The Partnership and CSP Manager presented a report which updated the Cabinet Committee Equalities on the work underway and being considered to deliver the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan for Bridgend County Borough Council.

She explained that on 7 June 2022 Welsh Government published the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan setting out the intention to be an anti-racist nation by 2030. The Plan covers actions to be undertaken between June 2022 to June 2024 with the intention being to learn from the work undertaken during this period. Since the publication of the Plan we have been liaising with colleagues across South Wales around approaches for the delivery of the Plan and are awaiting updates on the appointment of implementation leads.

The Partnership and CSP Manager explained that in the absence of leads, the Community Safety Partnership in Bridgend have worked with Equalities and the regional Community Cohesion officer for Western Bay to discuss how the council can deliver the Plan. Further details were at section 3 of the report.

The Deputy Leader asked that we ensure as a Council that trade unions and people who have lived through these experiences are included in conversations and ultimately contribute to the revised plans for future years.

The Cabinet Member Housing, Planning and Regeneration asked if Officers could be mindful of timeframes and look to move ahead with this plan, as it could take some time to get clarification from Welsh Government. As an authority and borough we need to ensure we take a zero tolerance approach to racism and this plan will aid us in that.

The Cabinet Member Housing, Planning and Regeneration also asked what work was being done with other organisations to ensure that the cultural diversity of Wales was understood and took into account when developing our policies, providing services and driving changes forward. The Chair echoed these comments and suggested that we could have speakers at these meetings to talk about various equalities issues.

The Leader suggested an additional recommendation to look at identifying local leads within the organisation to drive the plan forward. 

The Cabinet Member Housing, Planning and Regeneration asked if an update report could be provided to the next committee on the LGBTQ action plan and suggested that as a committee, we look at all reports from Welsh Government to ensure a holistic approach to our plans

RESOLVED: Cabinet Committee Equalities noted the content of this update report and; Local Leads be identified within the organisation