Our fairness agenda

Preston means putting fairness at the heart of the city

As a city we value people as individuals and everyone has a stake in our community.

Preston is a city where people and communities get on with each other and is known as 'Proud Preston'.

As a council we aim to foster this sense of community and pride. In fact we aim to go further and bring about a fairer society for all.

Fairness is ...

It means treating everyone properly and fairly, giving everyone access to the income, goods and services they need and encouraging them to take advantage of those opportunities to improve their wellbeing and have a better future for themselves and their families.

Fairness in equality of opportunity should lead to a higher equality of outcome for all.

Our Fairness Principles

Preston is a city where working together we can be a fairer city; a more prosperous city for all our people. A city:

• which has fairness at the heart of its decision making
• with an economy which supports prosperity and promotes fairness in working practices
• where everyone has access to affordable energy and decent, affordable living which suits their needs

Fairness Charter

We have adopted a Fairness Charter which sets out how we intent to work to our Fairness Principles.

How to get involved

We are encouraging employers across Preston to become Living Wage employers and raise their own rates of pay to at least £9.00 per hour, and the new rate of £9.30 by 1 May 2020. 

Apply for recognition as a Living Wage employer

The Social Forum is an opportunity for people with an interest in the city to get together and discuss and influence issues around equality and fairness in Preston .

Register your interest in the Social Forum

Invest in Preston

Join us in investing in Preston by...

• Creating training and employment opportunities particularly those facing the greatest challenges 
• Keeping value and wealth in the Preston economy by sourcing your goods and services in the area where possible 
• Adopting the best possible working practices and conditions making a commitment to the living wage, trade union recognition and avoiding the use of zero hours contracts

Find out more

We have achieved a great deal in bringing about fairness in Preston but we know we've still a long way to go. See our progress document and case studies in the document section.

You might also be interested in this recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation report which examines the effects of austerity measures on local government and communities. It argues that the cuts to local authority budgets are having a deep effect on the services people receive, with the poorest communities being hardest hit.