultations (including the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the 2026/27 Budget) more accessible and inclusive and encourage more diverse participation.

Deliverable: Develop and deliver a refreshed Communications and Engagement Strategy to strengthen and update the council’s overarching approach to communications with our communities and other stakeholders *

Progress update: Work continues to develop a Communications and Engagement Strategy by September 2026 –  a comprehensive communications framework to strengthen internal processes and improve collaboration across the council to deliver more effective and consistent communications has been launched and a new Consultation Policy, designed to ensure residents and businesses are better supported to have their say on the issues that matter most to them has also been launched.

Priority 1: Embed a greater awareness of equalities across the organisation

Deliverable: Promote an evidence-based narrative around inequalities in RBWM and raise the profile of equalities work. 

Progress update: The process for tracking equality objectives has been changed to bring it into line with how other council objectives are tracked and reported on. This enables better collection of evidence about equalities progress and raises the profile of equalities within the council's overall performance.

The development of a more coordinated way of working between the communications and equalities teams has also supported better internal and external communication around equality-related issues and events. 

Evidence-based decision making on tackling inequality is also supported by resources like the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, which feeds into current and future projections of demand in areas such as social care, health and homelessness and provides detailed demographic data which can be used by services across the organisation. 

Priority 2: Improve the consistency and quality of Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) to influence and support decision-making

Deliverable: Embed Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) into the early stages of policy, strategy, and procurement development, and ensure they are reviewed and updated iteratively throughout the lifecycle of projects to identify and address equality considerations.

Progress update: Support on EQIA development continues to be provided, and the strengthening of our approach to creating new strategies and policies through the Strategy, Policy and Performance team has improved the awareness of the importance of EQIAs as decision making tools.

Priority 3: Establish clear political and officer leadership on equalities

Deliverable: Ensure elected members demonstrate a strong understanding of local communities and their diverse needs through mandatory equality, diversity and inclusion training.

Progress update: The EDI training available to elected members and to strengthen the equalities training opportunities and resources as required is currently being reviewed – along with a plan to ensure training is well published and encouraged to all councillors.

Priority 1: Ensure that the accessibility of physical and digital spaces and resources is considered in the planning and delivery of policies and services

Deliverable: Set up a plan for delivering further integration of front-end and back-end systems, and to enhance Report-It features, improve digital access to services, such as the council's website and simplifying transactions and payments and updating reporting *

Progress update: This council plan deliverable has been completed.

Deliverable: Ensure that digital and printed resources continue to meet accessibility requirements

Progress update: The Communications team has been reviewing the council’s current communications channels to ensure they meet the highest accessibility standard- with digital accessibility training having been offered. There has also been work to strengthen the council’s capacity to produce materials in easy read format, using insight from local learning disability groups through the LDPB.  

Deliverable: Consider the impact of the digitisation of key resources and services and aim to mitigate any negative or exclusionary impacts
Progress update: The Digital and Technology Board was established in Q3 2025/26 and equality considerations have been incorporated into its governance framework and associated processes.

Priority 2: Strengthen the incorporation of equality considerations within the development of KPIs and service specifications as part of the pre-procurement process

Deliverable: Embed equality objectives into corporate and service planning by developing and monitoring appropriate KPIs, ensuring alignment with business planning and performance management frameworks, and taking action where risks to delivery are identified.

Progress update: Work with service teams has ensured that, as part of the council plan development and annual refreshes, a number of deliverables take equalities into account. 

This ensures there is alignment with business planning and performance management by the overlap between council plan deliverables and actions associated with equality objectives. Data related to our equality objectives has been added to a central data management system, which ensures transparency in monitoring performance against the equality objectives and early identification of risks, which can be addressed swiftly.

Priority 1: Keep our neighbourhoods clean, safe and in a good state of repair through increased investment, partnership working and engagement

Deliverable: Work in partnership to deliver key priorities for public protection in the reduction of serious violence, crime, disorder, anti-social behaviour and enabling community resilience through community warden engagement *

Progress update: Through the Community Safety Partnership, the council is able to work together with key partners on its community safety priorities for the borough. This year, these priorities were informed by a community safety survey, carried out in the summer. Efforts were made to ensure the survey was accessible and inclusive through targeted communications with key groups and in person engagement carried out by the Community Wardens.  

Deliverable: Engage with communities most likely to experience accessibility issues, (long term conditions, disabilities and age-related mobility problems) to identify priorities and establish where accessibility improvements have the greatest impact.

