Proud To Celebrate Our Diversity

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, together with all County Borough Councils in Wales, is proud to celebrate the diversity of our communities. This County Borough Council has a historic tradition of tolerance which has been at the heart of our civil society. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Welsh Councils have been at the forefront of welcoming asylum seekers and refugees from all parts of the world for many years. All Councils value the contribution they have made – and continue to make – to society. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Merthyr Tydfil’s workforce, especially in areas such as health and social care, have been enriched by the presence of people from countries across the EU providing essential support to our communities. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

On Friday 8th July the BBC reported that more than 3,000 hate crimes and incidents were reported to police between 16-30 June, an increase of 42% on 2015, National Police Chiefs’ Council figures show. At the peak in offending on 25 June, 289 offences occurred across the UK. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

It is therefore important that Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council continues to monitor the situation among its communities and readies itself against any rise in hate crimes or abuse by those who might use the recent EU referendum as cover to seek to divide our communities. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

As quoted in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council’s Strategic Equality Plan for 2016-2020,“Our Equalities Vision for Merthyr Tydfil is a place where diversity is valued and respected and everyone can participate, flourish and have the opportunity to fulfil their potential free from discrimination and prejudice”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Council will work towards achieving this vision through our role as a community leader, service provider, commissioner and employer and we will work in partnership to reduce inequalities and to improve the well-being of the County Borough. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Council will use its leadership role to promote equality and diversity and share ideas and good practice with partners and other service providers. We will continue to refine and develop our services, including respective monitoring systems, to help us gain a better understanding of our staff and the wider communities and to enable us to meet everyone’s diverse needs. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

This Council, together with our public sector colleagues, will remain fully committed to supporting integration and will continue to promote tolerance among and within our communities across the County Borough and throughout Wales. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​