Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Equality and Diversity

The Council is committed to the promotion of equality and diversity and ensuring that all its services are fully accessible to all Stockton residents. We will achieve this by removing both direct and indirect discrimination wherever it exists. We recognise that people may be disadvantaged because of their: age; gender; race, colour, ethnic, national, cultural or social origin; disability; religion and belief, or non-belief; marital status, family circumstances or caring responsibilities; sexual orientation; class, level of income or housing circumstances; or a variety of other circumstances and actively work to reduce and ultimately eliminate this disadvantage.

The Council is supported in its aims by the Government and there are nine primary pieces of legislation and over 100 secondary pieces and government guidance to which the Council and all public bodies have to adhere to in order to promote equality of opportunity. A detailed list of these can be found in the Single Equality Scheme below, but currently the biggest challenges for the Council are implementing the Race, Gender and Disability Equality Duties.