Wakefield Council advised to strengthen equality and diversity approach

A review started last year found the local authority was compliant with government legislation, but could go further in making itself more inclusive.

Among the review's findings was that the council did not have a dedicated equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy in place.

It also suggested an "action plan" measuring the authority's performance be introduced.

The council is now in the process of adopting the recommendations.

Speaking at an audit committee meeting on Monday, senior officer Jackie Mould said the council wanted to go above and beyond its legal requirements.

Ms Mould, who is the service director for strategy, said: "The report did identify a number of areas for improvement.

"We don’t just want to be compliant. We want to make a real impact across the district on this.

"One of the findings was that we didn't have an action plan, which meant that we weren't measuring our own performance consistently enough."

Ms Mould said that an EDI policy was being drawn up by the council and was likely to be put before elected members for approval in June.

She said that the policy would help the council be more "outward looking" in its approach.

Local Democracy Reporting Service