Equality, diversity and inclusion annual report 2024

Introduction

The last year has seen further work taken forward across Lincolnshire County Council, with recruitment and retention of employees being high on our agenda. Our strength as a council that delivers a wide range of services to residents and businesses continues to be dependent on the people we employ and our ability to value difference and diversity, both within our own staff and across the many communities that we serve in the county. 

Every day there are thousands of interactions between colleagues working in the council and those living and working in the county - elected Members and officers, Lincolnshire residents and partners. The things we do are varied but they all revolve around relationships between people with different backgrounds, beliefs, wants and needs. We understand the importance of connecting with our varied and ever-changing communities.

In the last year we have developed a new set of organisational values and responsibility framework from the voice of our employees. The values will have a central focus on people, how we can be inclusive, flexible and supportive of colleagues and customers and encouraging people to speak up when something isn’t right. This will be important for all our employees to work together to deliver excellent services for the people of Lincolnshire.

The data collected for this report shows improvements in the confidence of our workforce to share their characteristic information and continues to highlight areas where we can focus attention to ensure equity for our current and prospective colleagues.

We remain committed to embedding a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion for employees and residents here in Lincolnshire, so that the council is a good employer, able to attract and retain high quality staff, so that we can continue to deliver the very best services to our residents and businesses.

Our legal duty

The Equality Act 2010 provides a legal framework to:

• protect the rights of individuals
• advance equality of opportunity for all
• protect individuals from unfair treatment
• promote a fair and more equal society

Under the act it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of the following ‘protected characteristics’:

• age
• gender reassignment
• being married or in a civil partnership
• being pregnant or on maternity leave
• disability
• race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

Our diversity and inclusion policy outlines the different types of discrimination.

Public sector equality duty

The public sector equality duty was created under the Equality Act. As a large public authority we have to consider all individuals when carrying out our day-to-day work including:

• when developing policy
• when delivering services
• in relation to our own employees

The duty also requires that public bodies have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

We comply with the legislation by having due regard for advancing equality in the following ways:

• removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics
• taking steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people
• encouraging people from protected groups to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low

Equalities objectives

Public bodies must publish relevant, proportionate information demonstrating their compliance with the Equality Duty. They must set themselves specific, measurable equality objectives. The equality objectives must be published at least every four years.

Lincolnshire population

Lincolnshire is a large rural county. The latest population predictions from the office for national statistics and data published from the 2021 Census on sex, age, ethnicity and religion there are:

• 768,364 people living in the county
• 51% (391,934) female and 49% (376,430) male residents
• 468,318 residents of working age (15 to 64)
• 4.1% (30,834) of residents from an ethnic minority background. This may be from an Asian, Black, mixed ethnicity or other ethnic background.
• 96.0% (737,532) of residents from a White British (89.2%), Irish (0.4%), Gypsy or Irish Traveller (0.1%), Roma (0.1%) or other white background (6.1%)
• 53.7% (412,588) of residents are Christian, 38.1% (294,198) have no religion, 0.2% (1,824) Buddhist, 0.3% (2,494) Hindu, 0.1% (495) Jewish, 0.7% (5,411) Muslim, 0.1% (681) Sikh and 0.5% (3,783) of residents have other religions or beliefs
• 6.23% (estimate) of working age adults have a long term condition or physical disability

Our population is getting older as the percentage of people in the older age groups continues to increase. 

From the 2011 to the 2021 census for Lincolnshire:

• 8% (54,711) increase in population from 713,653 in 2011
• 0.2% decrease in the proportion of the population aged under 15
• 2.5% decrease in the proportion of the population aged 15 to 64
• 2.7% increase in the proportion of the population aged 65 and over

The diversity of cultures is affected by Brexit where some foreign nationals have returned to their countries of birth. It is likely to be changed again by recent refugee crises.

Lincolnshire data and summaries

There are two main data sites for the Lincolnshire region. Lincolnshire Open Data provides information on wide range of data across a number of different themes including council services. The Lincolnshire Health Intelligence hub (opens in a new tab) provides population demographics including 2021 census summaries and an outline of communities of interest from a health perspective. The site also includes the latest Joint Strategic Needs assessment and the Director of Public Health annual report.

Our commitment

We encourage a supportive and inclusive culture. We believe that diversity and inclusion brings many benefits. People work better and services improve if we operate in an open and supportive environment, where people are individually valued. We recognise everyone has visible and non-visible differences. By respecting this, everyone can feel valued. Our diversity and inclusion policy covers how we treat everyone:

•  colleagues
• customers
•  communities
• other stakeholders

Corporate diversity steering group

Our corporate diversity steering group is made up from representatives from across the council. It is chaired by the executive director for adult care and community wellbeing. The group provides council wide strategic direction to equality and diversity. This includes the overall culture of the council. It ensures we meet our statutory requirements as set out in the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Duty.

Workforce report summary

This report covers:

• how we are meeting our obligations from the Equality Act 2010 and the public sector equality duty as a county council and as an employer
• the profile of our workforce
• how our diversity and inclusion policy, approaches, and people strategy support:
  • equality
  • diversity
  • inclusion

The following objectives were set in 2023 for delivery within three years.

1. we will increase the number of employees who share their personal characteristic data
2. we will increase the success rate of job applicants (internal and external) from minority or disadvantaged groups
3. we will increase the mechanisms and use of support and flexibility for employees from minority or disadvantaged groups
4. we will increase the support available to enable career progression for employees from minority or disadvantaged groups
5. we will increase training, resources and engagement available for employees and specifically for managers. These will increase knowledge, awareness and confidence in discussing, supporting and taking action on equality, diversity and inclusion issues

For 2024 to 2025, actions will be developed to make further progress towards current the workforce equalities objectives. These will be integrated into the people strategy action plan.

Our people strategy

Our people strategy supports the delivery of our corporate plan. It supports our ambition of being an employer of choice and aims to ensure our culture fosters a working environment that:

• embraces the diversity of all our workforce and residents
• supports individuals and teams to feel empowered
• ensure that everyone owns, understands and embodies the council's vision and values
• supports an open and compassionate approach to people management
• supports staff engagement
• facilitates learning and development
• we are able to recruit, retain and develop skilled and talented individuals from inside and outside of Lincolnshire, across generations. This will enable the future delivery of our services

Our workforce - age, disability and ethnicity

We monitor the characteristics of our workforce to:

• identify trends within employment practices
• investigate trends 
• implement change where appropriate

It also enables us to fulfil our commitment to:

• ensure employment practices are free from discrimination
• meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010

The provision of personal diversity information within the council is voluntary. Employees have the option of choosing not to share this information. The personnel system can be accessed on a self-serve basis. This allows employees to manage and amend their personal information. We encourage employees to provide this information as it helps us to improve how we support colleagues with different characteristics.

Where an employee has chosen not to share ethnicity, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation, this is shown on the workforce profile as 'unknown'. When employees choose not to share their personal diversity information, this can affect our ability to meaningfully report and benchmark monitoring information.  

Additional data is also provided on:

• recruitment process
• pay and the gender pay gap
• discipline, grievance and capability processes
• turnover and leaver data

At the reporting date of 31 March 2024, there are 5,727 employees (excluding schools). 

We have compared our workforce data to:

• the same period in 2022 and 2023
• 2021 census data

This allows us to assess:

• if the composition of our workforce has changed
• whether it is reflective of the local community

The workforce profile differs within each part of the organisation depending on the roles undertaken and the purpose of the services. This report provides a summary across the council.

Where employee numbers are below 5, the detail will not be provided in this report to protect the anonymity of individual employees. In these cases it will state ‘fewer than 5’.  Where possible there will be an indication of whether the percentage is above or below the workforce percentage of that characteristic.

Age

Age profile of workforce

Over the last three years there has been little change in the age profile of the organisation with the greatest increase in the 40 to 44 age group and the greatest decrease in the 50 to 54 age group.  Although there has been an increase in the number of employees under the age of 19, this figure remains below 1% of the organisation.

As an ‘age friendly’ employer and part of the national ‘Ageing better’ programme, we aim to provide fulfilling work to people aged 50 and over.  We have reviewed the workforce data and employee survey responses from those aged 50 and over to show the current experience of employees in this age group and to understand whether they can access fulfilling work at Lincolnshire County Council.

• the percentage of employees aged 50 and above is 38.6% (2,209)
• in Lincolnshire, people aged 50 and over form 45% (343,670) of the population
• 41.5% (916) of employees aged 50 and over work part-time compared with 31.6 (1,111) of employees under 50

Pay

For details of the pay rates please refer to the pay policy statement.

At G15 equivalent and above the greatest proportion of employees in an age group switches from under to over fifty.

Recruitment

Applicants over 50 are 1.2 times more likely to be shortlisted than an applicant aged between 25 to 49 however once shortlisted both groups are equally likely to be appointed.

Apprenticeships

There were 279 live apprenticeships in 2023 to 2024, an increase of 13 from 2022 to 2023.

Internally and externally provided apprenticeships are available to staff of any age. They can support development up to level 7 (equivalent to a master’s degree).

• 21.9% of apprenticeships (61) were undertaken by employees under the age of 25, who were around four times more likely to undertake an apprenticeship than older staff. Several of the courses offered support the development of administration and customer service skills for individuals who are leaving education or early in their careers.
• 11.1% (31) were undertaken by employees aged 50 and over. Although this is not representative of the number of employees in this age group (38.5%) it shows that individuals are supported to continue their development through apprenticeships, regardless of their age. 

Employee Survey

The figures and percentages can be found in the employee survey section.

Respondents aged 50 and over were:

• 36% (951) of all respondents
• less likely to say they have a fair opportunity to progress in their career, 2.2 percentage points lower than all respondents.  This has improved by 2.4 percentage points since the 2021 survey
• more likely in 2023 to say that they have opportunities to use strengths and talents in their role, this has improved by 4 percentage points since the 2021 survey
• more likely to say that LCC takes a pro-active approach to support wellbeing, 6.3 percentage points higher than all respondents
• most likely to have effective and regular meetings with their manager, 2.7 percentage points higher than all respondents

When asked whether they experience abuse at work, 11.9% (113) survey respondents aged 50 and over said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from the public or people using our services, and 6.2% (59) said they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from colleagues or managers.

Age leavers 24 and under

Total percentage of employees aged 24 and under at 31 March 2024: 5.0% (285)

Age leavers 25 to 49

Total percentage of employees aged 25 to 49 at 31 March 2024: 56.5% (3,233)

Age leavers 50 and over

Total percentage of employees aged 50 and over at 31 March 2024: 38.6% (2,209)

Total leavers:

• 2021 to 2022 - 100% (655)
• 2022 to 2023 - 100% (677)
• 2023 to 2024 - 100% (568)

There has been an overall decrease in the number of leavers over the last three years.

