Annex 1

City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		Customer and Communities
Service Area:		Customer & Exchequer Services
Name of the proposal :		Local Covid Support Grant Scheme
Lead officer:		David Walker
Date assessment completed:		12/07/21
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise
David Wright	Revenue & Benefits Subsidy Manager		CYC	Welfare Benefits
Debbie Plummer	Housing Benefit Manager		CYC	Housing Benefits
Susan Wood	Welfare Benefits and Strategic Partnership Manager		CYC	Welfare Benefits and Third Sector Partners

Step 1 – Aims and intended outcomes 

1.1	What is the purpose of the proposal? Please explain your proposal in Plain English avoiding acronyms and jargon.
	The proposal is to ensure that Government Grant for supporting financially vulnerable residents with food and utilities is full spent by the September 21 deadline as grant must be returned if any is remaining.

1.2	Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)
	. Yes this is Government funding for the specific purpose set out above

1.3	Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?
	They key stakeholders are residents who are suffering financial hardship arising from Covid -19, the Council, Central Government and Third sector support agencies

1.4	What results/outcomes do we want to achieve and for whom?  The purpose of the proposed scheme is to support financially vulnerable residents as quickly as possible and before the grant period ends.

Step 2 – Gathering the information and feedback 

2.1	What sources of data, evidence and consultation feedback do we have to help us understand the impact of the proposal on equality rights and human rights?
Source of data/supporting evidence		Reason for using
n/a		n/a

Step 3 – Gaps in data and knowledge

3.1	What are the main gaps in information and understanding of the impact of your proposal?  Please indicate how any gaps will be dealt with.
Gaps in data or knowledge		Action to deal with this
There are no gaps in the data or knowledge as the customers are known to the council as been potentially financially vulnerable.  This is from information we hold on Council Tax Support recipients and support provided to families from the outset of the covid pandemic.		The scheme remains open as the former schemes were to any resident experiencing financial difficulty.

Step 4 – Analysing the impacts or effects.

4.1	Please consider what the evidence tells you about the likely impact (positive or negative) on people sharing a protected characteristic, i.e. how significant could the impacts be if we did not make any adjustments? Remember the duty is also positive – so please identify where the proposal offers opportunities to promote equality and/or foster good relations.
Equality Groups and Human Rights.		Key Findings/Impacts	Positive (+) Negative (-) Neutral (0)	High (H) Medium (M) Low (L)
Age		n/a
Disability		n/a
Gender		n/a
Gender Reassignment		n/a
Marriage and civil partnership		n/a
Pregnancy and maternity		n/a
Race		n/a
Religion and belief		n/a
Sexual orientation		n/a
Other Socio-economic groups including :		Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes?
Carer
Low income groups		The aim is to provide support with food and utility bills for this group which could include any of the categories in this assessment	Positive	High
Veterans, Armed Forces Community
Other
Impact on human rights:
List any human rights impacted.		n/a

Use the following guidance to inform your responses:

Indicate:

- Where you think that the proposal could have a POSITIVE impact on any of the equality groups like promoting equality and equal opportunities or improving relations within equality groups

- Where you think that the proposal could have a NEGATIVE impact on any of the equality groups, i.e. it could disadvantage them

- Where you think that this proposal has a NEUTRAL effect on any of the equality groups listed below i.e. it has no effect currently on equality groups.

It is important to remember that a proposal may be highly relevant to one aspect of equality and not relevant to another.

High impact (The proposal or process is very equality relevant)	There is significant potential for or evidence of adverse impact The proposal is institution wide or public facing The proposal has consequences for or affects significant numbers of people The proposal has the potential to make a significant contribution to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights.
Medium impact (The proposal or process is somewhat equality relevant)	There is some evidence to suggest potential for or evidence of adverse impact The proposal is institution wide or cross-Unit, but mainly internal The proposal has consequences for or affects some people The proposal has the potential to make a contribution to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights
Low impact (The proposal or process might be equality relevant)	There is little evidence to suggest that the proposal could result in adverse impact The proposal operates in a limited way The proposal has consequences for or affects few people The proposal may have the potential to contribute to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights

Step 5 - Mitigating adverse impacts and maximising positive impacts

5.1

Based on your findings, explain ways you plan to mitigate any unlawful prohibited conduct or unwanted adverse impact. Where positive impacts have been identified, what is been done to optimise opportunities to advance equality or foster good relations?

There are no negative implications of the proposal as it provides funding to the city’s most financially vulnerable.  The scheme is a continuation of an existing scheme that has been in place since December 2020.  The scheme has been broadly promoted through communications and liaison with our third sector partners.  It will ensure that all low income residents will benefit depending on their circumstances and that the Government funding is spent befor it can be clawed back.

Step 6 – Recommendations and conclusions of the assessment

6.1	Having considered the potential or actual impacts you should be in a position to make an informed judgement on what should be done. In all cases, document your reasoning that justifies your decision. There are four main options you can take:
- No major change to the proposal – the EIA demonstrates the proposal is robust.  There is no                         potential  for unlawful discrimination or adverse impact and you have taken all opportunities to    advance equality and foster good relations, subject to continuing monitor and review.
- Adjust the proposal – the EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. This involves taking steps to remove any barriers, to better advance quality or to foster good relations. - Continue with the proposal (despite the potential for adverse impact) – you should clearly set out the justifications for doing this and how you believe the decision is compatible with our obligations under the duty - Stop and remove the proposal – if there are adverse effects that are not justified and cannot be mitigated, you should consider stopping the proposal altogether. If a proposal leads to unlawful discrimination it should be removed or changed. Important: If there are any adverse impacts you cannot mitigate, please provide a compelling reason in the justification column.
Option selected		Conclusions/justification
No major change		This is an extension to an existing scheme, the latest Government guidance allows for some latitude in terms of scheme design.  This proposal will ensure the most financially vulnerable in the city automatically get some financial support for food and utilities.  The core scheme remains open to all.  The full funding must be spent by the end of September or the money will be clawed back by central government.

Step 7 – Summary of agreed actions resulting from the assessment

7.1	What action, by whom, will be undertaken as a result of the impact assessment.
Impact/issue		Action to be taken	Person responsible	Timescale
N/A

Step 8 - Monitor, review and improve

8. 1	How will the impact of your proposal be monitored and improved upon going forward?   Consider how will you identify the impact of activities on protected characteristics and other marginalised groups going forward? How will any learning and enhancements be capitalised on and embedded?
	This is a one off change to the existing scheme that ends in September when Government funding is withdrawn.  The money has to be accounted for through Government return and progress is monitored each week and reported to Members along with the other Covid support schemes at the end of each month.