Hastings Commons Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy Update & Year 1 Implementation Plan September 2024

Hastings Commons is committed to ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion is central to all of our work. As an organisation which is led by the principles of commoning we need to ensure everything that we do is accessible across all of the communities in Hastings so that we can play a leading role in supporting a diverse, inclusive and confident town.

Context

Hastings has a population of 92,554 residents. The town ranks 13 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2019 which ranks local authority areas around the country, this has worsened from 20th in 2015. East Sussex in Figures: 25.9% of children live in low income families compared with 18.5% for England and 14.2% for the region. 8.3% People receiving disability benefits against 5.8% nationally and 4.7% regionally in August 2021. European Structural and Investment Fund, (ESIF): 32.9% People receiving benefits compared to 27.6% nationally and 18.2% regionally in November 2021. Additionally, 20,525 people in Hastings said they identified as disabled or living with a chronic health condition as of March 2021 – 22.4% This is the region’s highest proportion of residents identifying as being disabled. Over  91.4% of people in Hastings identified their ethnic group within the “White” category, a high percentage in comparison to the rest of the country, which is 81.7%. (Census 2021) This has increased in the last 10 years, the 2011 Census showed 93.8% of the town’s population identified within the “white’ category.

The pandemic highlighted existing inequalities in poor communities across a range of areas including health and employment as well as accessing Universal Credit and housing. In addition, during COVID there was an increase in people moving into Hastings from London and other large cities, alongside an increase in ‘entire home’ Airbnb in the town. These factors have created an acute housing crisis alongside exacerbating sharp divisions in access to relevant opportunities.

Hastings Commons Approach

Intersectionality

Hastings Commons recognises the importance of intersectionality, where systems of inequality “intersect” to create multiplying forms of discrimination and a myriad of barriers to participation.  We are committed to acknowledging these dynamics and to providing equality of opportunity for everyone.

Data Collection

Hastings Commons’ model for change, includes the overarching objective of making every year count in diverse and inclusive community engagement and benefit. In order to understand whether we are meeting this objective we will collect data about all the people we work with, including the staff team, CLT members, tenants, participants and audiences. As well as adhering to our GDPR policies, we will ensure that we are transparent about why we are collecting data and how it will be used. We will also ensure we collect data in sensitive, engaging and comprehensive ways. We will use this collection to inform ongoing activity and to feed into community led analysis of data as part of our citizen social science activity

Setting Target Priorities

We will set target priorities to measure how well we have managed our commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion. These will be shared across the organisation, reviewed quarterly and presented to the board and the CLT at the annual AGM. Due to the importance of this work, we will further review and update priorities annually.

Protected Characteristics

The Equalities Act of 2010 identifies the following protected characteristics

  • age
  • disability
  • gender reassignment
  • marriage and civil partnership
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • race
  • religion or belief
  • gender
  • sexual orientation.

Within this we will collect quantitative and qualitative data on our reach in relation to the following key demographics:

  • Age
  • Lived experience of disability / chronic ill health
  • Neurodivergence
  • Gender
  • Gender reassignment
  • Race / ethnicity
  • Sexual orientation

We will also measure socio-economic background, which is a key determinant of access to opportunities in the UK (See, for example David O’Brien 2019, 20, 21, 24)

Priority areas in Hastings

Socio – economic background

This is a key equalities issue in Hastings. Local data (Facing the Future: The Hastings COVID-19 Community Hub & Hastings Voluntary Action 2023) identifies worsening poverty in the town since the pandemic, documenting inequalities in poor communities across a huge range of areas including health and employment as well as accessing Universal Credit and housing.

Lived experience of racism

Although the population of Hastings now includes more ethnic diversity, it is still a very ‘white’ town. There are ongoing issues around access, relevance, racial discrimination and anti-immigrant sentiment, which is particularly targeted toward asylum seekers and people arriving in the UK via small boats on beaches in or near Hastings.  There are a small number of racially diverse led organisations in the town.

Lived experience of disability or chronic ill health

24% of people in Hastings identified as living with disabilities and/ or chronic ill health, this is the region’s highest proportion. These numbers are estimated to increase by 2030 (DWP March 24). This is an increasingly urgent area for attention, as summarised in April 2024, when the UN’s Committee on the Rights of Disabled People found that the UK had “failed to take all appropriate measures to address grave and systematic violations of the human rights of persons with disabilities and has failed to eliminate the root causes of inequality and discrimination”.

A Staged Implementation: Plan Year 1

Stage 1
Action Deadline Responsibility
Develop a working measure for socio-economic background, which works alongside HC youth priority ( ie measuring parental occupation at the age of 14 years is not relevant ) September 24 Impact Coordinator + Creative lead + Youth Programme Manager
DEI audit: develop a baseline across all areas of Hastings Commons, by surveying:

  • Staff and Board(s)
  • CLT Members
  • Tenants
  • Participants
  • Audiences
 October 24 Impact Coordinator + Creative lead+ General Coordinator
Identify & confirm partners to develop substantive, relevant partnership working for our 3 priority areas:

  • Socio- economic background
  • Lived experience of racism
  • Lived experience of chronic ill health
 October 24  Creative Lead
Identify Unconscious Bias training  October 24 General Manager + Creative Lead
Stage 2
Action Deadline Responsibility
Identify gaps in Hastings Commons based on the DEI audit October 24 SLT, Board,(People Committee)  Impact Coordinator;
Create priorities in line with Hastings wide DEI data and regional/national bench marks.  January 25 Impact Coordinator + Creative lead
Develop plans for partnership working in priority areas including resource planning  January 25 Creative Lead + partners
All staff and volunteers attend unconscious bias training  January 25 General Manager + Creative Lead
Presentation and discussion at AGM  October 24 Creative Lead
DEI Presentation and feedback – Full Team Meeting + Volunteers  Full Team Meeting – November 24 Creative Lead and Impact Coordinator

 

Stage 3
Action Deadline Responsibility
Deliver priority area partnership activity and evaluate July 25 Creative Lead
Identify further activities to address organisational gaps in reaching DEI targets including:

  • Recruitment practices
  • Physical and social access
  • Relevant & accessible outreach & engagement programmes
  • Communications
  • Transparency
  • Nurturing an inclusive culture
Feb 25 General Manager, Creative Lead, Impact Coordinator
Review DEI progress in relation to baseline and targets June 25 Impact Coordinator
Present findings to People Committee, then Commons Board and full team July 25 Impact Coordinator + Creative Lead
Develop Year 2 implementation plan July 25 Impact Coordinator + Creative Lead