There has been an increase in the number of resignations from employees aged 50 and above.

The data shows that employees aged 24 and under were more likely to be dismissed than other age groups, this is mainly due to the end of temporary contracts.

Disability

The number of employees sharing that they have a disability has increased year on year.

The percentage of employees whose disability status is continuing to decrease. Through the introduction and embedding of the new values we hope to encourage more staff to feel confident about disclosing that they have a disability, with the aim of reducing still further the proportion whose status is unknown.

We have committed to the Disability Confident Scheme and have also been accredited as a Disability Confident employer. We also reference this in our recruitment and take action on the following commitment to:

• ensure the recruitment process is inclusive and accessible
• communicate and promote vacancies
• offer an interview to disabled people if they meet the minimum criteria for the post
• anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as required when disabled employees are applying for and doing their jobs

Disability profile of the workforce

• 7.0% (398) employees have shared that they have a disability.
• 21.1% (1,208) employees have not shared their disability status.

The following information shows the number of employees with each type of disability where this has been shared, one person may have more than one disability.  Neurodiversity is a new disability type added to the recording options in 2024.

Pay

This year the disability pay gap of employees has been calculated for the second time. Employee records were not included where disability status is unknown, therefore  4306 employees were in scope for the disability pay gap calculations.  Of these employees 3916 ( 90.9%) have no disability and 390 (9.1%) of the employees have a disability.

• the 2023 disability pay gap:
  • the mean hourly rate for employees with no disability is £18.66 and for employees with a disability is £17.49
  • the mean disability pay gap is 6.25%
  • the median hourly rate for employees with no disability is £17.10 and for employees with a disability is £16.23
  • the median disability pay gap is 5.1%
  • the latest UK median disability pay gap reported by the ONS is 13.8% for 2021

Disability pay gap quartile bands

The disability pay gap has improved in the last year with median figure reducing by 2%. There has been an increase of approximately three percentage points of people with a disability across all quartiles. This will have been improved by more employees adding their disability status to their employment record. There is also now a similar percentage of people with a disability in both the lower and lower middle pay quartiles.

Pay grades

For details of the pay rates please refer to the pay policy statement.

• In the above table, where numbers are lower than 5, the percentage is given as either greater than or less than 6.9% as this is the organisational percentage for employees with a disability and shows whether the representation in the grade is proportionate or not.
• 97% (386) of employees who have shared that they have a disability (398) are on grades G1 to G12 or equivalent salary.  This is 7.1% of employees on grades G1 to G12 or equivalent salary levels (5,414)
• There are 12 employees in senior roles paid at G13 or equivalent and above which is 3.8% of the number of employees paid at this level (313). Although this is an increase from 2023, there would need to be 22 employees with disabilities in senior roles to match the percentage of employees with disabilities on the lower grades (7.1%)

The distribution of staff across the various pay bands still suggests that it is more difficult for someone with a disability to secure a role at a more senior level than it is for someone without a disability.

Recruitment

• There has been a similar percentage of applicants and interviewees (increase within 1%) with disabilities as in 2023 with an increase of 1% (17) in the number of successful applicants with disabilities. 
• A disabled applicant was 1.1 times more likely to be shortlisted than a non-disabled applicant. This has remained stable over the last two years.  As a Disability Confident employer, applicants with a disability are guaranteed an interview if they meet the minimum criteria for the role.
• A non-disabled shortlisted applicant was 1.3 times more likely to be successful in the recruitment process.  This has reduced from 1.4 times more likely in 2023.

As the proportion of successful applicants recruited to the council who have a declared disability (9.8%) remains greater than the proportion of current staff with a disability (6.9%), it seems likely that the proportion of all staff with a reported disability will continue to increase.

Apprenticeships

• 9.3 % of employees (26) on apprenticeship programmes (total 279) had a disability.  This is a 3% increase from 2023 and above the percentage of employees with a disability across the workforce.
• an employee with a disability is 1.1 times more likely to be on an apprenticeship than someone who does not have a disability

Formal HR processes

• There were 42 formal disciplinary cases in 2023- 2024 and fewer than 5 cases related to people with a disability.  The figures are in line with the proportion of employees with disabilities in the workforce.
• There were 21 formal grievance cases in 2023 to 2024 which is the same as the previous year. The percentage of cases raised by employees with a disability was 19.1%, which is greater than the proportion of employees with disabilities in the workforce (6.9%) and an increase in the percentage of cases from 2023 (9.5%).
• The grievances raised by employees with a disability related to bullying and harassment and work relations.
• There were 13 formal capability cases. The percentage of cases relating to employees with a disability was 15.4% which is greater than the proportion of employees with disabilities in the workforce (6.9%) and has reduced from the previous year (20.0%)
• Given the small number of formal cases, a single additional case can cause a large shift in the percentage rates.

Employee Survey

The figures and percentages can be found in the Employee survey section.

• 88.3% (2,316) of respondents provided their disability status. answered the question which asked whether they had a disability or health condition.  The remaining respondents selected ‘prefer not to say’.
• 15.6% (409) of all respondents stated that they have a disability or health condition.
• Respondents who stated they have a disability :
  • less positive about their opportunity to use their strengths and talents in their role 5.7 percentage points lower compared to all respondents
  • less positive about recognition of their hard work and success 5.3 percentage points lower compared to all respondents
  • less positive about their ability to maintain a good level of resilience and wellbeing 14.6 percentage points lower compared to all respondents. This has improved by 6.4 percentage points since the 2021 survey
• When asked if they have experienced any harassment, bullying or abuse from colleagues at work in the last year, 12.7% (52) disabled respondents answered yes. Disabled respondents were twice as likely as non-disabled respondents to answer yes.
• When asked if they have experienced any harassment, bullying or abuse from people using our services, their relatives or the public in the last year, 21.0% (86) disabled respondents answered yes. Disabled respondents were twice as likely as non-disabled respondents to answer yes.

Leavers

Employees at 31 March 2024: 6.9% (398)

• The data suggests that someone with a disability was less likely to leave the organisation voluntarily than other employees.
• Someone with a disability was twice as likely to be dismissed as other employees, though this figure needs to be treated with care due to the very small numbers involved, as an individual case can shift the percentages significantly
• This includes ill health dismissals which may lead to early access to pension benefits.

The high proportion of employees (21.1%) who have not shared their disability status is likely to have had an impact of the statistics of the pay comparison and the formal HR process reporting.

Carers

There are a number of employees who are indirectly affected by disability as they are carers for family or friends outside of work. As part of the employee survey, respondents were asked if they are a carer. The responses have been analysed to understand the experience of these individuals.

The figures and percentages can be found in the employee survey section.

• There were 581 individuals who stated they are a carer.  Carers’ responses were similar to those of individuals with a disability. In addition carers were:
  • least likely to say they achieve a good balance between work life and home life, 6.7 percentage points lower compared to all respondents
  • least likely to say that LCC culture fosters a compassionate, supportive and inclusive work environment, 4.2 percentage points lower compared to all respondents
  • least likely to feel comfortable contributing ideas and opinions, 4.9 percentage points lower compared to all respondents  
• Carers were more likely to experience abuse from the public (2.4 percentage points more) and from colleagues (2.7 percentage points more) when compared to all respondents.

Carers are also likely to fall into one or more of the protected characteristic groups.

Ethnicity

The ethnicity categories for statistics purposes are regularly reviewed by many organisations with recent guidance published by the government in December 2021 .

For the purpose of this report ethnicities are grouped into the following categories or will be listed using each subcategory heading. This is to take account of the small numbers recorded under each ethnicity and to improve the reliability of the statistics.

Ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities)

• Asian: Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Asian other
• Black: African, Caribbean, Black Other
• Mixed: White and Asian, White and Black African, White and Black Caribbean, Mixed Other
• Other: Arab, Any other ethnic group

White and white minorities

White:

• British
• Gypsy
• Roma or Irish Traveller
• Irish
• white other
• white not specified

Where ‘white minorities’ is stated, this includes the groups described above not including white British.

Ethnicity profile of the workforce

• 3.4% (193) of employees are from ethnic minority backgrounds (excluding white minorities)
• 3.3% (191) of employees are from white minority backgrounds
• 90.2% (5,167) of employees are white British

The number of employees who are from ethnic minority backgrounds (excluding white minorities) has increased each year. The 2024 percentage (3.4%) is within 0.6% of the Lincolnshire population figure from the 2021 census (4%). Our employment of individuals from white minority backgrounds and Asian and mixed ethnic backgrounds are below the census figures, however the percentage of employees from a Black ethnic background (1.2%) has risen above the census figure (0.6%) in 2024.

There has been a decrease year on year in the number of employees whose ethnicity is unknown.

Pay

The ethnicity pay gap of employees has been calculated for the second time. The calculations were in line with the gender pay gap criteria and 5,465 employees were in scope. Of these employees 5,283 (96.7%) were from white backgrounds or their ethnicity was unknown. 182 (3.3%) of the employees were from ethnic minority backgrounds.

• The 2024 ethnicity pay gap:
  • the mean hourly rate for employees from white backgrounds or where ethnicity is unknown is £18.87 and for employees from ethnic minority backgrounds is £18.33
  • the mean ethnicity pay gap is 2.9%
  • the median hourly rate for employees from white backgrounds or where ethnicity is unknown is £17.10 and for employees from ethnic minority backgrounds is £17.10
  • the median ethnicity pay gap is 0.0%

Ethnicity pay gap quartile bands

The median ethnicity pay gap has remained the same as 2023, however the mean figure has increased as the average hourly rate for an employee from an ethnic minority background is lower than the rate for all other employees.  This does not show an equal pay issue as the council job evaluation system allocates grades based on work of equal value, however the quartile information shows that there are fewer employees from an ethnic minority background in the upper quartile.

Pay grades

• In the above table, where numbers are lower than 5, the percentage is given as either greater than or less than 3.4% as this is the organisational percentage for employees from ethnic minority backgrounds and shows whether the representation in the grade is proportionate or not.
• 97.4% (189) of employees from ethnic minority backgrounds (194) are on grades G1 to G12 or equivalent salaries. This is 3.5% of the number of employees paid at this level (5,223). 
• There are 5 employees from ethnic minority backgrounds in senior roles paid at  G13 or equivalent and above. This is the same as in 2023 and is 1.6% of the number of employees paid at this level (313).  This is below the percentage of ethnic minority employees in the workforce (3.4%).

