West Berkshire Council Equity Impact Assessment

This page contains our guidance notes for the equity impact assessment - this accompanies the Icon for doc equity impact assessment template [28KB] .

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to offer the background context, legislative framework and guidance on completion of the Equity Impact Assessment (EIA) template.

This note explains why completing an EIA is necessary and what needs to be considered in assessing impacts. It is worth remembering that 'impact' can be very broad and can be positive or negative. The note gives some practical advice on completing the template.

It is advised that the completion of an EIA is considered at the earliest stage of developing a policy, project or programme. This is so that evidence gathering can be integrated into project planning and ensure that there is a robust evidence base for decision making. We also suggest periodic review and amendment to ensure that the assessment remains comprehensive, up-to-date and reflects changes as they occur.

Background: legislation and policy

Equality Act (2010) and the Public Sector Equality Duty

As part of the development of policies, service delivery and planned service change, West Berkshire Council has a legal duty to have due regard of the impacts of policy and service changes on certain groups within our community. This is known as the Public Sector Equality Duty, and is contained within the Equality Act (2010). The Act provides groups with identified 'protected characteristics' with protection from less favourable treatment. Groups that share the nine protected characteristics are:

age
disability
gender reassignment
pregnancy and maternity
race - this includes ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality
religion or belief - this includes lack of belief
sex
sexual orientation
marriage and civil partnership

Section 149 of the Equality Act places a duty on councils to give due regard to three needs in exercising its functions. The three needs are:

eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act
advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic, and those who do not

Complying with section 149 may involve treating some people more favourably than others, but only to the extent that that does not amount to conduct which is otherwise unlawful under the Act. The need to advance equality of opportunity involves having due regard to the need to:

remove or minimise disadvantages which are connected to a relevant protected characteristic and which are suffered by people who share that characteristic
take steps to meet the needs of people who share a relevant protected characteristic and which are different from the needs other people
encourage those who share a relevant characteristic to take part in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such people is disproportionately low
take steps to meet the needs of disabled people, which are different from the needs of people who are not disabled, and include steps to take account of a person's disabilities

The need to develop good relations between different groups involves having due regard to the need to tackle prejudice and promote understanding.

Armed Forces Act (2021)

The Armed Forces Act (2021) further enshrines the Armed Forces Covenant into law to help prevent service personnel and veterans being disadvantaged when accessing public services. The Act introduces a duty to have "due regard" to the following principles of the Armed Forces Covenant:

the unique obligations of, and sacrifices made by, the armed forces
the principle that it is desirable to remove disadvantages arising for service people from membership, or former membership, of the armed forces
the principle that special provision for service people may be justified by the effects on such people of membership, or former membership, of the armed forces

This means there is a need to assess the impact of council decisions and activities on the Armed Forces community to help prevent service personnel, reservists, veterans and their families being disadvantaged when accessing essential services; specifically around healthcare, education and housing.

Independent Review of Children's Social Care (2022)

An Independent Review of Children's Social Care was published on 23rd May 2022. The review found that care experienced people frequently experience discrimination even from a very young age, which can be similar in nature to other groups that have a legally protected characteristic under the Equality Act (2010). The report therefore recommended that "care experience" become a protected characteristic under the Equalities Act. Although the government is yet to respond to this recommendation, the West Berkshire Council EIA approach recognises the council's 'Corporate Parenting' responsibility.

The council's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Framework

'Equality' may be a familiar term to most; it essentially means providing the same to all. As the equality agenda has evolved, other terms have been used too, including diversity and inclusion. The term 'equity' has emerged as one which more accurately reflects the sentiment of creating fairness and justice. Equity recognises that we do not all start from the same place and adjustments are needed to address imbalances. The council's approach is therefore called an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Framework; it sets out a vision, principles and objectives for the council's approach on EDI to respond to the Public Sector Equality Duty. This Framework is a key strategic document for EIA's in West Berkshire.

