The recent Solace Summit in Birmingham elevated our focus on creating a more diverse and inclusive local government workforce to reflect the communities we serve. In a standout session, everyday Jedi and basketball giant turned organisational psychologist, John Amaechi OBE, pointed out when minorities are absent from decision-making, so are their perspectives.

The conference launched the Solace report into Understanding and Improving Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the Local Government Workforce. The report analyses data collected – or not collected – by the 371 district, county and unitary councils in England, Scotland and Wales to understand the ethnicity of the workforce compared to that of the working age population in the local area, the seniority of ethnic minority staff and any ethnicity pay gaps. This is particularly important in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, which highlighted the inequalities experienced by specific communities, including black, Asian and minority ethnic.