Aberdeen leading on gay equality, says survey
10 Feb 06
Council is the only Scottish local authority with specific policy statement
A new survey has revealed that Aberdeen City Council is the only local authority in Scotland to have a specific statement on its equality policy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people.
Other councils do not explicitly refer to these groups, according to a report to the Scottish Executive. A common response was that because the principle of equal treatment is applied to everyone, no separate statement is necessary. However, most gay people canvassed for their opinion claimed the omission was because councils had not given enough thought as to how to address their needs.
The report has recommended that a question about sexual orientation be included in the next census in 2011.
Aberdeen City Council was the first Scottish local authority to develop a separate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual plan in 2001, covering issues such as education, community safety, health and support for members of the LGBT community and their families.
The survey reports that in Scotland as a whole, councils lack basic information about LGBT people in the community, who tend to keep a low profile.