Agenda item

Council notes

That Cambridge is a diverse city and that Black, Asian and other ethnic-minority communities make a significant contribution to the life, culture and economy of Cambridge.

 

That the Council supported the Black Lives Matter motion in July 2020 and recognises the significant work undertaken since then to address racial inequality, including workforce equality monitoring, engagement with staff and communities, and the development of the Race Equality Toolkit.

 

That the Council endorsed the UNISON Anti-Racism Charter in October 2025 and signed the Charter in January 2026, building on work already undertaken by the Council to promote racial equality within its workforce. The Charter includes commitments relating to workforce and ethnicity pay-gap reporting, anti-racism training, recruitment and promotion, and monitoring disciplinary and grievance outcomes.

 

That the Council's 2024/25 Equality in Employment Workforce Report demonstrates progress in some areas, including increased ethnic-minority representation among employees, apprentices and those receiving promotions. It also shows that ethnic-minority representation changes at different stages of the recruitment process.

 

That differences in representation at different stages of recruitment do not, by themselves, demonstrate discrimination. However, significant or persistent disparities should prompt the Council to understand whether barriers exist and whether existing measures are effective.

 

That legitimate scrutiny, political debate, journalism and freedom of expression are fundamental to a democratic society, while bullying, harassment, discriminatory abuse, intimidation and threats should not be confused with legitimate scrutiny.

 

Council believes

That the progress made since 2020 should be recognised and welcomed.

 

That commitments to racial equality are most meaningful when they result in measurable improvements in people's experiences and opportunities.

 

That the next stage should therefore be to move from commitment and representation towards measurable outcomes, action and accountability, building on the work already being undertaken by the Council.

 

That equality of opportunity does not mean lowering standards. It means ensuring that everyone has a fair opportunity to demonstrate their skills, experience and ability, with consistent and proportionate standards applied fairly.

 

That tackling racial inequality requires both good quality data and meaningful engagement with the people affected by inequality.

 

Council resolves

1.         Strengthen accountability for existing commitments

 

To build on the Council's Anti-Racism Charter, Equality in Employment reporting and Inclusion and Equity Panel work by introducing a clearer annual assessment of progress on racial equality.

 

Using existing data wherever possible, and subject to legal requirements and appropriate statistical safeguards, the assessment should identify significant or persistent disparities across the employment journey, including:

• recruitment and appointment;
• progression and promotion;
• training and development;
• representation at senior levels;
• pay;
• disciplinary and grievance outcomes; and
• retention and departures.

 

2.         Turn evidence into action

 

Where significant or persistent disparities are identified, the Council should adopt an "identify, analyse, act and evaluate" approach:

 

Identify the disparity -> Analyse possible causes -> Act to address potential barriers -> Evaluate whether the action worked.

 

Where appropriate and proportionate to the issue identified, the annual assessment should identify:

• the issue or disparity identified;
• the evidence considered;
• the action proposed or taken;
• the service or team responsible;
• the timescale for action; and
• the outcome or measurable change.

 

Progress should be reported to the Inclusion and Equity Panel and made publicly available.

 

3.         Strengthen safeguards against harassment

 

To review existing arrangements for employees and elected Members to raise concerns about bullying, harassment, discriminatory abuse, intimidation or threats.

 

The review should consider whether reporting routes are clear, accessible and trusted, and whether staff and Members understand how concerns will be dealt with.

In doing so, the Council should expressly protect legitimate journalism, political debate, criticism, peaceful protest and democratic scrutiny.

 

The review should report its findings and any recommendations to the Inclusion and Equity Panel within six months of this motion being agreed.

 

4.         Strengthen training and leadership

 

To build on existing anti-racism and equality commitments by ensuring that elected Members, managers and staff have appropriate opportunities to understand racial inequality, discrimination and harassment, and their responsibilities in addressing them.

 

Training should be practical, proportionate and relevant to people's roles, with particular attention where appropriate to recruitment, promotion, management, complaints and responding to concerns about discrimination or harassment.

The Council should periodically assess the effectiveness of this training and use feedback from staff and Members to improve future provision.

 

5.         Widen opportunities for young people

 

To build on existing Council youth, skills and careers programmes by working with schools, colleges, young people, employers and community organisations to widen access to:

• mentoring;
• diverse role models;
• workplace visits;
• meaningful work experience;
• apprenticeships; and
• careers opportunities.

 

Particular attention should be given to young people who may have less access to professional networks and opportunities.

 

Young people should be involved in designing and evaluating this work.

 

The Council should identify potential funding sources, including external grant funding and partner contributions, to support the scale and pace of delivery, and report on funding secured as part of the annual update under resolve 7.

 

6.         Work with Cambridge employers and business partners

 

To use the Council's civic, convening and partnership role to encourage employers, business partners, suppliers and organisations working with the Council to improve transparency around racial equality in employment.

 

Where appropriate and lawful, the Council should encourage organisations to publish or share anonymised equality data, including workforce representation, recruitment, progression, pay and retention, and to consider what action is being taken where significant disparities are identified.

 

The Council should promote the sharing of good practice and encourage organisations it works with to consider how their recruitment, work experience, apprenticeship, mentoring and progression opportunities can be made accessible to a wider range of people.

 

The Council should also consider, within the requirements of procurement law and its existing procurement policies, whether appropriate equality and transparency considerations can be incorporated into future commissioning and partnership arrangements.

 

The Council should report annually on the steps it has taken to engage with employers and business partners and, where possible, the progress achieved.

 

7.         Make racial equality a continuing priority

 

To ensure that the work set out in this motion becomes part of the Council's continuing approach to equality rather than a one-off programme.

 

The Council should provide an annual update on progress against this motion and its existing Anti-Racism Charter commitments.

 

The update should clearly distinguish between:

• actions completed;
• actions underway;
• actions that have not delivered the intended outcome; and
• areas requiring further action.

 

The Council should continue to engage staff, residents, young people and community organisations in shaping and evaluating its approach, including people with relevant lived experience.

The Council should use the evidence from this annual review to inform future equality objectives, workforce planning and policy development.

 

8.         Council notes that the majority of actions in this motion build on existing commitments, structures and programmes, and resolves that implementation of these actions should proceed within existing resources where possible and should not be made contingent on the outcome or timing of Local Government Reorganisation.