Llais Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to explain how we approach equity diversity and inclusion, our aims, and how we will achieve these.

The policy sets out:

• Our approach to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Our aims and Expectations
• The standards we want to meet
• How we make sure we do what we are saying

Introduction

Our purpose, as an independent body, is to represent your views and needs to the people making important decisions about health and social care services. We make this happen by gathering, listening to, and strengthening the voices of the people of Wales. 

We provide a safe and welcoming space where you can share your own experiences of health and social care, in a range of different ways such as through digital engagement, face to face and written. We also visit the places where you receive these services to hear what you think about them whilst you are using them.  

We can also support you, through our complaints advocacy service, if you would like to make a complaint about a health or social care service.

We want to hear from everyone in Wales, your thoughts and lived experiences can make a real difference in improving the health and social care services for all of us living here in Wales.

Our goal is to contribute to the development of a healthy Wales where your voice truly matters. We are dedicated to working together with all the people of Wales, and other organisations, to ensure that your opinions have the power to shape the future of health and social care services.

Our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Approach.

We want mutual respect, inclusivity, integrity, and compassion to be the driving forces behind everything we do at Llais.

To make this happen we need to make sure voices from people of all different backgrounds are heard by the people making decisions about health and social care services. 

We recognise the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion in how we serve the people of Wales. We value and embrace the differences that make each person unique.

What we mean by equity 

For us, equity means no one is treated less favourably, including because of a characteristic protected under the Equality Act 2010.  It is different from equality in that we are not looking to provide everyone with the same level of help, support, and assistance.  We want to provide you with the right help, support, and assistance to meet your individual needs.  We want to avoid creating any barriers to people accessing our services.

What we mean by diversity

Diversity means understanding and valuing how great it is to have different points of view and experiences. It's about recognising when some people might not be included as much as they should be and doing something to change that.

What we mean by inclusion

Inclusion means embracing people from diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences and creating an environment where everyone feels that they belong.

Applying the values of equity, diversity and inclusion

The values and principles described in this policy affect how we treat:

• volunteers
• employees
• contractors
• people who come to us for help with a concern 
• people who come to us to share their views about the services they received 
• our partners and all stakeholders 

Our Commitment

We will treat all people with dignity, respect, and fairness, regardless of people’s age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. 

Policy Statement

How we will take action to deliver this policy, we will:

• Strive to be an organisation free from discrimination and prejudice of any nature. 
• learn how to identify and speak up against discrimination and prejudice and take quick action to fix it. 
• reat all people with dignity and respect.
• valuing the skills and knowledge that come from peoples’ unique experiences.
• make sure everyone in Wales feels listened to and welcomed by us.
• follow the laws and rules in Wales that promote fairness and equality, and doing what is considered good and fair in our work.
• make our people (staff and volunteers) aware of our values and beliefs in relation to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Helping them to understand how our values and beliefs affect the way we do things.
• seeking volunteers and staff from different backgrounds and experiences at all levels of our organisation because we know that having different perspectives makes our work better.
• let a wide range of diverse communities know about our opportunities and our services.
• create systems to collect and study information about our people (staff, volunteers, and those who use our services) so we can understand them better.
• regularly review and updating this policy using current information, including feedback from people, and keeping up with new ideas about equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Scope 

This policy applies to:

• Those who share their thoughts and experiences with us.
• Those who work for, and with us and help us make a difference.
• Those who volunteer their time to help us do the things we've planned.the way in which we do our work, including how we do our tasks, decide what’s most important, and make representations to service providers and decision makers on behalf of people and communities.
• how we work with our partners, contractors, and other stakeholders.

Our expectation

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the core of the way we work. 

They are a vital part of our vision, our mission, our values, plans, objectives and how we evaluate how well we are doing.

Standards 

There are some laws, national action plans and standards about equity, diversity and inclusion that affect what we do and how we carry out our tasks: 

Equality Act 2010 & the Public Sector Equality Duty for Wales

We welcome the statutory requirements laid down in the Equality Act 2010 which protects people from discrimination because of:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

These categories are known as the ‘protected characteristics’.

The Public Sector Equality Duties for Wales goes further and places a legal duty upon named public bodies to have due regard when carrying out day to day tasks including creating policies and delivering services. As a public body in Wales the Duties apply to us.   

The Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 helps make sure the NHS and social care providers think about people now and in the future when it makes decisions. Although this Act does not place duties on us directly, we aim to carry out all our activities with these duties in mind.

The Welsh Language Standards

Our aspiration is to be a fully bilingual organisation where all our communication will be in both in Welsh and English. Whilst we work towards this, we will use the framework of the Welsh Language Standards to drive our approach and ensure that Welsh speakers are not disadvantaged in accessing any of our services. 

Welsh Government action plans and guidance 

Our strategies and plans will continue to reflect our responsibilities within the Strategic Equality Plan 2020-2024, the Antiracist Wales Action Plan, and the LGBTQ+ Action plan. 

We will also continue to be an active partner in developing future action plans which address inequity across Wales. 

Building equity, diversity and inclusion into our ways of working. 

We consider equity, diversity and inclusion when we develop processes and deliver services. This includes making sure we impact assess all our policies to maximise opportunities to positively impact marginalised people/groups, check for any negative impacts on those with protected characteristics and act upon this.

Our services will be accessible to all as outlined in our Accessibility Statement.

We do not tolerate discrimination, victimisation, bullying or harassment. We support those who experience or witness such behaviours to report them. 

Our recruitment and selections processes are merit based and fair. 

We follow procurements processes to ensure that the way we award contracts and deal with contractors is fair. 

Communication 

We translate our materials into community languages as required. Our materials reflect the diversity of our communities. 

We will arrange translation, written, spoken, or BSL on request to enable people to fully participate in our activities.

We use plain language to make our communication easy to understand.

Engagement

We commit to providing lots of different ways for our people to have their voice heard. 

When we engage with the public, we will ask how we could be better, and we will act upon what people tell us.

We make reasonable adjustments to meet the individual needs of our staff, volunteers and people that wish to use our services.

We have a staff representative on our Board to help shape things at a strategic level. 

We carry out regular surveys of our staff and volunteers and develop actions to improve our services.

All the policies and procedures mentioned in this document are available, either on our website or by request through email, post, or telephone: 

[email protected]

02920235558

Llais, 3rd Floor, 33 - 35 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9HB

Responsibilities - so people know whats expected of them. 

Our Board  

Takes strategic leadership on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, making sure that our policies are consistent with the values and principles of our organisation. The Board is also responsible for making sure that resources and leadership are in place for implementation.

Audit and Risk Committee

The Audit and Risk Committee is responsible for monitoring compliance with the policy, annual objectives, successful implementation of any actions developed because of any aspect of this policy.

The executive team (Strategic Directors/Regional Directors/ Tîm Arwain – our senior leaders team)

The Team is responsible for championing the policy, role modelling, ensuring compliance with the policy, the effective development, implementation and monitoring of equity, diversity and inclusion related objectives based upon most recent data.

Staff and volunteers

Are responsible for championing equity, diversity, and inclusion, understanding how the policy relates to their role, taking part in all equity, diversity and inclusion training, and reporting cases of discrimination, harassment, and unfair treatment.

Monitoring - how we make sure we do what we are saying.

All diversity-related staff and volunteer, service users and complaints data, will be captured and actively monitored, to ensure our policy and strategies are working effectively in practice and to inform further development. 

Diversity-related actions and targets within our Annual Plan will be monitored and reported upon. 

Our public engagement reports will include demographic information. Where trends emerge in relation to marginalised groups, we will use the powers given to us by statute (Section 15 of the Health and Social Care Quality and Engagement Act 2020) to make representations to service providers on behalf of marginalised groups.

We will carry out regular surveys to collect the views of our people, including seeking feedback from our people in relation to diversity. This survey will enable analysis by demographic. 

Equality Impact Assessments twill be carried out, collated, tracked, and monitored. 

Any breach of this policy by our people (staff, volunteers, board members) will be investigated in line with our standards of behaviour framework that includes our disciplinary and code of conduct.

Feedback

We are a new body and we are committed to learning and improving so if you have any feedback, ideas or concerns about this document please contact us in any of the following ways:

[email protected]

02920235558

Llais, 3rd Floor, 33 - 35 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9HB