A statement from Andrew Blake-Herbert, Chief Executive of Havering Council, on the decision to publish the historic self-assessment document.
Havering Council has decided to publish its historic self-assessment peer review document, which was originally provided as part of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Race Equality, Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion (READI) Review in 2019.
This decision comes after multiple legal challenges and the consideration of protecting staff confidence weighed up with the costs of further appeal.
Following the decision to publish the self-assessment document, Havering Council’s Chief Executive, Andrew Blake-Herbert, writes:
"Back in 2019, Havering Council asked for the personal experiences of staff on a strictly confidential basis to help identify the equality, diversity, and inclusion challenges that needed to be addressed on the journey to becoming an anti-discrimination organisation and improving the Council for everyone.
"The shared understanding was that the self-assessment and the views contained within it were for the review team at the LGA only.
"It was provided to the LGA who then alongside the feedback from their face-to-face focus group and 1-1 discussions produced a report which highlighted all the failings as identified in the self-assessment.
"This is already publicly available online.
"After the Review was published, under the Freedom of Information Act, the Council received a request from the Romford Recorder to share the self-assessment, which was declined under the Act’s clear criteria for exempting the disclosure of information.
"The Recorder appealed to the Information Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) who agreed with us but then appealed to a higher legal tribunal that ruled against the ICO.
"We appealed against this decision but the tribunal disagreed and most recently the Upper Tier Tribunal has refused our right to appeal.
"We have now concluded that further appeals are unlikely to be successful and would incur significant costs.
"As we strive to close a growing £75m budget gap, it is essential that we continue to be as prudent as possible.
"Let me be clear, this was never about winning or losing a legal battle but about keeping the promises made to us by the LGA and to our staff.
"This was always about protecting our staff and therefore we have redacted the document by removing any personal details, including job titles and other information, which could identify individual staff members.
"I won’t shy away from the fact that some of the content in this document does not make for pleasant reading. But there are two important points to clarify.
"First, this is something we proactively asked for in order for us to gather an unfiltered picture of staff experiences at the time and in turn demonstrate to all staff we were serious about change.
"Second, this is now a historic document. Following the READI review we have made great strides in our pledge to become an anti-racism, anti-discrimination and inclusive organisation.
"We are not complacent and recognise that this is an ongoing journey but we have come a long way from when this document was written.
"Just this week, the Council signed Unison’s Anti Racist Charter, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to being an anti-racist organisation.
"We were also recently shortlisted for a national EDI award for significantly increasing disclosure rates of race and disability across the Council.
"In addition to this, we have implemented mandatory EDI training, and our work with managers, trade unions, and active and supported staff forums is helping us build a modern, inclusive workforce in an anti-discrimination organisation.
"More publicly – you will also see us marking important occasions and national campaigns such as Windrush Day, Black History Month and LGBT+ History and Pride months.
"All of this helps to build trust and solidarity with our minority groups both working for the Council but also within those communities across the borough.
"One final point to clarify is the cost to taxpayers. We have spent £3,670 in trying to keep our word to our staff.
"While no amount is small change in our current financial position – it does seem ridiculous that the Romford Recorder would equate this amount to us being able to pull back on the painful cuts we are having to make because of our chronic underfunding and unprecedented costs for social care and temporary accommodation.
"Indeed, from the relentless campaign the Recorder has run – in what they claimed was in the public interest – it seems they hold little regard for hard working council workers who keep the borough’s services running for our residents.
"Instead, they risk creating potential discord which in turn could inflame community tensions in return for a perceived ‘scoop’ and some hits on their website.
"You can view the full report using the link below and once again we remain steadfast in our commitment for a future of unity not division, of support not sensationalism and of progress not regress, as we work towards becoming a better organisation for all."