A REPORT into Bradford Council’s proposed new flag policy acknowledges that it “could be said not to advance equality.”
But it argues that it would also prevent people from being triggered by flags representing Pride or other countries.
On Thursday, the Council’s Reform-led Executive will decide whether to go ahead with a new flag policy that was narrowly supported at a meeting of the Council this Summer.
Proposed by the Conservatives and supported by Reform, a motion that went to full Council called for a shake up of what flags are flown from Council run buildings and flagpoles.
A report going to the Executive provides an approved list of flags that can be flown from Bradford City Hall, flagpoles in Centenary Square, as well as on Bingley Town Hall, Ilkley Town Hall, Keighley Town Hall and Shipley Town Hall.
The original motion voted on by the Council included a caveat that additional flags could be flown following a vote from the full Council.
But the new report says it will now be down the Council leader to decide whether to approve any exceptions.
It says: “Given that there are usually only seven (full) Council meetings a year with sometimes a gap of three months between meetings, this is not considered practical – flag requests are often made at short notice.
“Instead it is proposed that the Director of Legal and Governance will consult Group Leaders and the Chief Executive and the results of that consultation are taken into account in a decision taken by the Leader of Council.”
The full list of flags included in the new flag protocol are flags to mark
- Commonwealth Day
- VE Day
- Bradford City Fire Commemoration
- Waterloo
- Armed Forces (during Armed Forces week)
- Yorkshire Day
- VJ Day
- Merchant Navy Day
- Emergency Services Day
- Battle of Britain Day
- Battle of Trafalgar
- Remembrance Sunday (and 11 days of Remembrance)
- Other UK Government Nationally recognised civic commemorations
- United Kingdon constituent countries Saints days.
Like most major Council decisions, an Equality Impact Assessment has been drawn up to make sure the decision would not cause harm to any particular group.
(Image: T&A)
The assessment will be presented to the Executive, and says: “
Flying flags which represent the interests of those with particular protected characteristics is a symbolic recognition of and support for those with those protected characteristics.
“Removing the automatic right to fly some of those flags, e.g. the Pride flag, could be said not to advance equality of opportunity.
“However the proposed new flag protocol does not prohibit these flags, only that they must engender sufficient political support to be added to the list.
“To that extent it is neutral.
“The present approved list of flags, particularly where there is existing conflict, may inflame tensions between communities, including between communities with protected characteristics and between communities with protected characteristics and those without, which might be said not to foster good relations.
“It follows that the reduction of flags might reduce that tension and this would foster good relations.
“Flags are symbolic and their flying can increase both public support for and public opposition to the causes they represent.
“Where the causes represented involve protected characteristics, choosing not to fly them can have positive and/or negative impacts.”
The assessment says the Council has liaised with the Hate Crime Alliance over the plans, but no details of the results of that conversation have been included in the report.
The new flag policy has been criticised by other parties, including Bradford’s Green group.
Councillor Matt Edwards, leader of the Green Party group on Bradford Council, said: “Bradford has real problems to fix.
“Bins are being missed, roads are full of potholes and children’s services still need to improve. That is what the Executive should be spending its time on. Instead, the new Reform leadership wants to talk about flags.
“Nobody has a problem with the Union Flag flying on City Hall. Bradford Council’s current flag policy was built up over many years, following requests from the many different communities that make up our district, and it worked.
“But Reform and the Tories have teamed up to divide our communities. Changing the flag policy was a Tory demand, and Reform have been quick to pick it up.”