Introduction

Colchester Borough Homes is committed to meeting in full its statutory responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010. Under the ‘general duty’ of the Public Sector Equality Duty’ (PSED), we must have “due regard” to the need to:

(a)  Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;              

(b)  Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and

(c)  Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

We also have ‘specific duties’ which include the publishing of ‘Equality Information’, which is data by protected characteristic relating to staff and customers. The purpose of this document is to help us meet these duties. You can also visit our website to access additional information including our Equality Statement and Equality and Safeguarding ‘annual report’ which details how we are meeting the ‘general duty’.

Note:                                                                                  

• ‘CBH’ has been used as shorthand for Colchester Borough Homes.
• Reference has been made to National Census data for the City of Colchester (2021) which can be found here: How life has changed in Colchester: Census 2021 (ons.gov.uk)
• Throughout the document comment and analysis has been highlighted in italics.
• This report uses the term ‘Diverse Ethnic Communities’ in recognition of the fact that the term ‘Black, Asian and minority ethnic’ (and/or its acronym BAME) has become perceived as being ‘narrow’ and non-inclusive.
• Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Contents

This published document contains equality data by ‘protected characteristic’ where available in relation to the following groups:

• Staff – Pages 2 to 5
• Tenants and Leaseholders – Pages 5 to 8
• Housing Applicants – Pages 9 to 11

Equality Data

• Staff

Number of permanent employees: 217

Of 217 employees (on 1st January 2023), 182 (82.9%) were full time and 37 (17.1%) were part time. (In 2022, 81.5% were full time and 18.5% were part time.)

There has been an increase of six employees since 2022, with a slight increase in the proportion of full-time as opposed to part-time staff.

Distribution by Sex

Of 217 employees, 119 (54.8%) were female and 98 (45.2%) were male. In 2022, 113 (53.6%) were female and 98 (46.5%) were male.

Over the period January 2022 to January 2023, there has been an increase in the proportion of staff who are female. The ratio of men to women in the company has therefore become less equal.

Distribution by Age

In 2023, more full-time staff fell into the 51-60 age range (than any other) which was the same for 2022. Most part-time staff fell into the 41-50 age range, this has changed from 2022 where more part-time staff fell into the 61+ age range.

Distribution by Disability

Over the period of 2022-23, data capture has continued to increase over both categories. This data is an optional element of their personal information record.

Distribution by Ethnicity

Distribution by Ethnicity (excluding No Data)

Data suggests that the organisation has become marginally more ethnically diverse, excluding ‘no data’, the proportion of staff from Ethnically Diverse Communities has increased from 2.7% to 3.9% (full-time) and from 5.9% to 8.6% (part-time). Data capture has increased over the period from 86.3% to 87.6%. CBH will continue to encourage staff to complete the (optional) personal information record and advertise posts as widely as possible to reach all sections of the community.

Distribution by Sexual Orientation

Distribution by Sexual Orientation (excluding No Data)

Over the relevant period, there has been a marginal fall in the proportion of staff who identify as Gay or Lesbian (from 5.0% to 4.6%). Data capture has continued to increase from 82.5% in 2022 to 85.3% in 2023. Data on staff who identify as bisexual has been removed due to potential privacy issues.  Data comparison with the wider community remains problematic as estimates vary significantly. We continue to seek to ensure that no unfair treatment based on sexual orientation takes place at any stage during the recruitment process, or during employment.

Distribution by Religion

Distribution by Religion (excluding No Data)

CBH data appears to broadly reflect local and national trends. Overall (across full- time and part-time staff) 36.8% of staff providing data have indicated ‘Christian’ (which is a decrease from 38.6% in 2022). Conversely, the proportion of staff providing data who have indicated ‘no religion’ has increased from 51.1% to 52.7%. For comparison, 2011 census figures for the Colchester borough are 57.7% ‘Christian’ and 31.4% ‘no religion’.

Information relating to additional ‘protected characteristics’ during 2022:

• We are not aware of any staff having reassigned their gender
• 1 employee took maternity leave in 2022, the same as 2021.

Additional information relating to staff during 2022:

• There were 2 dismissals in 2022, up from 1 in 2021.
• We are not aware of any flexible working requests in 2022, down from 5 in 2021.
• We are not aware of any grievances in 2022, down from 3 in 2021.

