We are committed to challenging discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity in all aspects of our work.

Our Comprehensive Equalities and Diversity Policy [PDF, 0.2MB] outlines our commitment as an employer, service provider and community leader.

We also have an Equality Value Statement [PDF, 27Kb], which sets out the responsibility of our staff.

Our equalities objectives 2025/26

Our current equalities objectives are as follows:

• Prioritising needs of diverse communities in our ever-growing city.
• Providing accessible and inclusive council services.
• Helping ensure that people can participate and engage fully in their community in a safe, welcoming and inclusive city.
• Establishing an inclusive and equitable culture within our workforce where our people feel a sense of belonging and purpose.

In addition, under each objective, we have identified key areas of priority for 2025/26.

Objective one: Prioritising needs of diverse communities in our ever-growing city

Key priorities of work relating to this objective include:

• Engaging with different communities about their needs and identifying where the council is best placed to make a difference in enabling communities to thrive.
• Ensuring that new housing in the city better meets the needs of diverse communities, including for protected characteristic groups.
• Improving health and wellbeing of diverse communities and tackling health inequalities.

Objective two: Providing accessible and inclusive council services

Key priorities of work relating to this objective include:

• Strengthening the council’s impact monitoring arrangements to ensure that we are meeting our Public Sector Equality Duty in service provision.
• Using feedback from tenants to consider the improvements required around accessibility and inclusivity of services to council tenants.
• Developing trauma informed practice within relevant council services. Read a working definition of trauma-informed practice.

Objective three: Helping ensure that people can participate and engage fully in their community in a safe, welcoming and inclusive city

Key priorities of work relating to this objective include:

• Improving access to the physical environment for disabled and older people.
• Supporting young people to be heard in shaping the city and supporting them to access different opportunities safely.
• Promoting community cohesion and safety.
• Promoting a Community Wealth Building approach to reducing social and/or economic deprivation for individuals and communities.

Objective four: Establishing an inclusive and equitable culture within our workforce where our people feel a sense of belonging and purpose

Key priorities of work relating to this objective include:

• Attracting and retaining a workforce that is representative of our local population.
• Assessing our gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps and taking steps to reduce these.
• Promoting a culture of allyship (see definition below) in the workplace and defining belonging at Cambridge City Council and what it looks like for our people.
• Strengthening accountability and leadership around equality, diversity and inclusion, specifically for meeting our Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
• Providing support and training on what equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging means and how this can be put into practice in our work.

Allyship is the quality or practice of helping or supporting other people who are part of a group that is treated badly or unfairly, while you are not yourself a member of this group.