Equality Impact Assessment - Communication Strategy

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Function being assessed:

Communication Strategy

Is this a new function or a review of an existing function?

Review of existing function

What are the aims/purpose of the function?

To improve the way the Council communicates with it’s residents.

Is the function designed to meet specific needs such as the needs of minority ethnic groups, older people, disabled people etc?

It is designed to meet the needs of the whole community but needs to particularly ensure that the information we provide is accessible to the whole community.  The Style Guide recommends that all publications should be written in Plain English, be clearly legible for their audiences and use the recommended typeface, Arial, at no less than 11pt. For specific audiences who may have visual impairments, the recommended minimum size is 14pt.

It states that all Council publications should be accessible for minority audiences, eg people with visual impairments or people whose first language is not English. As a minimum standard, all publications should carry the following line clearly and prominently (eg near contact details or inside front cover):

If you have difficulty reading this document because of a disability or because English is not your first language, we can help you. Please call our Contact Centre on 020 8547 5000 or ask someone to call on your behalf

Kingston Council has an in-house interpreting and translation service, Kingston Interpreting Service (KIS).  The service now has 219 interpreters covering 54 languages.

What information has been gathered on this function? (Indicate the type of information gathered e.g. statistics, consultation, other monitoring information)? Attach a summary or refer to where the evidence can be found.

The Council’s website is highly accessible and was judged to be in the ‘Top Twenty’ local authority websites with regard to accessibility by Socitm.

Does your analysis of the information show different outcomes for different groups (higher or lower uptake/failure to access/receive a poorer or inferior service)? If yes, indicate which groups and which aspects of the policy or function contribute to inequality?

No

Are these differences justified (e.g. are there legislative or other constraints)? If they are, explain in what way.

What action needs to be taken as a result of this Equality Impact Assessment to address any detrimental impacts or meet previously unidentified need? Include here any reasonable adjustments for access by disabled people. Include dates by which action will be taken. Attach an action plan if necessary.

Ensure that standards are maintained across the  Council.  A corporate working Group on communications is planned to be set up later this year.

When will you evaluate the impact of action taken? Give review dates.

Review in a year.

Assessment completed by:

Marie Gadsden with Chief Executive’s Equalities group

10 July 2007