Newcastle City Council is the best council for LGBT employees to work for, according to the latest results of Stonewall’s annual review.

The Top 100 LGBT-inclusive employers list placed Newcastle ninth in the list, up from 38 in 2017.

This year nine councils were listed in the review, up from eight local authorities in 2017. For the first time, the review also marked employers specifically on trans inclusivity.

Leader of Newcastle City Council, cllr Nick Forbes, said: ‘I am absolutely delighted with our place in this year’s Stonewall Index. This is our highest position to date and we are honoured to be ranked as one of the top 10 most LGBT friendly organisations in the country.

‘We have clearly demonstrated that equality is at the heart of our values and I am so proud of our staff who have worked tirelessly to make a real difference to people’s lives. We will be doing our best to improve our ranking even further in the future.’

Leeds City Council are this this year’s highest performing new entry, entering the Top 100 at 50.

Nottinghamshire County Council also performed well, jumping up the rankings from 51 last year, to 22 this year.