Additional considerations: community

In addition to the above protected characteristics, West Berkshire Council has made a commitment in its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Framework to consider impacts of policy and service development and service change on groups within the community which could be disadvantaged because of their unique circumstance. This includes consideration of:

a) rural communities
b) areas of deprivation
c) displaced communities
d) care experienced people
e) the armed forces community

When to complete an EIA

We need to be sure that when we make decisions that affect our community or our employees, we have considered the impact that the decision will have on different groups of people. The kinds of decisions we make, may be in relation to the following (this is not an exhaustive list):

introducing or changing a policy or strategy
introducing a new service
altering or closing one of our services, for example due to funding reduction
arranging an event
deciding how public money will be spent
altering people's work arrangements

An EIA needs to be completed where a decision is being made to evidence how the decision is considerate of the council's duties. Equity implications must be considered as part of any Committee Report to any of the council's decision making bodies - Corporate Board, Operations Board, Executive and Individual Executive Member Decisions. Papers presented to any of these decision-making bodies should include all of the information supporting the EIA, and the recommendations being put forward should incorporate the findings. The decision-making body should be confident that the decision they are being asked to make supports our responsibilities under equalities legislation.

Completing the template

The Equity Impact Assessment template is in the following sections:

1. Summary details

This provides the reader with basic information about what the impact assessment relates to and who has completed and authorised its conduct. It is similar to an executive summary and is likely to be the last section to be completed, as it is informed by the remainder of the impact assessment. The detail in this section is high-level.

2. Details of the proposal

The details of the proposal section gives details of the proposed policy, development or service change. It outlines the evidence base for the assessment and options previously rejected. It is important to highlight in this section which data, information, feedback and views have been gathered to inform the assessment undertaken in section 3; this section demonstrates the evidence for the judgements made.

It is important to capture all evidence relied upon in arriving at a decision, together with additional factors taken into account when arriving at your final decision. Work should be factored when developing proposals to use data, evidence and views of those impacted to understand the impact and therefore confidently assess. Options previously rejected in the development of the proposal should be highlighted here.

3. Impact assessment

This section asks for an assessment of the proposal against specific groups in the community and impacts on stakeholders. Where 'no impact' is identified, it is not necessary to complete the rest of that row.

When you identify a potential impact on a community or group, please provide the detail of that impact, using evidence (for example: from data or consultation) where possible to support your judgements. You should then highlight specific risks and any mitigating actions you will take to either lessen any negative impacts, or to address any gaps in understanding you have identified. All aspects should be considered, evidenced, and an answer given against each row within the assessment tables.

Where it is identified that additional data, evidence or engagement is needed to fully inform the impact assessment and subsequent decision-making process; a provisional assessment may be undertaken with a view to completing a fuller assessment. Reviews (see section 4) can then contribute to a fuller assessment within a reasonable time frame; the scale of the additional information required should be proportionate to the proposed change. As additional information and evidence is obtained, the provisional assessment can be further refined until a final assessment is complete.

It is important that the officer leading on the assessment follows up to make sure the actions are completed and updates the assessment as appropriate. Any significant risks identified should also be added to the appropriate service or directorate risk register, to ensure they are appropriately managed and reviewed.

Completing section 3 (the impact assessment), will result in the following indications of the level of impact:

a) there are no negative impacts identified with the proposed change
b) adaptation or mitigation is needed to eliminate bias, disadvantage or negative impacts - review (section 4) is an important feature in this instance
c) there are significant adverse impacts associated with the proposal; without significant adjustments there is unlikely to be a proportionate way to proceed - review (section 4 below) is an essential feature in this instance

4. Review details

This section gives details of the agreed timeline and responsibility for reviewing impacts. It is important to commit to a review of the Equity Impact Assessment and specifically the identified impacts and mitigating actions.

Try to be as specific as possible about when the assessment will be reviewed and updated, linking to key dates (for example: when consultation outcomes will be available, before a decision, at a key milestone in implementation).