Recruitment

• 16.1% of applicants were from an ethnic minority minority background, this increased from 12.5% in the previous year.
• 5.2% of successful applicants were from an ethnic minority minority background, this increased from 4.8% in the previous year.
• An applicant who is white or other white minority ethnicity is 1.8 times more likely to be shortlisted than an applicant from an ethnic minority background.
• A shortlisted applicant from a white or other white minority ethnicity is 2 times more likely to be successful in the recruitment process than a shortlisted applicant from an ethnic minority background (1.6 times in 2023).
• A shortlisted white British applicant is 1.1 times as likely to be successful than a shortlisted applicant from a white minority ethnicity.

Apprenticeships

The number of employees on apprenticeship programmes is 4.9% of the workforce and the number apprentices as a proportion of the number of employees from ethnic minority backgrounds is within 0.3% of this figure.  It is therefore just as likely for someone from an ethnic minority background to be undertaking an apprenticeship. This is an improvement on 2023 when the percentage of apprentices from an ethnic minority background was 2.5% (7).

Formal HR processes

• There were 42 formal disciplinary cases in total and fewer than 5 cases involving employees from an ethnic minority background. The percentage is above the organisation’s percentage of employees from an ethnic minority background (3.4%).
• There were 21 formal grievances cases in total and fewer than 5 cases were raised by employees from ethnic minority backgrounds.  The percentage is above the organisation’s percentage of employees from an ethnic minority background (3.4%).
• There were 13 formal capability cases in total and none of these involved employees from an ethnic minority background.
• Given the small number of formal cases, a single additional case can cause a large shift in the percentage rates.

Employee Survey

The figures and percentages can be found in the employee survey section.

• 2.0% (52) of all respondents (2623) identified themselves as being from an ethnic minority background (not including white minorities). This is less than half than in the 2021 survey.
• Respondents from an ethnic minority background were:
  • more positive when compared to all respondents across 21 of the 28 questions in the survey
  • less comfortable contributing ideas and opinions, 10.2 percentage points lower compared to all respondents
  • less positive about their opportunity to use their strengths and talents in their role, 8.3 percentage points lower compared to all respondents
  • most likely to say that LCC fosters a compassionate, supportive and inclusive work environment 12.4 percentage points higher compared to all respondents
• When asked if they have experienced any harassment, bullying or abuse from colleagues at work in the last year, 6.9% (less than 5) of respondents from an ethnic minority background answered yes which is the same as the 6.9% (181) of all respondents so were just as likely to experience poor behaviours from colleagues
• When asked if they have experienced any harassment, bullying or abuse from people using our services, their relatives or the public in the last year, 10.9% (5) of respondents from an ethnic minority background answered yes compared to 11.9% (313) of all respondents so were less likely to experience poor behaviours from the public.

Leavers

• Employees from ethnic minority backgrounds (excluding white minorities) were 1.5 times more likely to resign than those from white ethnicities.
• Employees from ethnic minorities were 3.1 times more likely to be dismissed.  This has increased from 2023 when employees from ethnic minorities were 1.4 times more likely to be dismissed. Dismissals include the end of temporary and fixed term contracts. 
• 3.2% (16) of leavers (567) were from white minority backgrounds.
• When compared to white British employees, employees from other white backgrounds were 0.5 times less likely to be dismissed and just as likely to resign

Our workforce - maternity, religion and sexual orientation

Marriage and civil partnership

The personnel system has a provision for employees to declare their marital status. In 2024 52.3% (2,993) of employees have recorded their marital status.  This has increased from 45.9% (5,526) in 2023.  We have not found evidence to suggest that there is a difference in the treatment of employees who are married or in a civil partnership compared to those who are not.

We do not record marital status as part of the recruitment processes.

Pregnancy and maternity

During the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024: 

• 129 employees took maternity leave
• Of all employees who finished their maternity leave during this period 11 left the organisation either before or shortly after returning to work 
• Although there has been an increase in the number of employees taking paternity leave over the last 3 years, it is likely that the figure remains low due to the low rate for statutory paternity pay. Employees will be more likely to take annual leave or maternity support leave where their pay is not affected.
• We do not record whether an applicant is pregnant, due to have or adopt a child as part of the recruitment process.

Religion or belief

Religion of belief profile of the workforce

The percentage of employees whose religion or belief has been left blank on their personnel record has reduced year on year.

There has also been a decrease in the number of employees who have stated that they would prefer not to disclose their religion or belief.

We hold religion or belief data on 83.6% ( 4,788) of our employees. This is an increase from 81.7% (4,483) in 2023.

The data shows that a higher percentage of employees have a non-christian religion or belief than was reported through the 2021 census for residents of Lincolnshire.

Our workforce representation of minority religions including Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim is within 0.5% of the census percentages for the county.

Pay

• In the above table, where numbers are lower than 5, the percentage is given as either greater than or less than 49.6% for ‘Christian’, 3.5% for ‘Other religions’ and 28.6% for ‘No religion’ as these are percentages of all employees in the organisation and shows whether the representation in the grade is proportionate or not.
• The percentage of employees who have a religion other than Christian is 3.6% (194) in Grades equivalent to G12 and below.
• The percentage of employees who have a religion other than Christian is 2.2% (7) in grades equivalent to G13 and above. 
• There is therefore a lower representation of employees with a religion other than Christian in the senior grades (G13 equivalent and above), however the percentage of employees who have not shared their religion status is also higher 20.45% for this group.

Recruitment

• Applicants of Christian belief were 1.3 times more likely to be shortlisted than applicants with other religions or beliefs. 
• Shortlisted applicants of Christian belief were 1.4 times more likely to be successful than those of other religions or beliefs. 

Apprenticeships

• 42.7% (124) of employees on apprenticeships (266) have religious beliefs, this is below the organisational percentage (51.5%).
• A higher proportion of apprentices have no religion when compared with the percentage of all employees with no religion.   This is likely to be due to the fact that 21% of apprentices are 24 and under. 68% of employees aged 24 or under have no religion compared with 32% of employees across all age groups.

Formal HR processes

• There were 42 formal disciplinary cases in total and 50.0% (21) of cases involved employees with Christian beliefs, this is lower than the workforce percentage (51.5%).
• There were fewer than 5 disciplinary cases involving employees of other religions or beliefs, which was higher than the workforce percentage.
• There were 21 formal grievances cases in total and 47.6% (10) of cases were raised by employees with Christian beliefs this is lower than the workforce percentage (51.5%).
• There were no grievance cases raised by employees of other religions or beliefs.
• There were 13 formal capability cases in total and 38.5% (5) of these involved employees with Christian beliefs this is lower than the workforce percentage (51.5%).
• There were fewer than 5 formal capability cases involving employees of other religions or beliefs. This was higher than the workforce percentage.
• Given the small number of formal cases, a single case can cause a large shift in the percentage rates and can take the figure above the workforce percentage.

Leavers

Christian

Percentage of Christian employees at 31 March 2024: 51.5% (2,748)

Other religion or belief

Percentage of employees with other religion or belief at 31 March 2024: 3.3% (177)

• Employees with other religious beliefs were 1.3 times more likely to resign and 2.3 times more likely to be dismissed than employees with Christian beliefs. 

Sex

This data refers to sex assigned at birth or through a gender recognition certificate and is therefore male or female.

• The percentage of female employees has increased each year as the need for employees has increased in female dominated occupations and stands at 68.7% in 2024.
• The percentage of part-time employees is decreasing each year. During this period there has also been an increase in flexible working arrangements including compressed hours and a hybrid of home and office working which may have increased the suitability of working full time for people with responsibilities outside work.
• The percentage of part time employees who are female is 67.7% and the percentage of full-time employees who are female is 69.2% both of these are within 1% of the percentage of female employees in the workforce (68.7%). 

Gender identity and gender reassignment

We do not monitor the number of employees who are transitioning or who have transitioned. From 1 April 2023 we have had the facility to record the gender identity of job applicants and employees these options include ‘trans man’ and ‘trans woman’ and ‘non-binary’ in line with the 2021 census categories.

The use of this facility is low.  There are fewer than 5 instances of an employee selecting ‘trans-man’ or ‘trans-woman’ as their gender and fewer than 5 instances of an employee selecting male gender when they have described their sex as female and vice versa. 8 employees selected ‘non binary’ to describe their gender and 6 preferring not to disclose.

We have transitioning at work guidance as part of a commitment to ensure an environment where transgender employees feel safe in being open about their gender identity. The guidance aims to:

• aid managers in supporting potential and existing employees undergoing gender reassignment
• provide good practice and highlight areas that may need to be considered when an individual is going through the process of gender reassignment 
• ensure the fair treatment of potential and existing employees

Pay

There was a total of 5,465 employees in scope of the Gender Pay Gap calculations for 31 March 2024. 

3,756 (69%) of these were female and 1,709 (31%) were male.  

• The 2024 gender pay gap:
  • The mean hourly rate for males is £19.34 and females is £18.63.
  • The mean gender pay gap is 3.6%.
  • The median hourly rate for males is £17.44 and females is £17.10.
  • The median gender pay gap is 1.9 %.

The UK national median gender pay gap for all employees, calculated by the Office for National Statistics, is 14.3%. The Local Government association has reported the median pay gap in Local Authorities as 1.7%. The gender pay gap in local government 2023 to 2024 | Local Government Association.

Quartile pay bands

The workforce is split into four equal parts and that the proportions of male and female employees in each quartile are shown as:

Pay grades

• Female employees account for 69.1% (3,743) of the workforce on salaries equivalent to G12 and below (5,414). 
• Female employees account for 60.7% (190) of the workforce on salaries equivalent to grades G13 and above (313).
• The proportion of males to females switches from a female majority to a male majority at G14, G15 and G16 but senior leadership grades have a female majority of 63.5%.

Recruitment

Applicants are able to select their gender identity on the application form, therefore the following data includes gender identities other than male and female and does not specify sex assigned at birth.  The breakdown of the other gender identities is not included due to low numbers.

• Female applicants were 1.2 times more likely to be shortlisted than a male applicant.
• Once shortlisted, female applicants were 1.3 times more likely to be successful in the recruitment process.

Apprenticeships

• Female employees are 1.2 times more likely to be undertaking an apprenticeship.  

