The Strategy and Change Scrutiny Panel was scheduled to discuss updates on the Race Equality Commission's work and the implementation of the Community Charter. The panel was also set to review recommendations made at previous meetings.

Race Equality Commission Update

The panel was scheduled to receive an update on the progress and impact of the work undertaken in response to the Independent Race Equality Commission (REC) report published in 2022. This update covered the period from January 2025 to January 2026 and focused on six priority areas: education, health, participation and democracy, policing, income and employment, and housing. A seventh priority, Keeping feet to the flames, concerning the establishment and scrutiny role of the Citizens' Tribunal, was also to be discussed.

In education, progress has been made in racial literacy, curriculum representation, and parent partnerships, although attainment, exclusions, and leadership diversity require further focus. For health, initiatives have been implemented to enhance workforce diversity, with the Ealing Roots and Wings (ERW) project supporting Black-led organisations. The participation and democracy priority highlighted efforts to promote inclusive leadership and community engagement, with the Your Voice, Your Town programme allocating funds to local initiatives.

Regarding policing, the panel was to be updated on the oversight of stop and search practices and efforts to align with the Metropolitan Police's Race Action Plan. In income and employment, the introduction of an Ethnic Pay Gap Dashboard was noted, with recommendations for mandatory race pay gap reporting. For housing, initiatives such as multilingual information packs and legal aid clinics have been introduced. The Citizens' Tribunal's role in holding the council and its partners accountable was also to be reviewed.

Community Charter

The panel was scheduled to receive an update on the development and implementation of the Community Charter, which sets out shared principles for how the council will work with communities. Approved by Cabinet in July 2025, the Charter aims to foster genuine and meaningful participation, engagement, and decision-making with the communities of Ealing. It is a response to deeper engagement efforts, including recommendations from the Race Equality Commission, and aims to empower all communities to have a voice. The Charter's development involved an online survey, various data sources, and a multi-pronged approach including workshops and advisory group meetings. The Charter is underpinned by ten principles, including having a clear vision for engagement, demonstrating values and behaviours, including citizen rights and responsibilities, being accessible and inclusive, keeping people informed, providing guidance on engagement forms, defining common terms, equipping staff with skills, and providing opportunities for community asset management. Examples of the Charter's application were to be presented, covering policies, tools, methods, governance, processes, culture, workforce, learning, evaluation, and accountability.

Panel Recommendations 2025-2026

The panel was scheduled to review a report detailing recommendations made by the panel across its previous three meetings and the responses received from officers. This report, along with its appendix, the Strategy & Change Scrutiny Panel Recommendations Tracker 2025-2026, was intended to inform the panel about the progress of accepted recommendations and the reasons for any rejections. The report indicated that recommendations from the final panel meeting would be added to the annual scrutiny report for the following municipal year.

The meeting was scheduled to take place at the Elizabeth Cantell Room, ground floor, Perceval House, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, Ealing W5 2HL.