Apologies were received from Councillor Atiya-Alla, Councillor Steve Darling and Tara Harris.

The notes of the meeting held by the panel on 21 January 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

To question representatives from Torbay’s Housing Providers on the key question.

Julie Bingham and then Hayley Austin presented information about their organisations in response to the question plan submitted by the panel. The panel members then directed a number of questions based around the key question of how do we make Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) lives matter at Torbay’s public organisations?

The key aspects from the Live West presentation are detailed below:

·         Live West employs 1417 employees. Their goal is 2.5% BAME staff in Senior Management roles and 10% BAME representation on their non-executive board. Currently there are 0% for both but this is a recognised concern for the organisation and work is being done to promote roles and develop careers. 2.1% of Management and Team Leaders are from a BAME background.

·         Live West work closely with the SARI (Stand Against Racial Inequality) company based in Bristol. Live West funds SARI to carry out individual case work. SARI also acts as a critical friend offering advice to the organisation. Live West’s Board, Executive and Operational teams have all received training from SARI.

·         Live West have re-introduced Equality Risk Assessments for their new and existing policies and procedures and all policies will reference Equality and Diversity. The Anti-Social Behaviour and Hate Crime Policy outlines that Hate Incidents are responded to by Live West within 24 hours and SARI are involved in offering support to victims of hate Incidents. If a person believes they are the victim of a Hate Incident, it is categorised as such in Live West’s records.

·         Live West had an increase in reported Hate Incidents from 2019 to 2020 and during the period of COVID-19 lockdown. This increase was also seen by other Housing Providers. It was recognised that there were probably further incidents which were not reported and there is more that could be done across the sector to identify the underlying themes of ASB incidents.

·         The Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Board at Live West have changed the way they work to become more effective, better at challenging, to make faster changes to support communities and teams with issues around EDI, and identify areas where they could do better. Each member is a decision maker from a different area of the organisation who takes responsibility for actions and reports back to the board. A number of action plans have been developed to break down, monitor and deal with their identified challenges.

·         An ambitious new strategy based around six pillars; Growth, Accessibility, Belong, Individuality, Trust and Challenge, has been developed by the EDI board and is in the final stages before being adopted. As part of the strategy, Live West are promoting the work they are doing to improve Hate Crime reporting on their website.

·         Equality Diversity and Inclusivity is listed among Live West’s 2021/22 Key Strategic Priorities which highlights the importance of the work of the EDI board and its outcomes.

·         Live West have launched diversity groups to reach out to customers and staff and take an active role in promoting Equality and Diversity. One  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.