The Fairness Charter

The Fairness Principles

Fairness is when you are treated properly, equally and when you are given a chance. When you are treated the same as everyone else regardless of who you are and where you are from. Emmanuel Anam; ten year old pupils from New Park Primary School, Kensington - Emily Hollinshead, Paris Roberts, Ennis Gerxhalija. Fairness is about relationships; it is about how we acknowledge and express our common humanity and how we live together. Our principles of fairness are rooted in the evidence we have heard and the values and culture of our city. They are more than aspirations. They are practical principles and a call to arms. They are about Liverpool coming together to make a fairer city for all.
A City that respects and cherishes all its citizens and people, and where no-one experiences discrimination as a result of their ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, belief or disability. A City that directs its resources to overcome and minimise inequality and disadvantage. A City where every person is valued and where every voice is heard. A City where no child grows up in poverty. A City in which every young person receives the education and training they need to gain worthwhile and fullling employment. A City that provides the opportunity to work for everyone. A City where pay differentials and rewards are proportionate and reasonable to reect work and responsibility and where everyone can receive a Living Wage. A City where every citizen will enjoy good health and life expectancy at least on a par with anywhere else in the UK. A City where people care for each other and their neighbourhood. A City where no one fears growing old because of lack of care or insufcient income. A City where everyone has access to safe, decent and affordable housing. A City with a clean, green, safe and healthy environment for all those who live and work here. A City that will be an energetic advocate for fairness will use its economic and moral inuence to promote fairness and respect for human rights.

Ten key steps to achieving greater fairness

The signatories of this Charter are committed to making Liverpool a fairer City, where everyone is valued and their voice heard; a City that values and cherishes all its citizens, and which sets the standards for equality, health and wellbeing that others will aspire to. We are a great City with an international reputation; we have the self-condence to overcome the challenges we face through harnessing the skills and creativity of our people and their belief in fairness and mutual support. Working together we can make Liverpool a fairer City, one which will be a more prosperous, better educated, healthier, greener and safer City for all its people. We believe that at the heart of the decisions made about the Citys future should be a commitment to achieving greater fairness and overcoming both the inequalities within Liverpool and those that exist in comparison with other parts of the country. We endorse the following ten key steps as the basis for achieving greater fairness and commit to taking the actions necessary within our own organisations and agencies to help make Liverpool a fairer City for all:
1. We will ensure the principles of fairness are at the heart of all our decision-making including the setting of budgets, the allocating of resources and strategic planning. 2. We will set measurable and realistic targets for achieving greater fairness across all areas of our organisations activity, with progress monitored and reported annually. 3. We will ensure that when working with partners we make best use of combined resources to target inequality, so as to maximise impact. 4. We will support, and where possible, will develop initiatives that address the education, training and employment needs of young people. 5. We will target resources and opportunities at those in greatest need. 6. We will support the growth of local business and social enterprises, as well as inward investment as the key to increasing prosperity and improving employment opportunities for Liverpool people. 7. We will support the use of increased wealth generated through economic growth to reduce income differentials, and will support the citys work towards the introduction of a Liverpool Living Wage. 8. We will apply social value criteria to all our procurement and contracting practices. 9. We will commission services on the basis of who is best able to meet the needs of service users. 10. We will actively encourage and support both employers and employees to gain the skills and qualications needed to improve the competitiveness of local businesses, the prospects of local people and the prosperity of Liverpools economy.

Claire Dove MBE (Chair) Chief Executive, Blackburne House, Chair of Social Enterprise UK

Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE, Chair, Liverpool Primary Care Trust / NHS Merseyside

Elaine Bowker, Principal, Liverpool Community College

Dr Martin Carey Chief Executive, Business Gateway and Urban Hope Liverpool Hope University

Jane Kennedy, Former Liverpool MP

John Flamson, Director of Partnerships, and Innovation University of Liverpool

Lesley Dixon, Chief Executive, Liverpool PSS

Frank Hont, Regional Secretary, UNISON North West

Steve Parry, Managing Director, Neptune Developments

Max Steinberg, Chief Executive, Liverpool Vision

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool