Committee details

Committee details

Equalities Cabinet Advisory Group

Purpose of committee

Equalities CAG

Terms of Reference

Background:

Some groups of people who share a protected characteristic may suffer a particular disadvantage or have particular needs. The public sector equality duty means public authorities must think about whether they should take action to meet these needs or reduce the inequalities.

The council is committed to ensuring that services are inclusive and do not discriminate against anyone with a protected characteristic.

Purpose:

The purpose of the new CAG is to:

Review council departments to understand how their services cater for those with protected characteristics.
Ensure that the Council is fully and properly meeting its duties under the Equality Act.
Consider action that the council and its departments may take to further advance equality of opportunity and eliminate discrimination over and above that which is required by Equalities legislation.
To regularly review the council’s Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Policy to ensure this is appropriate and fit for purpose.

Objectives of the Group:

To ensure that all departments within the Council are designing services that comply/take into account the needs of those members of the public with protected characteristics.

Membership, Chairmanship and Quorum:

Number of Members	Five
Chair	Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods
Political Composition	3 Labour; 1 Conservative; 1 Green
Co-optees	As required
Substitutes	Yes
Political Balance Rules Apply	No
Appointments	By the Leader of the Council
Restrictions	Non-executive Members only
Status	This is an advisory and not a decision making body. Private meeting.
Quorum	3
Number of Meetings	At least quarterly.

Administration:

This group will meet four times a year
The meeting dates will be set in advance by the chair.
The department presenting at each meeting would be agreed upon at the previous meeting of the group.

General:

Following the final meeting of the Cabinet Advisory Group of the year, the key findings/conclusions/recommendations of the Group will be presented to Cabinet in an annual report.

Meetings will be informal and held in private.

The CAG is not a decision making body. Any suggested activity will be assessed against TDC’s resources and capacity to support delivery.

Notes

This Equalities Cabinet Advisory Group was established through terms of reference approved by an Individual Cabinet Member decision made by the Leader of Council on Friday 22 March 2024.