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Background information on equality impact assessments
Background information on equality impact assessments
Information about Equality Impact Assessments
Contents:
1 What is an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)?
3 Who is responsible for EQIA?
4. Stage one: Screening for Relevance
5. Stage Two: Carrying out a full EQIA
1. What is an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)?
An EQIA is a means of refocusing services or employment practices on the needs of diverse communities or diverse groups of staff.
An EIA is a process of analysing a proposed or existing service, strategy, policy, or project. The aim is to identify any effect or likely effect on different groups within the community. EQIAs remain the responsibility of the Council whether functions are provided in house or contracted out.
Equality Impact Assessments are concerned with anticipating and identifying the discriminatory or negative consequences for a particular group or sector of the community on the grounds of race, disability, gender, age, religion and belief, and sexual orientation. Information gathered may show that there is over or under-representation by certain groups. Either way this would need to be looked into unless the service is targeted to a specific group. The outcome of an EQIA is to make sure that, as far as possible, any negative consequences are eliminated or minimised and opportunities for promoting equality are maximised.
2. Why ‘impact assess’?
Undertaking EQIA is a requirement of the Equality Standard for Local Government and a Best Value Indicator. Success is measured through the inspection process.
Public bodies (including Local Authorities) also have a legal responsibility to assess their policies and functions, and to set out how they will monitor any possible negative impact on race, disability and gender equality. They also have to consult on proposed policies and train their staff in these duties. The public duty requires that the following issues are addressed:
- Is the strategy/policy/service discriminatory?
- Does it promote equal opportunities (proactively advertise and encourage participation by all)?
- Does it help promote good relations between different communities?
For disability three more issues need consideration under the public duty:
- Can measures be included to eliminated harassment?
- Can steps be taken to encourage participation in public life?
- And do any adjustments need to be made to enable disabled people to have access to the service?
Undertaking EQIAs will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Council by ensuring that service user’s needs are met and staff are representative of the community.
Equality Impact Assessments also link in to Council Policy Objective 15, in which the Council commits itself to celebrate diversity and to practice equality in everything it does, in providing or commissioning services and as an employer.
Other reasons
- It increases user/public/staff trust
- It enhances value for money
- It informs business plans
- It increases social inclusion
- It promotes understanding and sensitivity
- It has a user focus (CPA requirement)
- It promotes good practice to external organisations
3. Who is responsible for EQIA?
Divisional Heads are responsible for ensuring EQIAs are done. Policy holders are responsible for undertaking EQIAs in their area of responsibility.
Final responsibility rests with the Leader, the Chief Executive and directors.
Directorate Management Teams (DMT) agree a programme of EQIAs as part of their business planning process
- Strategy and performance management group will integrate EQIAs into the performance review plan and business planning process
There are two stages to an EQIA:
- Screening strategies, policies, services or projects to see if they are likely to have a detrimental impact in terms of race, gender or disability
- A full impact assessment should be undertaken if the screening shows that there could be significant detrimental impact.
4. Stage one: Screening for Relevance
Before carrying out a full EQIA, all strategies and policies are screened for relevance as some will have no relevance to race, gender, disability, age, religion and belief, or sexual orientation.
- Policies and projects that each Directorate Management Team identify as part of the business planning process each year as likely to require an EQIA. These are policies and projects that are of relevance to the Borough’s duty to promote race and disability equality.
- Policies, services and projects that are in their initial planning stages or undergoing a revision
Once the Initial Screening Form has been completed, a full EQIA is undertaken if:
- Any equality target group or sub-section of an equality target group would be negatively affected, and
- That impact is assessed as of medium or high significance.
A strategy, service or policy could have a positive or neutral impact in terms of race, gender, disability, age, religion and belief or sexual orientation. In such cases a full EQIA is not necessary.
5. Stage Two: Carrying out a full EQIA
A full EQIA involves three stages:
- Gathering information
- Analysing information gathered
- Deciding whether the service or policy need to be changed in the light of the evidence gathered.
Information gathering can be done through monitoring, consultation or research.
Information can be:
- ‘Quantitative’ (statistical) such as the number of users of a service (or staff number if the EQIA is about employment) by gender, ethnic group, disability etc. This information can then be measured against known data such as the census information. The Council already uses performance indicators to measure service improvements. This is the same process.
- ‘Qualitative’. This is information that captures people’s experiences of the service or employment practice. It is usually gathered through consultation.
Much information already exists within the Council and more can be obtained from other similar authorities or other bodies (government departments, the Audit Commission, local government associations). Complaints, Employment Tribunal cases, other litigation, best value reviews, inspection reports etc can also be used.
Some questions can be difficult to answer, for example in areas where there is little or no information. In cases where no monitoring information is available, consultative methods can be used. The lack of data is not a reason to halt the process but action is planned to acquire that information in the future so that a proper review can take place.
What is relevant when assessing ‘impact’?
The degree of relevance or adverse impact is decided upon by comparing monitoring information and data about Kingston’s population (for example: census data, labour force survey or London wide data) and by considering prior research, good practice guidance and consultations information.
The following considerations are included in the decision:
- The specific relevance on the equality target groups
- Where a policy disadvantages, one or some of our equality target groups.
- Whether the negative impact on people’s lives is significant and extensive
- Whether issues around harassment can be addressed
- Whether issues around public participation can be addressed
Once the EQIA is complete, if there is a negative impact, a decision is made on what action should be taken to change or mitigate the strategy, policy or service. This can be about plugging gaps in information as well as any changes that need to be made to ensure that it has no detrimental effect on any group of people. For disability this should include any reasonable adjustments which can be made to enable access for all. This section should also indicate when reviews of the policy or service will take place.
6. Publishing Information
It is a legal duty to publish the result of full EQIAs.
7. Partnership Projects
The statutory requirements to assess the impact of policies and functions on race equality apply to partnerships and contractual relationships and the procurement of services.
The EQIA procedures apply to all policies, services and projects where the Council is the lead agency in a multi-agency project or group project. The Council is the lead agency if the project or policy was initiated by the Council, even if the Council is not the operational lead.
On joint projects and initiatives where the Council is not the lead organisation, the Council officer should raise the issue of the need to carry out an EQIA to comply with the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and the the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006