BCCP - Equality Statement

Bradford City Centre Project

The Bradford City Centre Project Limited is committed to promoting equal opportunities in all aspects of its work. We aim to provide services to assist and empower young people to achieve their accommodation needs and wishes in ways which enhance equality of opportunity for all those with whom we work in whatever capacity.

We recognise that groups and individuals are discriminated against because of their gender, race, nationality, disability, culture, sexuality, class/caste, HIV status, religion, care responsibilities, and other factors. All such discrimination conflicts with the philosophy and aims of the Project.

We will endeavour to:

Ensure no young person using our services, member of staff, volunteer, management committee member, prospective employee, or any other person who has contact with out organisation, experiences any form of discrimination from the Project.
Ensure that every person associated with the Project is aware of and strives to uphold our principles and challenges all forms of prejudice and discrimination.
Establish policies and procedures which translate our principles into action, including careful monitoring of progress and an effective complaints procedure in case of any apparent breach.
Provide our services, and encourage the provision of services by others, in line with the principles, policies and procedures established by the Project to enhance equality of opportunity.
Establish targets for action to promote and enhance equal opportunities and fight discrimination within the Project and within our field of concern, these targets to be actively pursued and regularly reviewed.

Equal Opportunities Statement

Policy statement
1. Bradford City Centre Project recognises that discrimination against individuals and groups is actively and covertly practised at organisational and personal levels. The project is committed to combat oppression and discrimination in all its practice, and is attempting to become an equal opportunities employer and service-provider.
2. The project aims to ensure that participants in its services and activities, employees and prospective employees, volunteers, Management Committee members, students, or others connected with the project in any way, do not experience any oppression or discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, age, sexuality, gender, health or ability, social background, religion, or any other forms of personal or social behaviour, orientation or belief which cannot be shown to be justifiable within the context of this policy.
3. The project will take action to ensure that this policy is both known to every person who has any substantial involvement with the Project and its work, and is effectively implemented, monitored and reviewed. This policy, the Anti-Harassment Policy and the complaints Procedure will be made available to every person who has any substantial involvement with the project. Brief summaries of the policies will be displayed in communal areas of the Project's premises.
4. As none of the Project's premises are currently fully accessible, it is recognised that people with limited mobility are not treated equally at present. We intend to remedy this discrimination as quickly as possible.
5. An Equal Opportunities Action Plan will be drawn up, with objectives and targets to remedy know gaps, defects or lapses in the policy. The Action Plan will be implemented by named staff and Committee members, and progress reviewed every six months by the Staffing Sub-Committee and annually by the Management Committee.
Service Provision
1. The project will take action to ensure that its services are available to all single young people aged between 16 and 25 who are homeless, roofless, at risk of homelessness, or requiring support to resettle into secure accommodation, to the full extent of its available resources and without any form of discrimination or favouritism on any grounds outlined in 1.2. above.
2. The project will ensure that all participants in its services and activities are made aware of its equal opportunities and anti-harassment policies, and of the Project's expectations of participants in respecting and promoting equality of opportunity. Information will be widely available and displayed, incorporated into all licence and tenancy agreements, and drawn to the attention of all participants as soon as possible after they first contact the Project. Participants will be positively encouraged to create, maintain and experience a non-discriminatory atmosphere in all their dealings with the Project, and offered help and support if they have difficulties in any aspect of equal opportunities.
3. Any participant who behaves in breach of the policy will, either immediately or at the earliest possible opportunity, be reminded of the policy and their oppressive or discriminatory behaviour challenged and discussed with them, wherever possible in a non-confrontational atmosphere in an attempt to encourage a change in behaviour.
4. The project reserves the right to bar from its premises, activities and / or services by any person who persists in acting in an oppressive or discriminatory manner after being challenged and offered support to change their behaviour. In extreme cases, staff are authorised to institute an immediate bar in order to protect the rights and safety of others. Any person barred has the right of appeal through the Complaints Procedure.