Progress update: Accessibility issues are taken into account whenever planning policy documents such as Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) and Local Plans are produced.  Officers will engage with the Disability and Inclusion Forum (and other disability and older people's groups) at an early stage when producing the new RBWM local plan. Presentations on the upcoming Borough Local Plan and the Maidenhead town centre shopfront SPD were given to the Disability and Inclusion Forum in September 2025 and feedback was collected.

Priority 2: Ensure that every child in the borough is able to experience positive outcomes in childhood, through healthy living, readiness to learn, and positive parenting, and support targeted at those most at risk

Deliverable: Work to reduce gaps in attainment in reading, writing and mathematics between children in receipt of the Pupil Premium grant and their peers, including the creation of a borough Education Board, with a strategy and plan launched in November 2025 *

Progress update: A new 12-month programme has been launched which is focused on reducing the attainment gap in reading, writing and mathematics between those pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium and their peers. It aims to promote educational equity and tackle specific barriers to learning which are encountered by the borough’s most vulnerable learners. This new initiative will complement existing work to support disadvantaged pupils.

Priority 3: Provide access to the right support to residents at the right time, in the right place, with a focus on early help and prevention, to maintain and extend independent living

Deliverable: Develop more 'lifetime homes' in Windsor and up to 18 'Shared Lives' arrangements borough-wide, enabling people with learning disabilities to live independently or with families, reducing out-of-borough placements and enhancing value for money *

Progress update: This was a council plan deliverable. It has been removed from the council plan while alternative arrangements are considered for progressing the delivery of this service.

Priority 4: Help to reduce the impact of cost of living rises on our residents, with a focus on those most at risk, through targeted financial and practical support *

Deliverable: Work with a range of partners to support residents experiencing financial difficulties, with a focus on those most at risk - through targeted financial and practical support including Here to Help, Household Support Fund, and providing financial advice *

Progress update: Tranche 7 of the Household Support Fund (HSF) ended in March. From April 2026, the HSF will transition to a new Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). Details of CRF have now been announced with a revised criteria.

Deliverable: Review and revise housing strategies, policies, practice and procurement to provide improved service and accommodation solutions to those who are homeless or seeking provision of social housing *

Progress update: Research for this project is underway and good progress has been made with core statistical data provided insights which will help drive the strategy forwards. Drafting of the report is in the work programme for 2026-2027.

Priority 5: Embed accessibility into the planning and design of our streetscape, buildings and public spaces

Deliverable: Review accessibility as part of the new Local Transport Plan.

Progress update: Development of the Local Transport plan is ongoing with consideration for accessibility included. An update on the work was presented to the Disability and Inclusion Forum in September 2025 and internal workshops have included specific focus on considerations around accessibility and inclusion.

Priority 1: Continue to encourage and welcome increasing numbers of job applications from candidates with disabilities, who are care leavers, and from the Armed Forces community

Deliverable: Continue to encourage and welcome job applications from disabled candidates using the Disability Confident Scheme (current accreditation runs until October 2025), which guarantees disabled applicants who meet the minimum job criteria an interview.

Progress update: RBWM is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and as part of this commitment offers an interview to all self-identified disabled applicants, so long as they meet minimum requirements for the role.

Deliverable: Provide support and opportunities to ex-military and reservists as supporters of the Armed Forces Covenant and holders of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award.

Progress update: All vacancies are available to forces organisations and applicants are required to meet the minimum criteria to be selected for interview. A range of family friendly policies are available to employees who are reservists or are part of forces families. 

In January 2026, the council was re-accredited with the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, which recognises its ongoing support for members of the armed forces community.

Deliverable: Provide training and employment opportunities to borough care leavers in our capacity as Corporate Parent.

Progress update: All vacancies are available to Care Leavers and they are given preferential early access for all entry level roles. Work experience and training opportunities are made available to Care Leavers. The creation of the new Corporate Parenting Strategy 2026-2028 includes a priority for children in care to feel like they have the education, training or employment to get what they want in life.

Priority 2: Seek to understand the needs of employees with protected characteristics through engagement with employee networks and data gathering through staff surveys and personal diversity records

Deliverable: Continue to support the council’s organisational intelligence capability in relation to protected characteristics data shared by existing employees, with a focus on improve the number of staff providing information about ethnicity and religion.

Progress update: This information is automatically captured when new employees join the organisation. HR is continuing to work towards full completion across the organisation for existing colleagues who have not yet completed their protected characteristics.

Deliverable: Continue to work with the council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion staff network to promote a culture of inclusion and to develop wellbeing support relevant to our workforce.

