Equality and Diversity

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).  EDI is about understanding differences, promoting inclusive practice and ensuring that the right people receive the right services.

We aim to identify, understand, and eliminate all barriers that prevent access to services, information, and employment.  The services we deliver are risk based according to the needs of particular groups.

We are an award winning Service which has been recognised for its work around EDI. In the past 10 years we have achieved Levels 3 and 4 under the Local Government Equality Standard, achieved Excellence under the new Equality Framework and we have maintained our Disability Confident Employer Status. We have been the top performing emergency service in the UK for the past six years and top performing organisation in the north west region for the past seven years for LGBT+ inclusion.

For further information on our commitment to EDI, please see our EDI Strategy 2021-2024 (new window). The new EDI Action Plan is currently under review and is due to be published soon.

If you have any queries or comments on this strategy, or on equality and diversity in general, kindly contact Rosie Saxon, our Equality and Inclusion Officer, on 01606 868414.

Equality, diversity and inclusion annual report 2022/23

What does the Equality and Inclusion team do?

In summary we:

• Manage and oversee the service equality framework.

• Co-ordinate, maintain and develop the Service’s EDI campaigns calendar.

• Lead and provide advice on good practice to all departments.

• Deliver training, coaching and mentoring.

• Work with internal employee representatives, staff networks and external community groups to ensure best practice.

Our day to day work in particular covers the following areas:

• Equality Impact Assessments.

• Equality monitoring and objective setting.

• Compliance with equality and diversity legislation.