All the above contain small samples, whose data by ‘protected characteristic’ has not been published due to associated potential privacy issues.

B Tenants and Leaseholders

Colchester Borough Homes’ core business is the management and maintenance of social housing owned by Colchester Borough Council. Many of its customers are either tenants or leaseholders.

Tenants and Leaseholders

Distribution by Sex

The fact that 63% of tenants are female may reflect, in part, different housing needs between men and women, and the fact that more women compared with men are primary carers for children. Data may also reflect higher overall life expectancy for women. The gender difference remains less marked regarding leaseholders.

Distribution by Age

The average age of CBH tenants remains unchanged at 55. This compares with the average age of Colchester borough residents of 39 (Census, 2021). The proportion of tenants who are over 65 is 32.5% which is marginally down from 32.6% (2022).

Distribution by Disability Type

*Please note we are currently confirming our data for January 2023, and this will be updated in due course.

Distribution by Ethnicity

Data shows that the ethnicity profile of CBH tenants is similar to that of the wider City. 2021 Census records indicate that ‘White (All Categories)’ account for 87.0% of the borough population. However, 11.5% of the borough population may be said to belong to Ethnically Diverse Communities, which is a higher figure than that for CBH tenants (above). Data therefore indicates that CBH tenants are less ethnically diverse than the wider borough population.

Distribution by Sexual Orientation

Distribution by Sexual Orientation excluding ‘No Data’

Data on sexual orientation remains incomplete. Where data has been provided, 1.4% identify as being gay or lesbian. This is a slight increase (from 1.2% in 2022) but still compares with estimates of 5-10% in the general population. To an extent, this may reflect an unwillingness to disclose diversity due to societal experiences of intolerance, harassment or discrimination. CBH aims to continue to increase data capture since equality analysis can indicate unfair treatment that may subsequently be addressed through positive action.

Distribution by Religion and Belief

Distribution by Religion and Belief excluding ‘No Data’

Data on Religion and Belief also remains incomplete. Where data is available, 59.8% of tenants have indicated a ‘Christian’ belief, which is higher than the 2021 Census data of 44.4%. 32.6% of tenants have indicated ‘No Religion’ which is lower than the 2021 Census data of 44.4%.

C Housing Applicants

Colchester Borough Homes is part of the Gateway to Homechoice choice-based lettings scheme which advertises council and Housing Association properties in much of Suffolk and Essex. CBH allocates housing on behalf of Colchester Borough Council. When a person joins the housing register, they are given a priority band based on need.

The equality data below allows comparison between Gateway to Homechoice “Active Applicants” (which includes ‘accepted homeless’, ‘direct applicants’ and those seeking ‘transfers’) with “CBH Housed” lead tenants (those accommodated between 01/01/2022 and 31/12/2022). 2022 data is supplemented by 2021 data for comparison.

Distribution by Sex

The above data indicates that a greater proportion of men as opposed to women continue to be housed (compared with ‘active applicants’). Allocations are processed strictly based on need, so the above suggests that a male applicant (on average) has a stronger case for housing. It is unclear why this may be the case although it may reflect a greater reticence (amongst men) to seek help when having an equivalent level of need.

Distribution by Age

The above data indicates that applicants who fall within the lowest age band (17-24), and those who are over 55, are more likely to be housed when compared with other age bands. This is likely to reflect the vulnerabilities associated with these age groups.

Distribution by Ethnicity

Data indicates that a higher proportion of ‘Active Applicants’ belong to Ethnically Diverse Communities when compared with those who are ‘CBH Housed’. Conversely, those identifying as ‘White’ (all categories) make up a larger proportion of’ CBH Housed’ when compared with ‘Active Applicants’. It is unclear why this is the case. Allocations are processed strictly based on need and ‘Gateway to Homechoice’ monitors equality data on an annual basis.

Distribution by Disability

Data confirms that applicants with a disability are significantly more likely to be housed than those without, and that this has become more marked over the past year. This reflects the fact that disability often brings increased vulnerability which can impact upon ‘priority’ given within the housing allocation process.

Any enquiries relating to this published data, or about how Colchester Borough Homes is meeting its Public Sector Equality Duty, can be addressed to: Stephen.Le-gate@cbhomes.org.uk (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist).

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