Towards a Fair Barnet: Our roadmap
Summary
Our key priority is challenging inequalities to enable all Barnet residents live well, regardless of their needs and circumstances.
This ‘Towards a Fair Barnet’ roadmap was developed in collaboration with residents. It builds on our vision from Our Plan for Barnet 2023-2026 to tackle inequalities and poverty. We recognise that Barnet’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths, but we also know that not everyone has equal access to services and opportunities.
In launching this roadmap, we aspire to:
“A future in Barnet where the communities and places you belong to never unfairly impact the quality of your life and where accessible and efficient public services support the wellbeing of all residents.”
We’ll work with residents, communities, and partners across the borough to create a fairer Barnet for everyone. This includes boosting local economy and creating job opportunities. Together, we can create a prosperous Barnet where our wealth is shared.
In 2023, we delivered a series of workshops and outreach activities involving over 200 Barnet residents. During these sessions we discussed discrimination and what their vision of a fairer Barnet looks like. This was followed by a second phase of community engagement, where over 60 residents helped set priorities for the roadmap.
Legal obligations
As a local authority, we legally meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and the public sector equality duty that means we must safeguard the nine protected characteristics from discrimination which are as follows:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion and belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
Objectives
The roadmap’s objectives align with the three corporate pillars of ‘People, our Places, and the Planet’ as set out in Our Barnet Plan 2023-26.
Individuals are shaped by multiple identities that affect their experiences and how they’re treated by society.
These identities can come from protected characteristics like religion, disability, and age, as well as factors such as income.
We describe seeing people through their individual experience and respecting their multiple identities as taking an intersectional approach. All council services will make plans to move from relating to residents just by the nature of their service-request to thinking about the whole person and their experiences.
We aim for equity, recognising that some groups need more support than others to reach similar outcomes.
We’ll focus on improving outcomes for people with disabilities and those with care experience.
Where you live can impact your experience of life due to unequal access to services, greenspaces, and opportunities around the borough.
We’ll work with communities to tackle local causes of inequality, including health inequalities. For example, if you live in the most deprived areas of the borough, you are likely to live 6.7 years less if you are a man, and 5.7 years less if you are a woman, than your neighbours in higher-income wards. This also includes our homes; housing must be accessible for older residents and appropriate for the needs of residents from different cultural backgrounds. We also see distinct groups of residents over-represented as homeless and will also do our outmost to support those at risk.
Safety perceptions in the borough also vary, with people experiencing racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, or other forms of hate crime. Together with the police and other partners, we will fight hate crime and promote tolerance.
Barnet has set an ambitious goal to be a net zero borough by 2042. We plan to do this in a way that helps all residents live greener and healthier lives while also reducing inequalities.
We will improve access to green skills and jobs training, increase infrastructure such as electric vehicle charging, and support businesses in becoming more sustainable. One example of a factor linked to place and net zero, is air pollution, which is higher in more deprived parts of the borough and along main roads. Exposure to air pollution increases chances of developing respiratory illness. By understanding what causes inequalities, we can work towards closing these gaps.
Want to find out more, or get involved?
Our ‘Towards a Fair Barnet’ roadmap was shaped by residents in 2023. For more engagement opportunities visit Engage Barnet.
We’re committed to our ambitious goals and we’re eager to bring you along on our journey. Updates will be available on our equalities page.
Our 2023 State of the Borough report, highlights experiences of inequality in Barnet. Further reporting has now been built into our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment that will be updated on a regular basis.