Formal HR processes

• Men accounted for 61.9% (26) of the workforce who were subject to a formal disciplinary process (42).
• Men were 3.6 times more likely than women to be subject to a formal disciplinary process.
• Men accounted for 42.9% (9) of the workforce who raised a grievance (21).
• Men were 1.6 times more likely than women to raise a grievance.
• Of the 13 cases, 92.3% of employees subject to a capability process were women.  Women were 5.5 times more likely to be subject to a formal capability process than men. 

Employee survey

The figures and percentages can be found in the employee survey section.

• Male respondents accounted for 23% (595) of the workforce who participated in the survey (2623).
• Male respondents were:
  • Most likely to say that they feel heard by their line manager, 3.6 percentage points higher compared to all respondents
  • more likely to say they have fair opportunity to progress in their career 3.7 percentage points higher compared to all respondents
  • least likely to say that they are proud to work for Lincolnshire County Council, 5.4 percentage points lower compared to all respondents
• When asked if they have experienced any harassment, bullying or abuse from colleagues at work in the last year, 5.9% of female respondents answered yes compared to 6.2% of male respondents. Men were therefore more likely to experience poor behaviour from colleagues.
• When asked if they have experienced any harassment, bullying or abuse from people using our services, their relatives or the public in the last year, 12.0% of female respondents answered yes compared to 9.9% of all respondents. Women were therefore more likely to experience poor behaviour from the public.

Leavers

Female

Total female employees at 31 March 2024: 68.7% (3,933)

Male

Total of female employees at 31 March 2024: 31.3% (1,794)

Total leavers (male and female):

• 2021 to 2022 - 100% (655)
• 2022 to 2023 - 100% (677)
• 2023 to 2024 - 100% (567)

In 2023 to 2024 men were 1.4 times more likely to be dismissed.

Men and women were just as likely as each other to resign.

Sexual orientation

We hold sexual orientation data for 77.1% (4415) of our employees. This has been increasing slowly year on year from 67.7% (3,553) in 2019.  

The percentage of employees who have shared their sexuality as bisexual, gay, lesbian or another sexuality (3.4%) is above that reported in the 2021 census for Lincolnshire (2.77%). This is likely to increase further if employees feel able to share their sexuality in their personnel record.

Recruitment

• Heterosexual applicants were 1.05 times more likely to be shortlisted than LGB+ applicants.
• Once shortlisted LGB+ applicants were 1.03 times more likely to be successful than heterosexual applicants.
• These figures show that sexuality does not have a significant impact on the recruitment process.

Apprenticeships

• The number of employees on apprenticeships who have shared that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or other sexuality has increased year on year and is now 5.7% which is above the proportion of LGB+ people in the organisation 3.4%.
• These figures can be linked to age as the highest percentage of people doing apprenticeships are in the 25 to 29 age band (16.1%) and the age band with the highest percentage of employees who are LGB+ is also 25 to 29 (0.8%).

Formal HR processes

• There were fewer than 5 formal disciplinary cases (42) involving employees who shared their sexuality as LGB+.  The percentage is less than the percentage of LGB+ employees in the organisation (3.4%)
• There were fewer than 5 grievance cases (21) with employees who had declared their sexuality other than heterosexual.  The percentage is higher than the percentage of LGB+ employees in the organisation
• There were fewer than 5 capability cases (13) involving employees who shared their sexuality as LGBTQ. The percentage of cases was greater than the percentage representation in the workforce

Employee survey

The figures and percentages can be found in the employee survey section.

• Lesbian, gay, bisexual and respondents with other sexualities (not heterosexual) accounted for 4% (108) of the workforce who participated in the survey (2623).
• LGB+ respondents were:
  • most likely to say that they feel comfortable contributing ideas in the workplace, 3.8 percentage points higher compared to all respondents
  • more likely to say that their manager encourages them to succeed at work 5.4 percentage points higher compared to all respondents
  • least likely to say that decisions demonstrate that quality and improvement are top priorities, 10.6 percentage points lower compared to all respondents
• When asked if they have experienced any harassment, bullying or abuse from colleagues at work in the last year, 10.3% of LGB+ respondents answered yes compared to 6.9% of all respondents. LGB+ respondents were therefore more likely to experience poor behaviour from colleagues.
• When asked if they have experienced any harassment, bullying or abuse from people using our services, their relatives or the public in the last year, 13.0% of LGB+ respondents answered yes compared to 9.9% of all respondents. LGB+ were therefore more likely to experience poor behaviour from the public.

Leavers

LGB+

LGB+ employees at 31 March 2024: 3.4% (192)

LGB+ employees were 1.2 times more likely than heterosexual employees to leave the organisation in 2023-2024 and 1.3 times more likely to resign.

Pay and grading

For details of our pay policy read our annual pay policy statement.

We have a job evaluation scheme (Greater London Provincial Council - job evaluation scheme) in place to grade jobs from Grade 1 to Grade 16. This ensures we comply with the requirements of equal pay (equal pay for work of equal value) as jobs are objectively assessed and graded according to the same criteria. The job evaluation scheme is used to evaluate those posts which are covered by NJC (National Joint Council) for Local Government Services terms and conditions of employment. These posts all have a GLPC grade. This covers 83.2% (4,764) of our employees (5,727).

The highest percentages of employees on the GLPC grades (4,764) fall into Grade 3 (14.0% or 666) and Grade 7 (18.0% or 858).

We also have senior leadership pay for those managers above GLPC grade 16. There are 63 managers (1.1% of the workforce) who are on the three senior leadership grades A, B and C, and Chief officer pay.

The remaining 15.7% (898) of the workforce are on pay scales including, fire officers, teachers, Soulbury, or pay scales continued following transfer from another public sector organisation or partner organisation.

Gender pay gap 2024

In accordance with the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, we are required to publish statutory gender pay gap information by 31 March each year. This information is published on both our website (gender pay gap data) and, as required by legislation, on the Government website for gender pay gap information (Gov.uk - gender pay gap data).

The gender pay gap data does not highlight any specific issues at Lincolnshire County Council, as at end of March 2024 the median gender pay gap was 1.9% and remained considerably below 14.3% which was the national median gender pay gap in 2023.

This report also includes disability and ethnicity pay gaps.

Learning and development

Equality and diversity issues, specifically in relation to recruitment and selection, are included in the recruitment and selection training.  All recruiting managers are required to attend. In 2021 equality, diversity and inclusion training became a mandatory requirement for all employees to complete on a three yearly basis. Data shows that 1,090 employees completed this training in 2023 to 2024.

Other mandatory training includes:

• domestic abuse awareness
• tackling exploitation and modern slavery

Additional training is available to all:

• introduction to unconscious bias e-learning
• equality impact analysis e-learning

Specific training for individuals in professional roles include:

• equality and diversity and its roots in personalisation (adult care)
• LGBTQ+ awareness (adult care)
• LGBT domestic abuse training (children’s services)
• anti racist practice (children’s services)

There is further work necessary to ensure that:

• there are appropriate resources for all employees, managers and professions interacting with other employees, with members of the community and those developing services

Employment policies

Before the launch in 2021, all employment policies were checked against the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines to help us provide a healthy and productive workplace. They were simplified to reduce bureaucracy moving towards a resolution based, human-centric approach to reflect the desired culture of the organisation.

Policies will continue to be changed to adopt changes in legislation, good practice and updates to support the People Strategy and to ensure we remain a good employer.

Disability confident scheme

The council has committed to the disability confident scheme and has also been accredited as a disability confident employer. We also reference this in our recruitment and take action on the following commitments to:

• ensure the recruitment process is inclusive and accessible
• communicate and promote vacancies
• offer an interview to disabled people if they meet the minimum criteria for the post
• anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as required when disabled employees are applying for and doing their jobs

Employee voice and participation

To maintain an inclusive and supportive environment which promotes a culture of participation and celebrates diversity and employee voice, we have a number of methods for employees to provide feedback and to participate in improving the organisation.

Culture and leadership programme

In 2022 we conducted a review of culture and leadership focusing on the following areas:

• learning and innovation
• goals and performance
• teamwork
• vision and values
• support and compassion
• equality diversity and inclusion

The review included interviews with senior leaders, employee focus groups and a workforce survey.

The feedback showed that our employees value clarity, consistency and compassion. The areas of improvement relevant to EDI included:

• the need for all leaders to understand the challenges employees face
• more compassion and support
• for employees to be trusted and empowered to do their jobs
• for employees to have the support and confidence to ‘speak up’ against poor behaviours​

In the year of reporting, this programme has developed a new set of corporate values following employee workshops and leadership discussions. This will be supported by a responsibility framework outlining the expectations of all to model the new values, recognise positive behaviours and actions in others and to give and receive feedback with the aim of achieving greater consistency across the organisation.

The next year will see these values embedded across the organisation and leadership and management development opportunities.

Employee survey

We undertake an employee survey every two years. The last survey was undertaken in November 2023. A total of 2,623 employees completed the survey - a response rate of 46%. This is an increase on the 2021 survey where 44%, or 2,330 employees completed the survey.

The survey was testing the following five engagement drivers:

• leadership and organisational integrity
• the line manager
• health and wellbeing
• employee empowerment and recognition
• resources and development

The survey analysis included an engagement score, calculated using a likert scale. An overall score of 67 is considered good. The organisational engagement score was 74.7.

The percentage and number of respondents (in brackets) who answered positively to each question from different characteristic groups are shown in the table below by:

• sex
• aged 50 and over
• disability
• carers
• ethnicity
• sexuality (lesbian, gay, bisexual and other sexualities excluding heterosexual)

Please note that a respondent may not have answered every question or shared their personal characteristics.

Respondents

Employee empowerment and recognition

The line manager

Health and wellbeing

Leadership and organisational integrity total

Resources and development

Bullying and harassment

Exit questionnaires

Exit questionnaires are voluntary. They are completed when people leave the organisation or move to another role within the organisation. The completion rate is low and there are opportunities to encourage a higher completion rate next year.

The HR department review exit questionnaires and discuss with managers if they raise any concerns. 

The employee also completes information on their protected characteristics. The forms are monitored to identify if the individual has given a reason for leaving that relates to their protected characteristics.

Children’s services employees complete a different exit interview process which is not currently reported within the figures below.

Exit questionnaire statistics 2023 to 2024

• There were 98 exit questionnaires completed and 567 leavers in 2023 to 2024. The number of interviews completed is a reduction from 111 in 2022 to 2023.
• 25.5% (25) of responses state that they left to pursue a different career. This was the most common reason for leaving.

