Engaging with partners
Sefton engages with a number of partners in order to meet the Public Sector Equality Duty. Engagement with partners helps us understand the needs of our community and allows us to consult with them when developing policies and services.
The Council works hard to ensure what we and others do is in the best interests of Sefton and our residents. We can't do this alone. We work to deliver our priorities and improve outcomes through true collaboration, which includes working together with people with lived experience. There are many examples of where the council is working in partnership and some of these can be found on the 'Working Stronger Together' page and across the Council's website.
This page focuses on the partnerships we have in place to support the work of equality consultation and engagement and accessible information. Engagement with partners and people with lived experience helps us understand the needs of our community and allows us to consult with them when developing policies and services.
Inclusive Companies
Inclusive Companies is the premier cross industry network harnessing best practices & innovation to drive inclusion for all.
Members access a host of outstanding resources. From workshops to training opportunities, informative toolkits to detailed Diversity & Inclusion reports, Inclusive Companies provides a cross industry platform allowing like-minded individuals to network, share best practice and collaborate.
Disability Policy Centre
The Disability Policy Centre is the first think tank of it’s kind in the UK, dedicated to the development and advancement of policy, ensuring that accessibility is at the heart of legislation.
Sefton have signed up to the Disability Impact Pledge, an initiative from the Disability Policy Centre which asks local authorities to make a commitment to improve their services and accessibility for the 1 in 5 disabled people in each community.
The Disability Impact Pledge — THE DISABILITY POLICY CENTRE
Sefton Council pledges to break down barriers for disabled people across our community
Below is some of the other partnerships established. If you would like to find out more about any of these partnerships and the work they do, please email yourseftonyoursay@sefton.gov.uk.
The Navajo Charter Mark is an equality mark supported by LGBTIQA+ Community networks across Merseyside. It is a signifier of good practice, commitment and knowledge of the specific needs, issues and barriers facing LGBTIQA+ people.
Navajo – In-Trust: Merseyside (merseysideintrust.org)
Sefton was the first local authority in the Liverpool City Region to be awarded the charter mark.
Sefton Partnership for Older Citizens (SPOC) is recognised as one of the major and most effective partnership groups in Sefton. Its aim is to identify the needs of older citizens, to bring together the networks which provide them with support, and to give older citizens the opportunity to be part of the planning of services.
A voluntary group who work to raise public awareness of access problems; to act as a consultation body for the council and other organisations and to receive individual complaints or problems, identify the solutions and ensure that these are implemented.
Ability Plus are a voluntary group made up of people with a range of disabilities from across Sefton.
Please contact paul.mccann@sefton.gov.uk for more information.
| Improving Information Group |  (jpg 3.63MB) |
The Sefton Improving Information Group was established in 2017. People with different communication needs and advocacy organisations, such as People First Merseyside, Galloways, Merseyside Society for Deaf People work with the Council to help improve the way the Council communicates with people.
The group have been involved in projects such as:
Developing a network of support for Council staff who are Accessible Information Advocates.
Development of skills and eLearning for staff.
Intranet as resource for practical support.
Supporting the development of policies and plans to improve the
accessibility of information.
Supporting the implementation of the guidance in NHS England’s
Accessible Information Standard 2016.
Awareness raising to elected members and senior leaders in the Council.
Web accessibility and compliance to the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines.
Continuing to share experiences and solutions to inaccessible services.
Making real changes happen.
For more information, please contact Michelle.anglesea@sefton.gov.uk
Sefton's Co-production Board for People with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism has been established to work together to improve the lives of people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism. The membership includes people who work for organisations, self-advocates and family carers.
The aim is to improve and develop services. The Board wants to: be involved in the development of services for people with Learning Disabilities and / or Autism, share the ideas of people who use services, their carers and families with those who arrange these services and make sure people are involved in decisions that affect their lives.
| TOR Co-production Board LD and Autism |  (pdf 4.32MB) |
As well as the Board there are smaller subgroups. The current subgroups are the:
Get Involved Group - a group of self advocates who support and influence decision making.
Autism Subgroup - a group of workers, family carers and autistic people. It oversees actions related to services for Autistic adults.
Supported Employment Group - that brings together employment organisations to develop appropriate systems to support people who want to work.
The work of the sub-groups and the Co-production Board is reported to the Adult Forum and the Health and Wellbeing Board.
For more information, please contact michelle.anglesea@sefton.gov.uk
Sefton Council is setting up a new co-production group to look at working together to make our streets, roads and spaces work for everyone.
This could be a new junction, crossing or route for people walking, wheeling, or cycling. It could be plans to look at how people drive and where they park.
We want to Co-Produce and Co-Design. To help us to do this we are bringing together a group of people to help us work out how best to do this. The group would decide the role of the group, how often to meet and where.
If you are interested in joining this group you can
Email us at transport.planning@sefton.gov.uk.
Sefton Council is working in partnership with Merseyside Sight Loss Council (SLC) to help make the organisation and services more inclusive.
Sight Loss Councils, funded by Thomas Pocklington Trust, are regional groups led by blind and partially sighted people. Together, they work with organisations to ensure what they do is accessible and inclusive.
SLC volunteer members have delivered vision awareness sessions to Cabinet Members, senior leaders, and staff. This is to help them understand some of the challenges that people living with sight loss face when walking around our streets. This includes overhanging foliage, uneven pavements, street clutter, and pavement parking. The sessions also highlight good practice to aid inclusive planning and street design.
For more information, please contact inclusive_streets@sefton.gov.uk
We work very closely with the Networks and Forums managed and supported by Sefton Council for Voluntary Service. The council are members of some of the networks and we engage them as part of our consultation activity and and strategic planning.
Through the work of the Public Engagement and Consultation Panel we encourage council officers to engage with the Networks and Forums and we have also recently engaged with the Sefton Partnership for Older Citizens, the Equal Voice Network and the Sefton Faith Forum to find out how best we can provide information to them and the public and how they would want to be involved in the work of the Council going forward. This feedback will be shared with staff in the Council and the Public Engagement and Consultation Panel.