Equality Impact Initial Screening Template

If you are unsure whether an EQIA is required, you can complete an Equality Impact Initial Screening Template, which can be found here to decide. 

It is important to consider whether:

• The service, policy, strategy, practice or plan is likely to be relevant to anyone because of their protected characteristics.
• How it will impact on the employment and/or service provided to anyone with a protected characteristic/s.
• How many people is it likely to affect?
• How significant are its impacts?
• Does it relate to an area where there are known inequalities?
• How vulnerable are the people (potentially) affected?

An Equality Impact Initial Screening Template does not constitute as an EQIA, therefore won’t stand in a judicial review if challenged. It is recommended that an EQIA is completed unless there is little or no relevance to equalities. If you decide not to complete an EQIA it is important to record your reasons for this on the Equality Impact Initial Screening Template.

Please note: It is important that you are clear and write in a way that could be understood by someone without a detailed knowledge of the area of work. Please use plain English, free from jargon and any acronyms written in full first time, e.g. Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA).

If an EQIA is required, the information in the rest of this document will help you to carry one out.

Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)

Proportionality

EQIA’s should be proportionate to the situation, considering for example:

• The size of the service or scope of the policy or practice.
• The resources involved.
• The numbers of people and stakeholders affected.
• The scope of the likely impact.
• The vulnerability of the people affected.

The greater the potential adverse impact of the proposed service, policy, strategy, practice, or plan on a protected group (e.g. disabled people), and/or the more vulnerable the group in the context being considered, the more thorough and demanding the process of an Equality Impact Assessment required by the Act will be.

Scoping and Defining (Questions 1-6)

This section should explain what the background and context of the service, policy, strategy, practice or plan you are assessing is.

Information Gathering (Question 7-10)

What type and range of evidence or information do you need to use to help you make a judgement about the impact? It is important to make sure you have enough data to inform your EQIA:

• What relevant data is available to the impact on protected groups? If none, it is recommended as good practice to gain some.
• Information may be taken from many sources, for example, stakeholders, customers, equality profile information, workforce profile data, local and national statistics, complaints, user feedback, demographic information including from the 2021 Census Data.
• What further evidence is needed, and how can you get it (e.g. further research or engagement needed with affected groups)?
• What do you already know about needs, access and outcomes? It is helpful here to focus on each protected characteristic in turn and ask e.g. who uses the service, who doesn’t and why? Are there differences in participation rates or outcomes for some groups, and why?
• Has there been a key demographic change or trend locally? What might that mean?
• Does data/monitoring show that any policies or practices might create particular problems or difficulties for any groups?
• Is the service having a positive or negative effect on particular people in the community, or particular groups or communities?

A lack of evidence should not prevent an EQIA from being undertaken. In cases where something is being introduced for the first time there may be little experience to draw on or other material evidence. In such cases, you should make a judgement that is as reliable as possible.

Engagement and Consultation (Questions 10-13)

As part of information gathering you must engage and consult appropriately with those likely to be affected to fulfil the Public Sector Equality Duty, this could be people from the public or employees, depending on whom the customers are. A clear corporate framework and consultation process is in place, which must be followed by anyone planning formal consultation or engagement activities.

Further information and advice about the guide to the corporate consultation process can be found on the WDC website.

The approach will depend on the circumstances, however, consider for example:

• What do people tell you about the services?
• Are there patterns or differences in what people from different groups tell you?
• What information or data will you need from customers/communities?
• How should people be consulted? Consider:
  • a) Consult when proposals are still at a formative stage.
  • b) Explain what is proposed and why, to allow intelligent consideration and response.
  • c) Allow enough time for consultation.
  • d) Make sure what people tell you is properly considered in the final decision.
  • e) Consult any groups for whom you have identified a potential negative impact.
• Try to consult in ways that ensure all perspectives can be considered.
• Identify any gaps in who has been consulted and identify a way/s to address this.

When you have completed your EQIA, and it has been signed off, it is advisable to save details of information used and consultation undertaken locally alongside your proposal or project documentation. This information will be useful if you are asked how you considered equality and diversity when developing your proposal, and in the event of any challenge.

Monitor and Evaluate (Question 14)

It is essential that EQIA’s aren’t seen as a one-off or separate exercise, it is important that they are monitored and reviewed as an ongoing document. Ensure you state how you will do this.

Analysis of impact and potential actions (Question 15)

The EQIA must get to grips fully and properly with actual and potential impacts, both negative and positive, and any barriers:

• The equality duty does not normally stop decisions or changes, but means we must conscientiously and deliberately acknowledge, and seek to plan for, the anticipated impacts on people.
• Be realistic: don’t exaggerate speculative risks and negative impacts.
• Be detailed and specific so decision-makers have a concrete sense of potential effects. Instead of, for example, “the policy is likely to disadvantage older men”, say how many or what percentage is likely to be affected, how, and to what extent.
• Questions to ask when assessing impacts depend on the context, for example:
  • Where, who, how, when, what is affected?
  • Are one or more protected groups affected differently and/or disadvantaged? How, and to what extent?
  • Is there evidence of higher/lower uptake among different groups? Which, and to what extent?
  • If there are likely to be different impacts on different groups, is that consistent with the overall objective?
  • If there is negative differential impact, how can you minimise that whilst taking into account your overall aims, for example, by amending your plan?
  • Could the effects amount to unlawful discrimination? If so, you may wish to take specialist advice to consider alternative ways of 11 achieving the proposal’s aims and objectives to ensure that the Council acts lawfully
  • Does the proposal advance equality of opportunity and/or foster good relations? If not, could it?
  • Are there any barriers to accessing the service? If yes, how can they be overcome?
• Consider all three aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty:
  • Where you have identified impacts, state what potential actions will be taken to remove, reduce or avoid any negative impacts and maximise any positive impacts or advance equality of opportunity.
  • Be specific and detailed and explain how far these actions are expected to improve negative impacts o If mitigating circumstances are contemplated, explain clearly what the measures are, and the extent to which they can be expected to reduce/remove the adverse effects identified.
  • An EQIA which has attempted to airbrush the facts is an EQIA that is vulnerable to challenge.

Outcomes of Assessment (Question 16)

• Summarise the actions identified from the EQIA and diarise what needs to be done by when and who is responsible.
• To ensure that you are meeting the ongoing equality duty under the Act to keep the impact of policies and practices under review, it is important you identify when the review is to happen.

Saving and Publishing Findings

The completed forms are important documents, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission may request to examine them in the event of any challenge.

Further Guidance and Advice

For further guidance and advice on the completion of EQIA, please contact Human Resource Team on 01926 456854 or email Daniel.Keating@Warwickdc.gov.uk

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s guidance on assessing equalities impact is available on their website.