Staff networks

There are four established staff networks in the council:

• disability staff network
• identify (BAME group)
• LCC staff carers network
• LGBTQ+ staff network

There are over 200 staff members within the networks. The groups:

• are a vital source of information sharing and peer support for the members
• provide their members with a safe space to share their experiences, a sense of belonging and support. This empowers members to discuss concerns confidently with others
• give us the opportunity to engage with the different communities within the workforce and contribute towards equality impact assessments
• have helped to provide advice and guidance in areas such as including the impact of transformation projects and COVID-19 working arrangements on the workforce

All staff networks are represented on the corporate diversity steering group. They share a common terms of reference. They support our employee health and wellbeing strategy and the equality and diversity agenda. They work very closely together providing an important source of mutual support and solidarity on common issues.

The current networks are a great asset to the council. The networks have identified that they need additional support and resources to ensure that all groups can work effectively, communicate and engage with the workforce and be sustainable. There is interest to establish a further network to support ex-armed forces colleagues including those who currently have family members in the armed forces.

In addition, we have an email address for staff to raise an equality issue directly with a senior HR officer.

Disability staff network

The Evolve staff network, is at the forefront of providing a wide range of support to colleagues with disabilities across Lincolnshire County Council. The group currently has over 100 members who are based across different service areas, and have varying levels of seniority, and interest from within the organisation.

As part of the joint staff network committee (JSNC), the corporate diversity steering group (CDSG) and other working groups, the network regularly gets involved in projects and requests across the council to provide valuable insight and contribution. The group exists to provide a safe and confidential forum of support, aiming to highlight key risks around accessibility whilst empowering members to advocate for their own needs.

During the past year, the network has been reviewing its offering to its members, to ensure the most necessary support is provided at the time when it is needed the most and encouraging members to provide support to each other. Member engagement has helped to shape the future focus for the group. The network has developed links with the neurodiversity group which now stands as a subgroup and has re-launched the network intranet site with additional guidance and signposting.

For the upcoming year, the Evolve network plans to:

• Build upon the increased disability awareness throughout the organisation and support the embedding of new values to develop a more inclusive culture. Ongoing work to improve accessibility throughout the council office estate and supporting policy and procedure improvements including the personal emergency evacuation process.
• Continue to work with a range of special interest groups to understand how disability issues can impact other groups.
• In conjunction with the health and wellbeing project group, the network will continue to support the organisations understanding of the need for and provision of reasonable adjustments and how these can help to improve employee experience and attendance.
• Re-establish links with disability networks from other organisations to share knowledge and resources.

Identify staff network

The Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Engagement Group has 60 members. It provides representation and positive promotion of ethnic minority staff members, giving them peer support and safe spaces to share their experiences.

The group shares corporate, national and international information and discusses relevant topics that may otherwise not be discussed. They provide innovative solutions to the CDSG and LFR Culture Committee.

The group has also engaged with other public authority BME staff groups such as the NHS and external networks including:

• the University of Lincoln
• Bishop Grosseteste
• the reimagining Lincolnshire Research project
• the Wolds Community Committee
• the Midlands BAME network chairs development group

The group has launched a number of beneficial programmes that support colleagues and customers. These have included:

• 'listening ear' - a confidential, supportive phone line for colleagues who needed an informal conversation
• KwickLincs service where colleagues in the council who speak other languages offer up their skills to support emergency requirements
• addition of topical information and resources on the network intranet page for all staff to access
• promotion of the #mynameis campaign to encourage employees who find that people mispronounce their names, to add a phonetic spelling on their email signatures

The group contributes to equality impact analyses such as the review of HR policies allowing consideration of the needs of people from a Black, Minority Ethnic background.

In the last year the group has:

• hosted black history month
• provided start up and staff engagement input to the SC- WRES
• co-presented on four children’s social work anti-racist practice training days
• created a core steer team (CST) to support planning and shared attendance to key meetings for representation
• created an action plan for the network
• presented to a CLT briefing on the staff network
• hosted bi-monthly lunchtime drop in sessions
• presented to the apprentices' group to raise awareness about the staff network
• created a logo

The network priorities for 2024 to 2025 are to:

• increase membership and attendance to drop in sessions
• work through the action plan with the CST for the running of the network
• keep the SharePoint page updated
• contribute to events and communications throughout the year, utilising the notable dates cultural calendar on the SharePoint page
• organise some staff social events
• host black history month in October 2024 and race equality week in February 2025
• continue to keep up to date through equality, diversity and inclusion training
• contribute to any future heritage sites and activities which highlight the cultural diversity of Lincolnshire in collaboration with the two universities
• promote the Windrush campaign - Justice 4Windrush
• increase visibility of the network through lanyard inserts

Staff carer network

There are over 180 members of our growing staff carer network. The 2023 LCC employee survey found that just over 1 in 5 of our workforce having caring responsibilities, far higher than the national average of 1 in 7 of all workers.

The network provides support and advice for employee carers by:

• raising awareness of employee carers through events, campaigns and communications
• connecting employee carers to the network and wider support
• helping each other, providing peer support across the network

LCC is a member of Carers UK, providing access to a wide range of support for both working carers and carers residing in Lincolnshire. The staff carer network provides access to high quality information, such as employers for carers guides for employees, managers and employers. They hold regular ‘carer’s cuppas’ and periodic meetings, offering a friendly and supportive environment. Network members support each other by providing information about useful services, increasing awareness of colleagues’ rights at work and the many benefits that we offer to our staff.

In 2023, the the network organised various events for carers week and carers rights day. These events included face-to-face networking opportunities and learning about services available in Lincolnshire to support unpaid carers, as well as a series of online workshops for working carers. The first LCC staff carer survey, conducted in 2019, led to the creation of the staff carer network. The survey will be repeated in 2024 and results will be presented to the corporate diversity steering group to decide on the implementation of the recommendations.

Additionally, the staff carers network supports the other staff networks, in terms of providing an opportunity for them to promote and raise their own visibility through the face-to-face awareness raising days across the county, and the active promotion of the staff networks in our quarterly meetings and on the staff carers network SharePoint page, demonstrating joint working between all of the staff networks and how they work in a collaborative way. The network is also well supported by the corporate leadership team and senior managers.

A survey will be sent out to all of the staff carer network members to help identify the network priorities so far the priorities for 2024 to 2025 are to:

• continue to promote and raise awareness of the staff carer network to employee carers through communications and events
• promote the use of the new personal support passport
• develop the staff carer network SharePoint page further

LGBTQ+ staff network

The network started in 2022 and has approximately 50 members from roles across the organisation. The group have an active core of members working towards supporting LGBTQ+ individuals within LCC and providing a knowledge base for allies or anyone wishing to learn more about the topic.

Network members have attended various events, including the Networking with Pride Conference (organised by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust) and Lincoln Pride.

The network has continued to develop and expand its intranet page with up-to-date information and links to other websites covering LGBTQ+ issues. We are still looking to develop a peer support team, whereby any colleague within the council can contact an LGBTQ+ champion from in the network for direct, confidential support.

Current projects include reviewing and updating the Transitioning at Work Policy, as well as further engagement with other staff networks for greater visibility across the organisation. 

This year, the network will be present at various Pride events planned around the county and strengthen links with the other EDI networks. 

Another ongpoing key project is to continue the awareness campaigns through Pride month (June) as well as other key dates within the calendar. This is to assist colleagues with understanding the history of the LGBTQ rights movement and the further progress we still have to make.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue culture committee

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue’s culture committee is chaired by chief fire officer Mark Baxter, and includes membership from across the workforce and representative groups including:

• staff networks
• unions
• health and wellbeing
• communications
• HR

This group:

• ensures the service continues to embrace culture of continuous improvement through having an active role in the quality assurance and oversight of equality impact assessments across the service
• supports the delivery of the services EDI priorities
• monitors the organisations diversity and progress against EDI priorities

Collectively, the culture committee has delivered on several improvements such as:

• training delivered to empower and support each of our staff network leads
• enhanced our positive action plan, where we have seen an increase of females joining the service
• introduced an independent reporting line, FRS speak up, for individuals to raise concerns anonymously
• made significant improvements to the application of equality impact assessments
• introduced leadership development programmes that specifically focus on compassionate leadership and the role leaders have in promoting an inclusive workplace

The culture committee actively monitors and scrutinises the service EDI action plan. Progress against EDI priorities are also reviewed at the service’s performance management board.

The progress made by the service has been recognised where the latest HMICFRS re-inspection confirmed the cause for concern relating to EDI had been lifted. We have linked into community data sets to ensure our EDI agenda has expanded to influence areas of our business such as recruitment and prevention to ensure we can be representative of our local communities. 

The service has also undertaken a significant consultation with staff, communities, and stakeholders, to develop the new community risk management plan for 2024 to 2028. Staff networks and diverse community groups were integral to the programme of engagement.

Employee health and wellbeing group project team

This group was established in 2020 and is made up of representatives from across the council. It is reviewing and refocusing its strategy in 2024, in consultation with stakeholders and plans to launch a new health and wellbeing framework in 2025. The group continues to ensure a range of support is available for employees and managers with both physical and mental health and wellbeing. They engage with the chairs of the staff network groups regularly to ensure feedback is used to develop the health and wellbeing offer so that it provides support for all employees.

Representatives of the health and wellbeing project team worked alongside our EDI colleague on the personal support passport for employees to help discussions between managers and employees to agree support and adjustments to enable the employee to fulfill their role.

The group continue our work with One You Lincolnshire to offer a number of healthy lifestyle initiatives throughout the year including the 12 week physical activity programme ‘Miles Better’, Healthy Lifestyle Checks and the 21.4 challenge to encourage more physical activity.

We also intend to develop a range of tools and information to support neurodivergent employees.

In the last year the work of the employee support and counselling service has been working on new initiatives including:

• the development of a trauma support pathway and video for managers and team debriefing sessions
• online ‘connect café’ to help those who may be feeling isolated and in need of support
• gentle chair-based yoga to support physical and mental health

The team continue to provide counselling support for emotional wellbeing and regular Menopause Cafes, Menopause drop ins and Grief and Loss webinars.

People strategy engagement group

The people strategy engagement group is made of representatives from across the council. It is one of our key engagement groups for workforce issues. It meets quarterly and works collaboratively and creatively to support the delivery of our People strategy initiatives including:

• employee health and wellbeing
• equality, diversity and inclusion
• organisational values

Mindful employer charter

The mindful employer charter shows our commitment to supporting employees' mental wellbeing. As a mindful employer we are committed to creating a supportive and open culture, where colleagues are able to talk about mental health with confidence that they will be supported.  The current charter expires in April 2025 and plans are in place for this to be renewed.

Ageing better

A programme of work was developed by public health and HR to consider the support in place for our employees aged 50 plus.

