Representative staff is key aim
Slough council’s new interim chief executive has confirmed that improving diversity within the council is a ‘key objective’ he will be focusing on as part of his work.
Will Tuckley discussed his intentions at Monday night’s cabinet meeting, where Tory councillor Iftakhar Ahmed (Con, Wexham Court) said residents had said they did not feel the authority’s staff reflected the demographics of the town.
Cllr Ahmed said: “One of the areas which I feel the residents have brought to our attention in the past on numerous occasions is the staff which we employ here does not reflect the demographics of this town and I think that is an area which we need to work on.
“We want to be recognised as an authority which listens to residents and also considers the demography of its citizens.”
He added these are areas that the council ‘must not take lightly’.
The discussion on equality took place during an item on the council’s equality objectives for 2024 to 2026.
It was recommended that cabinet members agree for the council to commission the Local Government Association (LGA) to conduct a review into equality and diversity at the authority.
This is not the first time equality and diversity issues have been raised at Slough Borough Council.
Former chief executive Stephen Brown previously called for an increase in diversity in the council’s workforce.
At the meeting, Mr Tuckley, who joined the council on Monday, said:
“It’s a crucial issue because residents need to see a council which reflects them.
“I wanted to assure members that it’s a key objective for me and for the organisation to see through that sort of change.
“I’ve certainly learned a lot from other councils about how to promote and encourage a change in the representation of the workforce. It’s not straightforward, [it] won’t happen overnight, but you can make real difference by learning from others and by working with staff and with communities across the borough. So, I’m very committed to doing that.”
Council leader Dexter (Con, Colnbrook and Poyle) said using the LGA peer review ‘is a good additional step forward’, validating what the council is doing and is not simply the authority ‘patting ourselves on the back.’
“I think it’s really important both as a signal of our intent, but also as a way of getting external validation of what we’re doing, that we involve the Local Government Association, and they are able to really point us at best practice in this area. I don’t think we should be patting ourselves on the back at the moment.
“We are trying to address the problems,” he added.
The recommendations were unanimously agreed.