5. Incidents involving discrimination or oppression witnessed by staff, volunteers or participants should be reported to the relevant Team Leader and logged in the relevant Incident book, together with details of the action taken and the outcomes. Team leaders will report any such incidents to the Director, who will report to the Staffing Sub-Committee at its six-monthly review of the policy and action plan.
6. Each Team Leader will undertake a regular analysis of initial referrals to their part of the service, to identify any noticeable under-representation among participants. The results will be reported to the Staffing Sub Committee. Where under-representation is demonstrated the Staffing Sub Committee will make recommendations to the Management Committee regarding proposed means of identifying the reasons for the under-representation and / or making the service more accessible to those groups. The Management Committee is committed to taking swift and appropriate action to remedy under-representation.
7. Each team will ensure regular feedback from participants which includes their impressions of the effectiveness of the equal opportunities and harassment policies. This feedback will be reported to the Staffing Sub Committee to inform its reviews of the policies and action plans.
Recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers
1. The project has recruitment and selection policies for staff and volunteers, the aims of which are to ensure that all applicants and serving staff and volunteers receive fair and equal treatment. No applicant, employee or volunteer should be placed at any disadvantage by requirements, conditions or behaviour which are not strictly function-related, or by assumptions or preferences which are oppressive or discriminatory.
2. The recruitment policies also require the Project to ensure, as far as it is able, that the staff and volunteer teams are representative of the community at large, and that where this is not the case that action is taken to the full extent of the Project's powers to remedy the situation.
Training
1. The project will ensure that all staff, volunteers, Management Committee members and groups of young people receive appropriate training in equal opportunities and anti-oppressive practice.
2. All training for staff, volunteers and participants will be within the context and requirements of the Equal Opportunities Policy, and no person or group will experience discrimination in the provision of training within the meaning of the policy.
3. The Project Training Policy is designed to ensure that, wherever possible, training will be offers to meet an individual's development needs as well as the requirements of the position they occupy within the Project. The Project will ensure that training resources and training offered / required ensure equality of opportunity.
Monitoring, evaluation and review
1. The equal opportunities policy and action plan will be reviewed six-monthly by the Staffing Sub Committee and annually by the Project Management Committee.
2. The effectiveness of policy and procedures for dealing with oppressive and discriminatory behaviour throughout the Project, as outlined in the Equal Opportunities Policy, Harassment Policy and Complaints Procedure, and incorporated in licence and tenancy agreements and other documents available to participants, together with reports of any incidents logged, will be reviewed annually by the Management Team. The Team's findings will be passed to the Management Committee to be included in the latter's overall review.
3. Day-to-day monitoring and feedback from participants on equal opportunities matters will take place as specified in 2.6 above.
4. If any of the information gathered through the monitoring, evaluation and review processes suggests that discrimination or oppression is occurring and is not being adequately dealt with, immediate action will be taken to deal with the problem. The Director will be responsible for ensuring that this takes place with the minimum of delay.
5. This policy, and all associated policies, plans and procedures will be reviewed annually by the Management Committee.
Responsibility for ensuring compliance
1. Every person associated with the Project's work and activities in any way is responsible for ensuring that their own behaviour and that of others with whom they are in contact is anti-discriminatory and non-oppressive.
2. The Management Committee has ultimate responsibility for carrying out and reviewing this policy. A member of the Committee will be allocated particular responsibility to oversee all the relevant policies, plans and procedures; and to ensure that the annual review takes place, informed by all relevant facts.
3. The Director is responsible for ensuring that the Management Committee receives all relevant information and that all Management Committee decisions are acted upon within the time scale decided. Decisions requiring action within teams are the responsibility of Team Leaders, reporting to the Director.
4. Proposals for changes or amendments to policies and procedures may be made by any member of staff, volunteer, Management Committee member or participant, and the Director is responsible for ensuring that all proposals are dealt with in the proper manner.