The work forms part of our partnership with the centre for Ageing Better. This is a charitable foundation, whose vision is for a society in which everyone can live a good later life. More information on the national Ageing Better charity can be found on the ageing better website, or on the partnership with Lincolnshire pages.

For the 'fulfilling work' part of the programme and as part of our commitment as an ‘age friendly employer’, we have introduced:

• the personal support passport, a tool for employees to use to share information about their personal circumstances that may affect them at work
• data analysis on the characteristics of employees who sign up for health and wellbeing support and initiatives to understand how the services may be improved
• access to age positive imagery for recruitment advertisements
• ‘your life’ MOTs to provide information to support wellbeing for your health, finances and career

This will help to improve our employees’ wellbeing and financial security in later life.

Our customers report summary

This section of the report covers how we are meeting our obligations from the Equality Act 2010 and the public sector equality duty as a county council for our customers through our support services and front line delivery.

The following objectives were set in 2023 for delivery within three years.

1. we will continue to broaden the detailed analysis of each directorate’s service provisions from an equality perspective
2. we will identify areas of good practice from within the council and using the ‘one council’ principles, share the learning to enable continuous improvement
3. we will review current community engagement initiatives and evaluate their effectiveness in eliminating poor access to services

Customer strategy

Our customer strategy has enhanced the way we deliver services. It sets out how we will ensure our services are delivered to meet the diverse range of customer needs, from simple transactional requirements through to more complex, emotive interactions.

We know that many of our customers now expect to be able to access services digitally. To support this we have improved the range of information and number of services available online enabling more customers to self-serve. We still ensure that those who require extra assistance, support over the phone or face to face is still available. We will continue to improve the accessibility rating of our website through implementing new technologies, including the launch of a digital assistant on our website and on our main phone lines, which will remove barriers to access and enable services to be delivered at a time and place that suits individuals.

Our engagement with customer advocates, representative groups and service users enables us to gain a better understanding of customer needs and expectations, and through our human centred design methodology this ensures EDI is at the forefront when developing and designing new solutions that meet our customers’ current and future needs and expectations.

Engagement

We are committed to engaging with and listening to our communities, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued. Our engagement team is dedicated to keeping communities and stakeholders across Lincolnshire well-informed and involved in decision-making processes.

In 2023 to 2024, we conducted 46 engagement activities including 40 public and wider stakeholder engagements and six internal engagements, receiving over 16,000 responses. 

Key initiatives:

• ensuring that leaders and staff are committed to the values and principles of engagement, as outlined in our engagement policy, allocating the necessary time, effort, and resources to support effective engagement
• engaging communities and stakeholders early in the decision-making process and at relevant stages to allow meaningful input, providing sufficient time to respond
• performing equality impact assessments before implementing new policies or changes to identify and mitigate any potential impacts on individuals with protected characteristics and to ensure engagement is representative of the community it affects
• publishing relevant information and data to demonstrate compliance
• conducting regular engagement and consultation activities across a wide range of subject areas
• ensuring engagement and communication methods are accessible and inclusive by offering multiple ways to participate and utilising diverse communication channels to reach all community members
• facilitating workshops, face-to-face and online engagement events
• hosting engagement activities on the Let’s talk Lincolnshire online platform, which uses a variety of interactive tools, including:
  • surveys
  • polls
  • stories
  • ideas
  • questions and answers
  • forums
  • guestbook
  • maps
• offering information in alternative formats, such as braille, easy read, large print, audio and video, to ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities or sensory loss
• providing verbal and written translation for individuals whose first language is not English
• providing paper copies and making documents available in public venues such as:
  • libraries
  • community hubs
  • children and family centres
  • Citizens Advice centres
• ensuring that digital and print mediums meet accessibility requirements
• promoting engagement and consultation activities to various communities, hosting them at accessible venues and offering events on a mix of days and times 
• working with voluntary and community organisations, community representative groups, protected characteristics groups, partner organisations, to reach a wide range of demographics

Accessibility

View our accessibility statement.

Our website is audited and monitored to meet accessibility standards. We have made text as simple as possible to understand. It can be read with a screen reader and pages can be adjusted. We have identified cases where information is not fully accessible such as PDF documents and customers can ask for information in a different format if needed. We are working towards replacing as many PDFs as possible with HTML web pages.

Customer data

We are committed to promoting an environment in which people feel safe in being open about their background, beliefs and identity. As part of this commitment, we encourage the freedom of individuals to self-identify and to express their preferences in a safe environment. Following requests from customers to make changes to the information we hold on our records about their name, gender or title, we produced guidance and top tips. This provides everyone in the council with a 'one council' approach that is clear, consistent and straightforward. The guidance supports our colleagues working directly with customers or customer data. It enables them to respond to a request for a change in customer details in a way that:

• is sensitive to the customer
•  meets underpinning legislation
• ensures the dignity and privacy of the customer is maintained, whilst minimising any risk to the customer, the council and our partners

Customer complaints

We put our customers first and the views of our customers are important to us. When customers need to raise concerns, we encourage them to first raise them with the individual concerned or their line manager so that the problems can be addressed. Alternatively, customers can also speak to one of our customer relations advisers. Our first step is to always attempt to provide early resolution of the issue before progressing to the next formal stage. Our complaints policy and the corporate and statutory complaints annual reports are published on our website.

The complaints process does not record the protected characteristics of complainants. Therefore, it is not possible to identify from the data whether people experience our services differently depending on their personal characteristics.

Interpretation and translation service

We have a contract in place to provide our employees with communication support when providing services to service users who speak or read languages other than English, or who need to communicate in English in non-spoken ways. This includes transcription, face-to-face and video translation. It is available from locations around the county.

In 2023 to 2024 there were 1,654 bookings for the interpretation and translation service for 51 different languages. 

82.6% (1120) of bookings were from children’s services to support their interactions with the community. The most required languages were:

• Polish (13.7% or 227)
• Russian (8.5% or 140)
• Lithuanian (6.8% or 113)
• Arabic (6.3% or 105)
• British sign language (5.7% or 94)

Equality impact analysis

We have integrated the equality duty into the decisions we make about the services we provide to the people of Lincolnshire. We consider how any policy, project or proposed change to services may affect people with protected characteristics in different ways. Our process for equality impact analysis (EIAs) helps us to ensure better informed decision-making and policy development for the customer. We conducted an analysis on the impacts of our corporate plan on people with protected characteristics so that we can make sure everyone benefits from living, working and visiting Lincolnshire.

Our approach gives responsibility to service managers for conducting EIAs. They understand the strategic needs for their proposals and the customer base so can identify potential impacts on customers and other services. Our online learning is available for any employee involved in EIAs.

Equality impact analysis documents are available on request from each service.

Customer data: services

The following pages contain data collected for the following services:

• children and young people supported by social care
  • early years
  • early years pupil premium
  • early years special educational needs and EHCP funding
• holiday activities and food programme
• children’s health
  • infant feeding support
• schools
  • pupil numbers
  • free school meals eligibility
  • special educational needs provision
• youth support - Future4me
• adult social care
  • long term social care
  • short term social care
• adult skills and family learning service
• public protection
  • drug treatment services
  • domestic abuse support
  • scams awareness and prevention
• Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue community safety
  • home fire safety

Children and young people supported by social care

Children’s social care delivers a wide range of services to children, young people and their families in Lincolnshire to ensure that they are safe, well and supported. This support ranges from universal services through to child protection and beyond. Children and young people supported by social care are assessed (under the Children Act 1989) as needing help and protection. This includes children and young people on hildren in Need plans, children with a child protection plan and children in the care of the local authority; care experienced and disabled children.

Whilst most children will be aged under 18, the data will include young people aged 18 or over who are still receiving care and accommodation or post-care support from children’s services. This data is reported from the annual ‘children in need census’ as at 31 March 2024. It includes all vulnerable children, such as:

• unborn children
• babies
• older children
• young carers
• disabled children
• those who are in secure setting

Children and young people supported by social care by age

Children and young people supported by social care by gender

Since January 2023 and in collaboration with transgender and non-binary people who informed and shaped the decisions and development of how we record gender, Lincolnshire children’s services are able to record a person’s gender differently to their sex, and record pronouns to ensure professionals can respond to and refer to people respectfully and appropriately.

As at 31 March 2024 of the 3,678 being supported by children’s social care, 21 children identify with a gender different to their sex.

Children and young people supported by social care by ethnicity

The Department for Education Children in need census codes for ethnicity include the following:

White:

• white British
• white Irish
• Traveller of Irish Heritage
• any other white background
• Gypsy or Roma

Mixed:

• white and black Caribbean
• white and black African
• white and Asian
• any other mixed background

Asian or Asian British:

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• any other Asian background

Black or Black British:

• Caribbean
• African
• any other black background

Other:

• Chinese
• any other ethnic group

Not recorded or refused:

• refused
• not yet obtained

Children and young people supported by social care by disability

Children and young people supported by social care by nationality

Children and young people supported by social care by religion

The data on age and gender are reported daily to the wider management team within children’s services. The disability data is considered regularly by the relevant teams. Ethnicity, nationality and religion data is collated but not routinely shared, it is therefore an area for improvement. Routine collection and analysis will allow further consideration of the accessibility of support for children from different ethnic backgrounds and any trends which may help to improve services specific to local demographics.

Early years

Information on the gender (male or female) and ethnicity of pupils, early years pupil premium, and special educational needs (EHCP and inclusion funding) is collected through the claims for funding from early years education providers. 

The data below shows the latest information for academic year September 2023 to August 2024.

Early years funding claims for 2-year-old, and 3 and 4-year-olds by child gender.

2-year-old child funding claims

3 and 4-year-old child funding claims

Early years funding claims for 2-year-old and 3 and 4-year-olds by child ethnicity

2-year-old child funding claims

3 and 4-year-old child funding claims

Early years pupil premium funding claims by child gender

Early years pupil premium funding claims by child ethnicity

Special educational needs inclusion funding by child gender

A significantly higher volume of SEN inclusion funding was sought for male children than female children.

Special educational needs inclusion funding by child ethnicity

Education Health Care plans by gender

A significantly higher number of EHCP claims were made for male children than female children.

Education Health Care plans by ethnicity

Holiday activities and food (HAF) programme

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme is a government funded programme until March 2025, that provides free holiday clubs for reception to year 11 pupils in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in Lincolnshire over the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays.

The HAF programme is designed to ensure a high-quality experience for children that will result in receiving healthy and nutritious meals and maintaining a healthy level of physical activity. Children and young people (CYP) who attend HAF develop a greater understanding of food, nutrition and other health-related issues and have the opportunity to take part in fun and engaging activities.

