Cheshire
Overview
As a rural county, Cheshire attendees felt the lack of an urban centre meant the LGB&T community was less visible than in other places. Transport around the county could be a problem. Cheshire is perceived to be a wealthy place, despite there being pockets of deprivation.
Engagement with LGB&T populations through voluntary and community groups does work, but relatively few groups exist. The public sector needs to be aware that if LGB&T engagement is difficult it does not mean there are no LGB&T issues or no LGB&T population in Cheshire.
What did Cheshire say?
“What is “inclusion”? What are we trying to make people feel included to?”
“Make the Strategy into a tool, not just a list of recommendations.”
“Recommendations are useful, but what about the legal requirements that organisations have to comply by?”
“Is there an effective way to map the Strategy into local government equality standards such as Equality Frameworks and World Class Commissioning?”
“The document is too focused on the LGF itself, not the broader sector.”
“Plainer English would be better.”
“Senior management buy in is essential.
“Could the strategy give more tips on how people can empower themselves to make change happen?”
How will Cheshire use the Strategy?
- Use contacts from Roadshow event for support and information.
- Try and get some points included in the Commissioning Cycle.
- Use strategy to get Local Authority to see what services they are willing to provide.
- Use contacts from event to share best practice.
- Speak to management re: benefits of recommendations for service users.
- Try and link it in with existing internal documents.