Equality Impact Assessments
The purpose of an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is to improve the work of the Council by making sure it does not discriminate and that, where possible, promotes equality.
It is a way to ensure individuals and teams think carefully about the likely impact of their work on people in the Borough and take action to improve strategies, policies and projects, where appropriate.
Whilst local authorities have a legal duty to carry out EIAs in the areas of race, disability and gender, the Council believes this principle should be extended to the other equality areas of age, religion or belief and sexual orientation.
EIAs involve anticipating the consequences of policies and projects and whether or not there is a potential for affecting different groups in different ways. As part of its equality duties, the Council must:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination
- Promote equal opportunities and
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Promote good relations between people from different groups.
By using the Equalities Impact Assessment process the Council is able to develop policies to ensure equality of opportunity for all, in both service delivery and employment and training.
The Council has recently adopted a new corporate approach and template to EIAs. This process requires all existing and planned policies, strategies and functions to be initially screened for their potential to discriminate against any group.
In some instances, a policy, strategy or function may warrant a Full Assessment if s the potential to have a negative impact on any group has been identified or if more information is needed to assess any possible negative impact.
All assessments are reviewed by the Council’s Equality and Diversity Steering Group.
Below is the link to the Equality Impact Screening Assessments completed so far:
Completed Equality Impact Assessments
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