The following data is based on HAF delivery within the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Attendance to HAF provision

A higher proportion of primary aged children attend HAF, though secondary attendance continues to grow.

HAF 2023 to 2024 attendance by gender

A higher proportion of males attend HAF provision than females.

Growth of HAF funded special educational needs and disability spaces

The volume of HAF funded SEND spaces continues to increase during the summer holiday period, with a slight decrease recorded in Easter 2024 and Winter 2023 due to reduction of providers able to offer SEND specific provision.

Reporting on other protected characteristics is challenging as the Department of Education (DfE) do not require returns on age, race and religion.

If HAF funding continues, the HAF Team will look to increase the volume of SEND spaces and grow secondary provision and attendance whilst identifying creative solutions to increase the volume of funded HAF places, during the fourth year of national delivery.

Children's health

The children’s health service is provided by a skilled workforce dedicated to providing support, advice and guidance for Lincolnshire children and young people and their families. The teams are focussed on delivering the healthy child programme which includes:

• immunisations
• health information
• child development reviews which aim to support families to in turn support their children to grow up:
  • healthy
  • safe
  • capable of achieving their full potential

The service offers universal provision from the antenatal period through to the age of six years, alongside targeted support for the school-aged population. With a focus on early intervention and prevention, the service plays a significant role in contributing to the reduction of health inequalities for Lincolnshire children, young people and their families.

In the year April 2023 to March 2024, the service had a total of 65,704 children and adults open to receive care.

Infant feeding

The health visiting service (provided to mothers in the antenatal period and babies from 0 to 6 years of age) offers infant feeding support and advice on all aspects of infant feeding. In line with the World Health Organisation recommendations on infant feeding, a key focus of health visiting activity is promoting and supporting mothers, who can, to breastfeed. 

Breast and combined breast and supplement (for example, infant formula) status is recorded at the infant’s six to eight week review. In the year April 2023 to March 2024, of the 5,825 babies who received their six to eight week development review, 2,689 received breast milk (46.2%, an increase of 2.6% on the previous year).  

3,136 (53.8%, were supplementary fed (51.2%, a reduction of 2.6 % on the previous year). Overall, breastfeeding rates are slowly improving in Lincolnshire, but efforts to promote and support mothers and to understand the barriers to breastfeeding will continue.

Infant feeding by ethnicity

Infant feeding by gender

Breastfeeding groups are delivered within children centres across Lincolnshire. They are open to all breastfeeding mothers and those in the antenatal period. These groups offer professional advice, guidance and peer support to assist mothers in their breastfeeding experience and journey.

Breast feeding group attendance in the year April 2023 to March 2024

This data highlights that 193 fewer children attended groups in 2023 to 2024 when compared to 2022 to 2023. 

The breastfeeding data shows that white British mothers have lower rates for breastfeeding or breast and supplement feeding at six to eight weeks (43.3%, increased by 2.5%), compared to 71% of other nationalities (an increase of 5.4% on the previous year). Black (94.3%) and Asian (79.2%) being the most likely to breastfeed or breast and supplement feed their babies.

The data also tells us that white British mothers are most likely to attend breastfeeding groups seeking support and guidance. The reason for this is not fully understood and requires further investigation.

The focus on improving breast feeding rates in Lincolnshire will be enabled by the Lincolnshire County Council led development of a collaborative infant feeding strategy for Lincolnshire. This strategy was approved by the Lincolnshire Midwifery and Neonates System, (LMNS) Board Meeting on 16 December 2024 and aims to ensure there is a joined-up approach across organisations and that services provided are informed by and meet the needs of our local communities.

The children’s health service also provides infant feeding support via antenatal and breastfeeding support groups and individual care programmes delivered by health visitors, family health workers and peer support workers. The following data is a total of all the support provided and includes breast feeding group attendance, please note the data only counts a child as one attendance, and not multiple to ensure accuracy.

All breast feeding support groups and individual breast feeding care programme provision in the year April 2023 to March 2024

Schools

School information on the gender (male or female) and ethnicity of pupils, free school meals, special educational needs provision and exclusions is collected in the school census. This takes place in January each year. The data below shows the latest information from the January 2024 school census.

School pupils by gender

School pupils by ethnicity

The 2021 census data for Lincolnshire shows that 96.0% of the population are white compared to 89.0% of the population of children in Lincolnshire schools. Like last year 9.2% of children in school are black, Asian or ethnic minority background which is higher than the total population of Lincolnshire which is 4.1%.

School students eligible for free school meals

The number of students eligible for free school meals (FSM) has increased over the last four years by 6.3% points. In 2024, this was 26.6% of the school student population.

School students eligible for free school meals by gender

School students eligible for free school meals by ethnicity

A slightly higher proportion of male students are eligible for free school meals than female students.

For those where ethnicity is known and obtained mixed ethnicity students are more likely to be eligible for free school meals than other ethnic groups. There is a lower proportion of students eligible for free school meals from several ethnic groups than overall in the school student population.

Although the promotion of free school meals is equal to all residents, not all ethnic groups claim this benefit related entitlement equally.

School students receiving special educational needs provision

Special educational needs provision in schools includes education, health and care plans (EHCPs) and special educational needs (SEN) support.

The proportion of school students with either an education, health and care plan or special educational needs support has been increasing over the last four years.

School students receiving special educational needs (SEN) provision by gender

School students receiving special educational needs (SEN) provision by ethnicity 

There is a higher proportion of male students (63.8%) accessing SEN provision than females (36.2%) when compared to the total student population (males 51.0% and females 49.0%). Male students are 1.77 times more likely to access SEN provision than female students.

For those where ethnicity is known and obtained, White students are more likely to be receiving SEN provision (SEN support or Education, Health and Care plans) than students from other ethnic groups.

There is a lower proportion of students receiving SEN provision from all other ethnic minority backgrounds than in the school student population.

Further investigation is required to confirm whether this is affected by accessibility or whether all children requiring SEN provision are receiving the support required.

Youth support – Future4me

Future4Me offer direct work and consultation to support a broad range of young people known to children’s services in Lincolnshire.

The multi-disciplinary team is a responsive and skilled workforce meeting the diverse and complex needs of our young people. They facilitate timely and appropriate intervention so that:

• children are supported without the need for statutory intervention - either through social care or youth justice
• older adolescents are supported to remain with their existing carers (where this is safe) and there is a reduction in late entrants into the care system
• relationships are maintained with key professionals accessing specialised wrap-around support from both complex needs services (including psychology and speech and language) together with positive activities
• victims of crime are supported and given a voice through restorative practice to ensure safe communities
• children and young people are fully supported to realise their potential

In the year from April 2023 to March 2024, the team supported 497 children in the youth justice cohort. The data below shows a summary of their characteristics by:

• gender
• age
• nationality
• ethnicity
• religion

Where numbers are below five, these have been grouped.

Children and young people by gender

Children and young people by religion

Children and young people by age (as at 1 October 2023 (mid-point))

Children and young people by nationality

Children and young people by ethnicity

There are some gaps in recording which impacts on the quality of data. This continues to be addressed, and it remains a priority to improve the accuracy of data collection.

Future4Me focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion both at a strategic and operational level so the service can respond to the needs of children across Lincolnshire and consider new initiatives and interventions based on trend data. The data captured has been increased to include:

• pregnancy
• substance misuse
• accommodation
• mental health and wellbeing
• sexual orientation
• education training and employment status

This information is routinely shared and scrutinised to understand the demographics of the children and young people supported by the Future4Me team. Staff training, quality assurance work, data accuracy and practice guidance also underpins the Future4Me commitment to ensuring equality of services for young people. Operational tools and guidance have been updated and reviewed as we continue to strive to strengthen practice in this area. Where appropriate this includes input and feedback from children and families together with consultation with colleagues in specialist roles to actively promote inclusion, for example:

• giving consideration to speech, language and communication needs
• taking account of the lived experiences of children and families via trauma informed practice

Adult social care

This is the age, gender, ethnicity and primary support need breakdown for adults receiving a social care service as per the short and long term (SALT) data return for the year from April 2023 to March 2024 with comparison data for the previous year. As part of this mandatory reporting, we have included age, gender, ethnicity and disability. Religion and sexual orientation are not required to be reported so have been excluded from this report.

Equalities information has been provided in relation to long-term and short-term adult social care services which have been provided to adults. Long-term support encompasses any service or support which is provided with the intention of maintaining quality of life for an individual on an ongoing basis. Short-term support includes all episodes of support that are intended to be time limited without intending to maximise independence and reduce the need for ongoing support.

Adults in receipt of a long-term social care service

By age

The majority (65%) of adults receiving a long-term service are over 65 years old. Compared to the previous year, there has been a slight increase in the number of adults in the younger age groups (18 to 45) and a decrease in the 85 and over age group.

By gender

There is a higher proportion of female adults receiving a long-term service than male adults. Compared to the previous year, the number of females has slightly decreased, while the number of males has increased. There are a number of factors that may explain this, women are more likely to take on unpaid caregiving roles, in the UK, 59% of unpaid carers are female. This caregiving responsibility often falls on women which may be due to traditional gender roles and societal expectations. Men are often less likely to seek support due to societal norms around masculinity, which emphasise stoicism, independence, and self-reliance this can lead to men being less willing to accept help from care services, even when they need it. Women are more likely to be unpaid carers, because of this they may delay seeking formal care services for themselves until absolutely necessary.

By ethnicity

White includes: British, English, Irish, Scottish and 'any other white background'.

The majority of adults receiving a long-term service (98.6%) are white. This is similar to the Lincolnshire population data where 96% of people are white. Compared to the previous year, there has been a slight increase in the number of adults from minority ethnic groups.

By primary support reason

The primary support reason is essentially why the individual requires support.

The majority of adults (53.5%) drawing on long-term services had a primary support reason of physical support: personal care support. Adults with a learning disability account for 19.5% of adults drawing on services. In Lincolnshire 20.1% are people with a disability as defined under the equality act. Compared to the previous year, there has been a slight increase in the number of adults needing learning disability and mental health support.

Adults in receipt of a short-term social care service

By age

The majority (73%) of adults receiving a short-term service are over 65 years old. This is a slightly higher percentage than those adults over 65 years old receiving long term services (65%). Compared to the previous year, there has been a decrease in the number of adults in the older age groups (76 to 85) and an increase in the younger age groups (26 to 45).

