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The Public Sector Duty of the Equality Act 2010 requires St Helens Borough Council to have "due regard" to the following requirements within its decisions, service delivery and employment:

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
• Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
• Foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The Equality Act 2010, Specific Duty 2011 requires St Helens Borough Council to:

• Publish sufficient information to demonstrate compliance with the General Duty across its functions by 31 January 2012 and annually after that, from the first date of publication;
• Prepare and publish equality objectives by 6 April 2012, to demonstrate how the general equality duty will be met.

The most recent annual compliance information is the Annual Equality Monitoring Report 2019-20, published 23 March 2021.

Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 requires St Helens Borough Council to prepare a written accessibility strategy, which must:

• Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the schools' curriculums;
• Improve the physical environment of schools for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and benefits, facilities or services provided or offered by the schools; and
• Improve the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled.

Arrangements for increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the schools' curriculums are set out within:

• Guidance For Schools: Meeting Additional Needs (January 2015)
• St Helens Borough Council's Special Educational Needs and Disability - Local Offer

Arrangements for improving the physical environment of schools are set out within the council’s Programme of School Work, which is based on the assessment of all relevant built assets. Arrangements include contingency to make reasonable adjustments that meet unexpected or unforeseen access needs.

Arrangements for improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to non-disabled pupils is covered by St Helens Information Advice and Support Service. 

Disability Access

The council has a number of officers with a "disability access" remit within the following service areas: Asset Management, Architects, Building Control, Building Surveyors, and Engineering. These staff ensure that (i) the Equalities Act (formerly the DDA), (ii) the current Building Regulations, and (iii) associated best practice are incorporated within all projects and services to ensure fair access for all.

For information about accessibility of council services or general disability access enquiries, please contact the St Helens Borough Council Contact Centre by email to contactcentre@sthelens.gov.uk (Subject: "Disability Access Enquiry FAO the Equalities Officer").

Website Accessibility Statement

The council's Website Accessibility Statement sets out the arrangements the council has in place to ensure that as many people as possible have full access to the information it has published on its webpages. This includes ensuring that our accessibility tool ATbar is available at the bottom left of every page of the website.

Comprehensive Equality Policy

The council's Comprehensive Equality Policy sets out how it meets its duties under the Equality Act 2010.

The Comprehensive Equality Policy includes the following policy commitments:

• St Helens Borough Council's definition of Antisemitism (adopted from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition)
• St Helens Borough Council's definition of Islamophobia (adopted from the Tell Mama definition)
• St Helens Borough Council's Race Equality Policy Statement on Systemic Institutional Racism
• St Helens Borough Council's Accessibility Charter
• St Helens Borough Council's Disability Charter
• St Helens Borough Council's Education Accessibility Strategy Statement