Progress update: The EDI network has been able to put on events around International Women's Day, Pride and Black History Month as well as providing input on internal policies and staff surveys. 

More coordinated ways of working between the communications and equalities functions have strengthened the messaging around equality, diversity and inclusion-related celebrations and occasions. This has also made it easier for colleagues to input into the way that festivals and awareness days are marked. The EDI network was also invited to provide input into the development of the ‘Your Workplace’ survey. 

This gathered feedback from colleagues on their experience of physical working environment, including useful insight relating to neurodiversity and disability, which has informed subsequent priorities and action plans.

Priority 3: Deliver a range of measures to improve opportunities for those who want to combine work with family or caring responsibilities

Deliverable: Continue to offer a wide range of flexible working options including a flexi-time scheme, part-time working, term-time only working, nine-day fortnights, remote working, and flexible retirement.

Progress update: This approach is covered by the Flexible Working Policy, under which all existing and prospective employees have the right to formally request flexible working from Day One.

Deliverable: Continue to support employees who are foster carers through additional paid leave, reinforcing our commitment to maintaining our Fostering Friendly Employer accreditation with the Fostering Network.

Progress update: RBWM is an accredited Fostering Friendly Employer and includes provision for Foster Carers within the Family Leave Scheme. Foster Carers Leave comprises paid time off for employees applying to become foster carers to attend relevant training and assessment appointments, and additional days for approved foster carers with a child or children in placement. Provision for kinship carers is also covered by the Family Leave Scheme.

Deliverable: To support families with military connections, as supporters of the Armed Forces Covenant and holders of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award.

Progress update: RBWM has been re-accredited with the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, the highest level of recognition from the Ministry of Defence, based on the support given to armed forces leavers, reservists and their families

Deliverable: Maintain the ‘family friendly’ policies which are part of the Members Allowances scheme, including a Dependants’ Carer’s Allowance, and maternity, adoption and paternity leave.

Progress update: These are ongoing as part of the councillor allowances scheme in the Constitution. It was also reviewed by the Independent Remuneration Panel last year to ensure that the scheme was still up to date and working as intended.

Priority 4: Commit to becoming an anti-racist organisation

Deliverable: Develop an action plan to enable the review of policies, procedures and decisions through an anti-racist lens.

Progress update: The council, via Adult Social Care, has registered with the Workforce Race Equality Standard (SC-WRES) improvement programme. This work is at an early stage but is expected to progress more rapidly following increased capacity within the team. Although SC-WRES is focused on the social care workforce, much of the actions will be applicable to the wider council workforce and are expected to inform developments across the organisation.

‘*’ indicates a deliverable which is in the council plan 2026-2027.

This update highlights many areas where progress has been made in 2025-2026, and objectives are being achieved. However, progress on some objectives has been slower than intended for a range of reasons and some new projects are at a very early stage and expected to develop further over the next 12 months. 

In addition, there have been some developments within equalities legislation which will need to be reviewed. The points below indicate some of the key priorities which will be taking forward.

• Equality Act definition of sex as a protected characteristic – the government has announced its intention to publish new guidance on single-sex spaces and services after the elections in May 2026. The council will review this guidance once available and assess any amendments needed in its provision of single sex spaces to staff, residents and service users.
• Definition of anti-Muslim hostility – in March, the government published a social cohesion action plan, Protecting What Matters, which included a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility. It stated that it would be working with partners to develop practical guidance and support effective implementation. Once this guidance is published, it will be reviewed by the council to identify any amendments needed to policies or practices. It will also inform the discussion of the formal adoption of a definition of anti-Muslim hostility, following the adoption in 2018 of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
• Work is currently taking place on a new People Strategy and Recruitment Strategy. Once these have been adopted, they are likely to inform future equality objective priorities, particularly within Objective 5, focused on recruitment and retention.
• Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard – as discussed above, work on this deliverable is expected to accelerate. The action plan is being developed and the actions and prioritised identified within that will inform the council’s equality objectives.
• Residents Panel – one of the deliverables within the 2024-28 RBWM Council Plan is the establishment of a ‘residents panel’ which is intended to supplement and strengthen our existing approach to consultation and engagement. From an equalities perspective, it will provide an opportunity to target engagement with underrepresented communities and demographic groups and to diversify the voices heard in council engagement activities. 
• Work will begin from Q3 (September-December) 2026 to develop a new suite of equality objectives, to be adopted once the current objectives expire in 2027. The council intends to engage residents and community groups alongside staff and service users to ensure these equality objectives reflect local priorities.