Open Consultation on Equality Objectives - April 2023

The latest set of three new equality objectives has been proposed by the Regulator of Social Housing in a new open consultation. These objectives have been proposed to meet the RSH’s requirement to agree and publish such objectives in regulations made pursuant to the Equality Act 2010 and focus on the robustness and quality of sector data, communication and the culture of the organisation.

Bernadette Conroy, Chair of Regulator of Social Housing stated that the first set of equality objectives implemented in July 2020 provided a good foundation to the RSH’s approach on equality, diversity and inclusion, however in a further push on EDI matters, the RSH is proposing the following:

1) To encourage the sector to better understand the diversity of the communities that they serve and that measures are in place to promote equity in relation to their service delivery. According to RSH, this objective aims to provide a better understanding of resident demographics, at both provider and sector level, as well as gather better equality data to help providers comply with PSED and improve decision making.

2) Respectful and inclusive engagement and communication within the community. These objective compliments and builds on the first set of equality objectives which looked at how the RSH interacts with tenants. It also builds on the engagement the RSH has been doing as part of its consumer regulation programme.

3) To provide a supportive and inclusive working environment for all. This objective has been proposed to enable further transparency and states that RSH will publish internal Equality, diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan data alongside their refreshed equality objectives.

The Regulator of Social Housing is inviting private and local authority registered providers, tenants, lenders and other interested stakeholders to give feedback on whether the proposed objectives meet the RSH’s obligations under the Equality Act and consider whether appropriate activity has been identified to help achieve the overall objective.

LLG is currently preparing to respond to the consultation which closes on 30 June 2023. If you are interested in joining a working group to discuss the consultation, please email Helen McGrath, LLG’s Head of Public Affairs at helen@llg.org.uk at your earliest convenience.

Written by Daria Porwisz