City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		Children’s Services
Service Area:		Youth Justice Service
Name of the proposal :		Youth Justice Plan
Lead officer:
Date assessment completed:		18/07/2024
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise
Sara Orton	YJS Manager		Youth Justice Service	Youth Justice
Nigel Pepper	YJS Practice Manager		Youth Justice Service	Youth Justice

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.
	York Youth Justice Service are required to submit a youth justice plan annually to the Youth Justice Board. This plan requires sign off and agreement, initially from the Youth Justice Service management board, and the wider authority

1.2	Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)
	The plan is created from Youth Justice Board guidance and a requirement of grant funding

1.3	Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?
	Local authority – receive funding for services Youth Justice Board – provide funding Service users – transparency in services

1.4

What results/outcomes do we want to achieve and for whom?  This section should explain what outcomes you want to achieve for service users, staff and/or the wider community. Demonstrate how the proposal links to the Council Plan (2019- 2023) and other corporate strategies and plans.

The plan is a requirement of funding which contributes to ensuring the City of York has a Youth Justice Service to work with young people aged 10-18 years who are offending or at risk of becoming involved in criminal justice services. This includes both statutory and voluntary interventions. The plan outlines the work completed by the service in the previous year, also the plans for the following year. This enables transparency in the service as it is made accessible to all through the Youth Justice Board publication. The proposal links directly to the Council Plan and wider strategies and plans, all of which are referenced within the Youth Justice Plan.

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? Please consider a range of sources, including: consultation exercises, surveys, feedback from staff, stakeholders, participants, research reports, the views of equality groups, as well your own experience of working in this area etc.
Source of data/supporting evidence		Reason for using
Consultation with the YJS management board		The Youth Justice Service are responsible to the management board, which is multi-agency and oversees the service
Consultation with YJS staff		All YJS staff make a contribution to the plan, ensuring that all areas of expertise are covered
Feedback from consultations		A draft version of the plan is presented to the YJS management board and all staff members to ensure validity and make any proposed amendments

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 immediate recognised gaps in understanding or information. The service has been creating this type of plan since the year 2000, as this has been a requirement since Youth Justice Services were created

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		The YJS is age specific, between 10-18 years as set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998	0	L
Disability		The YJS can facilitate interventions for those with disability and our building is purpose built to accommodate	+	L
Gender		The YJS works with all genders and has both male and female specific interventions and spaces available	+	L
Gender Reassignment		The YJS works with all young people, regardless of gender or reassignment	+	L
Marriage and civil partnership		N/A
Pregnancy and maternity		The service can facilitate work with young people that are pregnant	+	L
Race		The service can work with young people of any race and have access to translation services where required	+	L
Religion and belief		The service can work with young people of any religion	+	L
Sexual orientation		The service can work with young people of any sexual orientation	+	L
Other Socio-economic groups including :		Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes?
Carer		Young carers and carers of children are included within the Youth Justice Service	+	L
Low income groups		Low income groups are included within the Youth Justice Service client group	+	L
Veterans, Armed Forces Community		Children of the armed forces community and veterans are included in the Youth Justice Service	+	L
Other
Impact on human rights:
List any human rights impacted.		None

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 across services, 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 immediate concerns around unlawful prohibited conduct or unwanted adverse impact. The plan provides positive impacts. The Youth Justice Board govern the content that the plan should address and over recent years this has focused on equality, enabling youth justice services to showcase their improvements

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 to the proposal		This EIA as provided the opportunity to reflect on the plan and establish that there is no recognised potential for unlawful discrimination or adverse impact

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

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 EIA will be monitored annually as the Youth Justice plan is updated on an annual basis