People were able to provide feedback from 14 September to 3 October 2023.

The Hearings meeting is on Wednesday 29 November 2023. Times and dates for the Council meeting proceedings are yet to be confirmed.

We value and welcome the diversity of people living, working, and visiting Ōtautahi Christchurch. For some of our residents, there may be barriers in accessing information, places, and spaces and we aim to address this with our proposed Equity and Inclusion Policy.

This policy framework is a statement of intent, to guide and facilitate an equity and inclusion lens being put across Council decision-making, other policy and strategy documents, and services we provide.

This policy applies to the procurement, management and delivery of Council services.

We expect all elected members, employees, volunteers and third parties/ contractors carrying out work on behalf of Council to comply with this policy.

We've taken a fresh look at five of our existing policies relating to access and equity and have combined them into a high level framework that we would like community feedback on.

Policies to be incorporated into the Draft Policy:

• Ageing Together Policy 2007
• Children’s Policy 1998
• Equity and Access for People with Disabilities Policy 2001
• Social Wellbeing Policy 2000
• Youth Policy 1998

The Draft Policy recognises our responsibility to ensure that decision making reflects our commitment to foster equity and inclusion for all residents.

The Draft Equity and Inclusion Policy outline's the Council’s approach to ensuring people from all communities and areas of the city to have equitable access to our services. The policy will mean we put a lens of equity and inclusion across the Council’s decision-making and the services we provide.

This policy applies to the procurement, management, and delivery of Council services. We expect all elected members, employees, volunteers and third parties/contractors carrying out work on behalf of the Council to comply with this policy.

Equity

Equity is defined as “the quality of being fair or impartial” or “something that is fair and just”. Minority groups often have technically equal rights but are still treated unfairly due to unequal access to resources or opportunities.

There’s a distinction between equality and equity: Equality means things are “the same” and equity means things are “fair.” It’s possible that something can be equal but not equitable and, inversely, something could be equitable but not equal. Both have to do with the way people are treated.

People should have equity regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, geographical location or socio-economic status.

Inclusion

This is when you provide equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those who have physical or mental disabilities and members of other minority groups.

Inclusion is ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute to and influence every part and level of a workplace.

Accessibility

People have equal rights to access the physical environment, information, communication, and Council services.

Policy framework

A high-level statement of intent intended to influence how and what Council activities are delivered.

Policy strategy

A strategy is a high-level document that sets out a clear vision for the future and provides direction about how we’re going to get there. It differs from a policy framework in that it’s more targeted, rather than applying to all areas of activity, and is focused on bringing about change rather than influencing ongoing activity. The Draft Equity and Inclusion Policy is aligned with our Te Haumako Te Whitingia Strengthening Communities Together Strategy.

The Council is required to comply with all its policies. Under section 80 of the Local Government Act 2002, the Council must identify any decisions that are significantly inconsistent with policy, and the reasons why, when the decision is made.