Leeds City Council has zero tolerance to all forms of discrimination.
In September 2025 Leeds City Council adopted a new vision and action plan for equality, diversity and inclusion.
What is equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)?
Equality
Of opportunity. Our obligation to eliminate unlawful discrimination and prejudice.
Diversity
Understanding, respecting, valuing and embracing difference and applying this to our employment and service delivery.
Inclusion
The work we do to achieve equality whilst respecting diversity. Including everyone so that they can make a positive and active contribution to life in the city.
Our city vision
We want Leeds to be a city that is fair and just, that recognises and embraces people's different needs, situations and ambitions. The barriers that limit what people can do will be removed, and everyone will be enabled to be their best. For this to happen, we all need to take responsibility for our actions and behaviours and contribute positively to change. We recognise that equality, diversity and inclusion is something that the council has legal responsibilities around, however we want to lead on this agenda because it's the right thing to do. Delivery of a successful programme around equality, diversity and inclusion is essential to support our best city ambitions.
Team Leeds is everyone coming together to play a part - people who live here, who work here, the council, its services and all partners.
It's everyone's business.
Moving up a gear
Our Equality Improvement Priorities 2025 to 2029 set out the high level actions to be taken to embed equality and diversity, and the specific actions taken to remove barriers that prevent people from fully participating in the social, cultural, political and economic life of the city.
However, there has been a notable societal shift with the events over the past few years, not least the impact of international affairs, the increasing awareness of violence against women and girls and the inequalities exacerbated and exposed by the cost of living crisis. This has raised expectations, with strong calls for bigger and faster change. We see this shift as a positive opportunity, and we are keen to step up a gear.
As an important next step, we have set out in an action plan accompanying this vision 3 areas for action covering the council’s role as:
- an employer driving the workforce agenda based on the council’s values
- a service deliverer/provider, including commissioning and contracting, based on the council’s values
- a partner in supporting communities to thrive, based on the Best City Team Leeds approach
By building on the good work we already do and using the insight from a broad range of stakeholders, we aim to target our actions and resources in the right areas. The views of Leeds communities, local people, our partners, council teams and employees are crucially important to success. These views have shaped this new delivery plan, and will continue to do so in the future, with our Equality Assembly, Equality Hubs and Staff Networks playing a key role alongside the many valuable and varied engagement channels that we have in Leeds.
We will keep the action plan under regular review and make sure it stays relevant to the changing times we live in. We will reflect progress against it every year via our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report. By working together, we can change and adjust our approach as needed.
More details around each of the 3 actions are found in the accompanying action plan. We set out priorities and activities, as well as governance, accountabilities, responsibilities and reporting.
Leeds Ambitions
Our Leeds Ambitions are our vision for the future of Leeds.
At their heart is our mission to tackle poverty and inequality and improve quality of life for everyone who calls Leeds home. Our shared goals are described through our 4 Ambitions:
- Healthy: Health and wellbeing
- Growing: Inclusive growth
- Thriving: Strong communities
- Resilient: Sustainable cities
In 2030, Leeds will:
- be a healthy and caring city for everyone: where together we create the conditions for healthier lives so people who are the poorest improve their health the fastest, and everyone is supported to thrive from early years to later life
- be a place where we reduce poverty and inequality by creating growth in our economy that works for all, where everyone gets a great education, businesses find the talent they need to start, innovate and grow, investment increases and together we deliver an inclusive, healthier and more sustainable future
- be a welcoming, safe and clean city where people have the power to make the changes that are important to them, with cohesive and united neighbourhoods where people are living healthier lives and enjoying the city’s vibrant social, cultural and sporting offer
- be the UK’s first net zero and nature positive city, rapidly reducing carbon emissions and restoring nature, supporting people and businesses to make increasingly sustainable choices that improve their standard of living and create a regenerative thriving city
Working together as Team Leeds
The 4 Ambitions outline the Team Leeds approach which will help us to achieve our shared goals and ensure everyone can play their part.
This includes a focus on fostering mutual respect and understanding, building community capacity, tackling systemic inequalities and being optimistic about our future.
