Equality and Diversity - Equality Impact Assessments

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham understands the need to address institutional discrimination and promote equality in all aspects of our activities.   At the same time we recognise that different services and functions will have different degrees of relevance to the promotion of equality, that this relevance will differ from social group to social group, and that for any given group it is likely to alter over time.   A detailed understanding of these different levels of relevance of Council services and functions to different social groups is crucial to all equality action planning.

We also believe that an understanding of how different groups view the impact of particular services on their own situations should form the basis of our efforts to set priorities in service development, and that this understanding can only be achieved through the involvement of our customers in making judgements about impact and resulting service priorities.  

To guide our priority setting in service delivery and employment we will review all of our policies and practices to assess their relevance to different social groups and to the General Duty to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good race relations.

The results of these Equality Impact Assessments will also form the basis of our arrangements for assessing the likely impact of proposed policy changes on equality issues in general and the promotion of equality in particular.   It will also guide our success in achieving levels 3, 4 and 5 of the Equality Standard for Local Government.

What is our commitment?

We commit ourselves to:

• Reviewing our services on a three-yearly cycle to assess their relevance to, at minimum, the promotion of equality in relation to disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, age and religious belief; and
   
• Using this information in setting priorities for service development via Departmental Performance Plans and service/business plans, in identifying appropriate subjects for our impact assessment processes and in identifying the Council services which are to be reviewed under the Equality Standard for Local Government.                   

Principles of Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs)

The EQIA process
All departments are required to conduct EQIAs for all of their services on a three-yearly cycle.   This cycle commenced in 2002 but achieved its final outcomes in 2005, so that the next target year for Review will be 2008.   These EQIAs should, where possible, assess the impact of individual services on all the Council’s priority social issues: race, gender, disability, age, religious belief and sexuality.  

The basis of EQIAs
All assessment processes require a degree of subjectivity and judgement, but the basis of the assessment will be objective evidence gathered via activities such as monitoring, consultation, analysis of the 2001 Census and other kinds of research, which might include survey work, comparisons with other authorities or the use of published information from academic and other sources.  

Consultation and validation
Independently of any consultation undertaken in the course of the EQIA, all results will be validated by consultation with members of the client groups most affected, both internally through staff consultation exercises, departmental equalities groups, corporate equalities groups, and externally through existing strategic consultation groups.

Initial and Full EQIAs
The assessments take place in two phases.   The initial EQIA will look at all Council services and assess their relevance to the promotion of equality for all the Council’s priority fairness groups and issues by assigning them to one of three priority bands : high, medium or low.

All services assessed as being of medium or high importance to the promotion of equality must then proceed to the second phase of full EQIAs.   Full EQIAs require these services to look in detail at all of their functions and the operational policies which guide them and assess each individually for relevance to equality.

Using the results of EQIAs
The results of the EQIAs will be used in the first instance in three main areas:

• Service action planning:   All services assessed as being of medium or high relevance should reflect that appropriately and proportionately in their service/business plans and departmental performance plans.
  
• Council Decisions:   From May 2006,  Services assessed as medium and high will need to carry out an assessment of any changes in service delivery or policy that require elected member approval.
  
• The Equality Standard for Local:  The results of EQIAs will inform the departmental and corporate Equality Standard assessments by ensuring that resources are targeted on those services which have the greatest relevance overall to equality issues.                   

New function
New or unreviewed functions will be assumed to be of high potential impact until there is adequate evidence to place them within the existing priority ordering.