Equality impact assessment results: Glasgow 2018 European Championships

Annex A

Glasgow 2018 European Championships
Inclusion Strategy

1. Purpose

The purpose of the Inclusion Strategy is to ensure that the Glasgow 2018 European Championships and Festival 2018 (G2018) strives to deliver the best, barrier free experience to everyone who wants to participate; and takes proactive actions to ensure the event is as inclusive and accessible as possible. The Strategy will outline G2018’s on-going work towards embedding inclusion across all its activities and build upon the progress that has already been achieved. In doing so, the Strategy aims to create a positive, safe and inclusive environment for all G2018 Championships client groups.

2. Context

Delivering a multi-sport event such as G2018 is a very complex exercise. The planning and delivery involves working with a number of partners and a myriad of Functional Areas ( FAs) within the Championships Team itself, all with specialist knowledge and expertise, to deliver specific roles and responsibilities. There are also a number of key themes, which are cross-cutting and require to be integrated within all FAs. Inclusion is one such key theme. In order to ensure inclusive access to 83 sporting sessions at 12 venues and Festival 2018, it is vital to have an Inclusion Strategy in place which helps inform, and indeed is embedded within the operational planning, in order to enhance the overall experience.
In addition to the activities being undertaken by the FAs to ensure the Championships are inclusive; a diverse range of inclusive projects and activities is being planned and delivered by Glasgow's Inclusive Legacy Theme Group. The Group, which includes Glasgow City Council, third sector (Volunteer Glasgow and the Wheatley Group) and national organisations (Skills Development Scotland), is seeking to engage the City's communities of place and interest before, during and after the event in volunteering, community and education based activities which celebrate sport and European cultural connections.

2.1 Terminology Definitions

For the purposes of this Strategy, Inclusion is being used as the overarching terminology encompassing the following:
Inclusion is defined as undertaking positive action in planning and decision making in order to reduce inequalities between the least advantaged groups and the rest of society, ensuring targeted support reaches those who need it most.
Accessibility is defined as the ability for all people to access products, devices, fittings, services and their living environments equally through the use of universal design or assistive technology.
Diversity is defined as recognising and valuing difference in its broadest sense. It is about creating a culture and practices that recognise, respect, value and harness difference. Equality and Diversity need to be progressed together.
Equality is based on the legal obligation to comply with anti-discrimination legislation. Equality is about making sure people are treated fairly and given fair chances.

3 Legal Framework

The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in both the workplace and in wider society.
It consolidates a number of pieces of legislation (Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act), into one single framework, strengthening the law and making it easier to understand. The Act outlines nine protected characteristics:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity

Under the Equality Act, there is a legal obligation to consider the Public Sector Equality Duty, which came into force in April 2011. It comprises of a general equality duty, supported by specific duties which are enforced by secondary legislation. It provides three specific duties as a Pubic Authority, and helps organisations to demonstrate how to deliver the three specific duties and provide transparency in how to achieve this. As a Public Authority G2018 must give due regard to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t and
• Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t

To ensure equality for disabled people, Equality Law provides for the ‘duty to make reasonable adjustments’. This may require G2018 to alter the way in which services are delivered, provide additional equipment and/or remove physical barriers. Notwithstanding that G2018 is a time specific event, where possible, the Championships Team will work with key stakeholders to make any reasonable adjustments.

4 Key Objectives

The Inclusion Strategy seeks to achieve seven primary objectives:

• To achieve required legal duty on Glasgow City Council as per the General Public Duty of the Equality Act 2010
• Apply a philosophy of inclusion to all aspects of G2018, including policy, operation and the built environment, to help ensure all stakeholders have an equal opportunity to participate and enjoy the Championships experience
• All venues for both sporting and cultural events are as accessible as possible, within the constraints of the physical built environment and budget
• Ticketed events will meet or exceed the minimum accessible seating requirements for stadia (The Green Guide, version 5, 2008)
• All marketing and communication reflects the diversity of the local, national and international audience, and takes positive actions to ensure all prospective customers are able to engage with G2018
• Engage stakeholder groups that support G2018 values on inclusion which will contribute to creating greater opportunities for participation from diverse/disadvantaged individuals and groups. This will include partnership working with the GCC Inclusion Legacy Theme Group to further their aim of engaging the City's communities before, during and after the event in volunteering, community and education based activities which celebrate sport and European cultural connections
• Develop an operational plan describing how targets relating to inclusion will be reached including measurements and reporting
• In partnership with Scottish Government, undertake an Equality Impact Assessment ( EQIA) prior to the European Championships and use the finding to address issues raised where possible prior to the event

5 Key Themes

The following themes are crucial to the achievement of the above objectives and the G2018 Team will embed these in the planning of the Championships, identifying where positive action is required and engaging with partners to establish common interests and actions. The measures outlined within key themes are by no means exhaustive, however, provide an indication of the measures that may be achieved for G2018.