By gender

There is a significantly higher proportion of female adults receiving a short-term service than males. Despite the longer life expectancy of females, a further review will be carried out ahead of the next annual report to better understand why fewer males and more females are accessing services. Compared to the previous year, the number of females has decreased, while the number of males has also decreased slightly.

By ethnicity

The majority of adults receiving a short-term service (98.3%) are white. This is similar to the Lincolnshire population data where 96% of people are white. Compared to the previous year, there has been a slight decrease in the number of adults from minority ethnic groups. We have seen an improvement in recording ethnicity compared to the previous year.

By primary support reason

The majority of adults (53.7%) drawing on short-term services had a primary support reason of physical support: access and mobility only. Compared to the previous year, there has been a slight decrease in the number of adults needing physical support and an increase in those needing mental health support.

Adult Skills and Family Learning Service

The ASFL is part of economic development within the place directorate. The service receives grant funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to deliver adult education programmes across Lincolnshire.

The aim of the service is to engage with local people who are least likely to participate in learning and enable them to access a range of high-quality learning opportunities to:

• lead more independent lives
• support their families
• gain a qualification
• get a job
• volunteer
• become less socially isolated

The service has four key strategic priorities:

• widen participation and transform people’s lives
• support the local economy
• improve the health and wellbeing of learners
• provide targeted learning to those in greatest need, including helping parents to support their children’s learning

To achieve these priorities ASFL works with local partners to deliver high quality learning to:

• focus funding on people who are disadvantaged and least likely to participate in learning, including people:
  • on low incomes
  • with low skills
  • furthest away from the labour market
• widen participation in learning through locally delivered informal and accredited programmes, serving the needs of the diverse communities across Lincolnshire
• contribute to a wide range of outcomes for individuals and the wider community including:
  • personal and social
  • educational attainment
  • economic regeneration
  • improved health and well-being
• develop the capacity of voluntary and community sector organisations to deliver effective adult learning that meets the quality requirements of Ofsted through funding and supporting niche provision
• Work with local partners to deliver high quality learning which contributes to the priorities of:
  • Lincolnshire County Council
  • GLLEP local skills plan
  • joint LCC and LEP employment and skills strategy
  • GLLEP strategic economic plan
  • the local industrial strategy
  • the skills strategy
  • the Lincolnshire sustainability and transformation plan
  • protecting, progressing, prospering: Greater Lincolnshire plan for growth (Covid 19 revival plan)
  • our corporate plan

In the year 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024, the team worked with learners who enrolled on one or more courses. The total number of enrolments was 8,773. The data below shows a summary of their characteristics by:

• gender
• age
• employment
• learning difficulty
• qualifications
• ethnic breakdown, with data from the previous year for comparison

Providers contracts include a target for learners from minority groups in order to ensure we target our funding at those who will benefit most. 

Provider monitoring meetings take place monthly where we review data and follow up if there is under-performance.

ASFL enrolments by age

ASFL enrolments by gender

ASFL enrolments by employment status at the start of the course

ASFL enrolments by learning difficulty

ASFL enrolments by qualification at the start of the course

ASFL enrolments by ethnicity compared to 2021 census data for Lincolnshire

White

Mixed or multiple ethnic

Asian and Asian British

Black and Black British

Other ethnic group

Total

Public protection

Public protection covers an array of activities within Lincolnshire. Within the area of domestic abuse victim services, drug treatment services and fraud prevention demographic data is requested from the service users to help us better understand the accessibility and equality of the services we provide, but also to help identify any potential hidden or unsupported victims.

Drug treatment services in Lincolnshire

The Lincolnshire Recovery Partnership (LRP) provides a free and confidential service for people in Lincolnshire who want support for issues related to their drug or alcohol use. This includes a dedicated young people’s service, Horizon, offering support, information and advice about drugs and alcohol.

The following data shows the ethnicity of people being supported by the service including those where the support started in the previous year. The sexual orientation and religion information is of new people who accessed the service in the year 2023 to 2024.

White

Asian and Asian British

Black and Black British

Mixed ethnicity

Total

The highest proportion of people accessing the service are of white British ethnicity (88.5%) which is slightly lower than the 2021 census Lincolnshire population percentage (89.2%).

White other is slightly lower at 5.8% than the 2021 Census population percentage (6.7%). The total percentage of people accessing the service from Asian, Black, mixed and other ethnic backgrounds is 3.7% which is also below the 2021 census (4.1%).

The highest proportion of individuals in service are Heterosexual at 89.9%. This is in line with the 2021 Census data of 89.58% stating they are heterosexual.

The highest proportion of individuals accessing services have no religious belief (65.8%).

The LRP are aware that some groups may not be engaging with services so have put in place the following:

• a Polish group running in Boston
• an Eastern European worker for the south of the county
• translated leaflets, and psychosocial and harm reduction interventions translated to a range of different languages
• new buildings with neurodiversity in mind. Turning Point has an autism standards document that we can use for a self-assessment
• a range of staff that speak different languages

Domestic abuse support

EDAN Lincs is a registered charity commissioned by us. It delivers the Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Specialist Service (LDASS) which provides support and assistance to anyone suffering or fleeing from domestic abuse in Lincolnshire. The following data shows the age, ethnicity and gender of people referred to the service.

There has been a significant increase of people being referred into service with 2022 to 2023 referrals 849 and 2023 to 2024 at 1,986.

LDASS referrals by age

The highest proportion of people who are referred for support from the domestic abuse service are aged between 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 years old. This is in line with last year’s data, however, the 35 to 44-year-old category is now the top age range that was referred where it was the 25 to 34 age range in the previous year. 

LDASS referrals by gender

There has been an increase in the percentage of male victims referred to service from 8.5% last year to 11.7% this year. This demonstrates progress on the service ambition to ensure male victims are being referred for support, understand and receive the support available.

LDASS referrals by ethnicity compared to 2021 census data for Lincolnshire

Following last year’s data presentation and reviewing domestic abuse data it was identified that the volume of referrals for white other and Asian, Black, Mixed or other ethnic group was not in line with domestic abuse reports. As a result, LCC commissioned a new victim service including an outreach team targeting those hard-to-reach groups with an ambition of increase the referrals and support.

The outreach initiative appears to have been successful in the first year with an increase in referrals within ethnicity categories from 10.6% to 14.8% for white other and 2.9% to 4.5% for Asian, Black and mixed ethnicity.  Both figures are higher than the ethnicity Census data of 6.7% for white other and 4.1%  for Asian, Black and mixed ethnicity.

Scams intervention and prevention

The scams intervention and prevention services offered by LCC provide holistic support to individuals who have experienced fraud or who are at risk of fraud. Referrals are received from a number of sources including Lincolnshire Police, Lincolnshire Trading Standards and Adult Safeguarding. Additionally, some individuals have made self-referrals.

This is the first time we have a full year of data as collection started in September 2022. A total of 89 people were supported by the service as potential victims of scams in the year from April 2023 to March 2024.

Potential scam victims by gender

As with the previous year there was almost an equal split between male and female potential victims and those at risk of fraud.

Potential scam victims by health condition

Of those that chose to disclose, 39 people disclosed health conditions (some more than one). These conditions could increase their risk of being a victim of fraud.

Potential scam victims by age

The oldest individual was 95 years old and the youngest individual was 32. 72% of people supported were over 70. The data also showed that 48 (53.9%) people supported live alone. 

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Community Safety

Home fire safety visits

Throughout 2024, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue have continued to develop a person centred approach to all prevention activities. The home fire safety visits are the primary method of engagement supporting our home safety strategy. With the direction of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), our home fire safety visits focus on eight core components of risk:

• home fire detection, also incorporates assistive technology
• fire safety in the home
• fires and heaters incorporating fuel poverty
• clutter and hoarding
• arson and deliberate fires
• smoking related fires
• medicines and medical devices
• electrical safety

Household risks are categorised to help the service deliver interventions that are sustainable and make best use of resources. Physical resources are then assigned to support those identified as the highest risk. Local data analysis supported by work carried out at a national level allows us to identify factors that make individuals more likely to have a fire, accident or be injured in their homes. The following factors have been identified as a result of the data analysis:

• smoking
• hoarding
• elderly or lives alone
• reduced mobility, hearing or visual impairment
• mental health conditions
• alcohol misuse, drugs or medication dependant
• care needs

Specially trained staff provide a person-centred approach to their visits. They look to provide support by focussing on the areas of high risk within the home setting. 

Consideration is given to:

• Person factors - which are integral to the person or people living in a property; things that are temporarily or permanently a part of them and cannot be changed such as hearing impairment or their level of mobility.
• Behaviour factors - which are actions, activities or behaviours: things that people do (or don't do) such as smoking a cigarette, taking medication or substance use.
• Home factors - which are those factors which are integral to the home itself, the home’s contents (physical environment), or how the person interacts with others, including the layout and other residents in the property (social environment).

The delivery strategy is a blend of partner agency referrals and proactive targeting, maximising delivery of activities. To support equality of access an ‘online self-assessment’ tool has been developed, allowing individuals to access risk and safety information if required.  

On average 86% of visits were with people considered to be in high-risk groups. As we continue to develop our approach to identify high risk households the service aims to see this percentage increase. This will ensure resources support can be focussed on those who most need it across the county.

A breakdown of safe and well visits by age and ethnicity is shown below. The 65 and over age category is more likely to be identified as high risk therefore it is important for the service to monitor this group to ensure it is meeting the needs of people across all ethnicities.

Household occupants receiving support by age

Household occupants receiving support by ethnicity

Equalities objectives

Workforce

These objectives were set in 2023 and are part of our people strategy. Through our action plans we aim to continue to improve the areas of difference identified in the 2024 workforce data. 

Workforce equalities objectives:

• we will increase the number of employees who share their personal characteristic data
• we will increase the success rate of job applicants (internal and external) from minority or disadvantaged groups
• we will increase the mechanisms and use of support and flexibility for employees from minority or disadvantaged groups
• we will increase the support available to enable career progression for employees from minority or disadvantaged groups
• we will increase training, resources and engagement available for employees and specifically for managers. These will increase knowledge, awareness and confidence in discussing, supporting and taking action on equality, diversity and inclusion issues

Customers

These objectives were set in 2023. Services will continue to work towards ensuring accessibility of services for all Lincolnshire residents.

Customer equalities objectives:

• we will continue to broaden the detailed analysis of each directorate’s service provisions from an equality perspective
• we will identify areas of good practice from within the County Council and using the ‘one council’ principles, share the learning to enable continuous improvement
• we will review current community engagement initiatives and evaluate their effectiveness in eliminating poor access to services