5.1 Accessibility

• Identify barriers and where possible provide transport solutions for spectators with accessible tickets
• Identify barriers in relation to venue accessibility and seating suitability and provide solutions where possible by:
• Providing best possible venue description on G2018 website and at ticket point of sale to ensure customers can gauge suitability and
• Creating balance between accessible/easy access seating and general demand for venue tickets
• G2018 marketing and communication, online and printed, will be available in accessible formats
• Identify and eliminate barriers in relation to toilet facilities, with a particular focus on ensuring accessible toilets and changing facilities are standard across all indoor venues with consideration given to gender neutral toilets and changing facilities at outdoor venues
• Ensure all service counters (e.g. information points, merchandise, catering services) are wheelchair accessible or provide an alternative service offering
• Ensure that the Look of the Championships gives due to regard to accessibility requirements and reflects good practice
• Work with GCC and partners to ensure wayfinding and signage is both accessible and aims to align with policy developments in the city

5.2 Inclusion

• Positive action to increase opportunities for otherwise excluded customer groups to participate. In particular, an autism friendly policy and actions that support the GCC City Centre Autism Friendly Initiative and audio commentary for people with sight loss and hearing impairments
• Due consideration to be given to the affordability of tickets, merchandise and catering concessions
• Ensure individuals with additional needs are supported to engage and progress through the volunteering process
• Creation of safe spaces, for example, for breast feeding mothers and prayers; and elderly rest areas
• Ensure that the Look of the Championships is inclusive of all customer groups
• Give consideration to dietary restrictions, food allergies and religious practices for all customer groups
• Creation of dog spending areas – providing for assistance dogs and supporting the accessibility theme
• Creation of spectator areas that meet the needs of spectators or audiences with alternative needs, e.g. autism friendly areas

5.3 Diversity and Equality

• Meet all legislative requirements
• Meet and aim to exceed minimum accessible seating guidelines for stadia (The Green Guide, Version 5, 2008)
• Ensure communications are appropriate and reach as many communities in Glasgow and beyond as possible
• Aspire to increase the diversity of spectators and audiences through the introduction of targeted diversity activity, for example, engagement with diverse communities, either geographical or thematic (Thriving Places), primarily through sport development and cultural engagement activities.
• Ensure the workforce receives training in disability, equality and diversity awareness.
• Work with partners and stakeholders to expand the reach of the Inclusion Strategy and ensure implementation is relevant to current requirements

6 Championships Team Resource Requirements

The responsibility for implementation, monitoring and reporting of the Inclusion Strategy will rest with the Policy and Evaluation FA, however, delivery of the Strategy will require integration with operational planning. Specific FAs and Workstreams will have responsibility for the delivery of agreed actions incorporated within FA operational plans.

The Policy and Evaluation FA’s primary role is to provide support, advice and guidance across all FAs and Workstreams to assist with the achievement of the Inclusion Strategy objectives, help identify opportunities for enhancement and agree actions and measures. Integration of the Strategy within FA and Workstream operational plans, and ongoing monitoring and reporting will also be facilitated and co-ordinated by the Policy and Evaluation FA.

Not all FAs will have significant contributions to the implementation and delivery of the Inclusion Strategy, although it is anticipated that all FAs will have a supporting role as a minimum.

The dependencies between FAs and Workstreams will be highlighted through the development of the Inclusion Action Plan and agreed actions in the Workstream Operational Plans.

7 Financial Implications

It is anticipated that the Inclusion Strategy will generally be implemented and delivered within existing FA budgets. However, there may be an opportunity to redirect budgetary resources in order to augment existing FA budgets, where deemed appropriate, in order to provide greater value in terms of Inclusion, in accordance with the Strategy. In such cases, the redirection of resources would be subject to agreement by the Championships Director following the review of a specific options appraisal and having regard to the approved Scheme of Delegation (Finance). It is anticipated that specific options will be developed by the Policy and Evaluation FA, in consultation with the relevant operational FA(s).

8 Governance

The Inclusion Workstream activity will be incorporated into the overall Policy and Evaluation Project Plan and, where appropriate, Issues Log and Risk Register. Progress updates will be provided as part of the 6-weekly project status report, in accordance with the Programme Assurance Framework. Notwithstanding this, specific actions will be integrated within relevant FA operational plans and monitored and reported as part of project status reports across these FAs.

It is envisaged that required Inclusion information will be gathered by the Governance FA as part of the project status update reports and regular PMO meetings. PMO reporting arrangements will be extended to include information on agreed KPIs in respect of specific Inclusion actions/measures.

The on-going monitoring of the Inclusion Action Plan will be consolidated by the Inclusion Workstream, in order to report on a thematic basis, as required. It is anticipated that ongoing reporting on Inclusion will be required by the Championships Senior Management Team and Co-ordination and Operations Board; as well as the GCC Inclusion Legacy Group, as appropriate. In addition, it is anticipated that a final Inclusion Report will contribute to the overall evaluation of G2018.

The G2018 Inclusion Stakeholder Reference Group will invite attendance from various groups protected under the Equality Act and the primary focus will be on matters of inclusion. The Group will act as a consultative mechanism to advise, provide guidance and support on equality and diversity issues in relation to G2018.