City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		City Development
Service Area:		Corporate Strategy
Name of the proposal :		York Prospectus – Good for Good Growth with Innovation, Culture and Heritage at our Heat: York’s Growth Ambitions
Lead officer:		Samuel Blyth
Date assessment completed:		13/10/25
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise
Samuel Blyth	Head of City Strategy and Corporate Programmes		City of York Council	Strategy and Policy
Laura Swiszczowski	Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion		City of York Council	Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

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 prospectus sets out York’s response to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Local Growth Plan, detailing opportunities that can have significant local and regional benefit and are designed to improve opportunity for York’s residents and businesses.

1.2

Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)

The English Devolution White Paper (2024) describes how Mayoral Strategic Authorities will  include consolidated funding to deliver local growth covering a wide portfolio of responsibilities, including, transport, local growth, place, housing and regeneration, skills, and non-apprenticeship adult skills, together with integrated health and wellbeing. Moreover, the UK Government’s National Industrial Strategy outlines key competitive advantage sectors that will support the success of the UK economy. The Combined Authority’s Local Growth Plan reflects both of these and in turn so does the York Prospectus.

1.3	Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?
	The prospectus outlines key projects and programmes that will benefit the residents of York. The projects identified will

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 (2023- 2027) and other corporate strategies and plans.

The prospectus will provide a framework through which the Combined Authority, UK Government and others can determine the city’s key capital priorities. It reflects the York 10 year strategies covering the economy, health and wellbeing, climate change and skills. It also delivers against the Council Plan’s EACH (equalities, affordability, climate, health) framework – providing opportunity for all, supporting the development of more affordable housing, enhancing and protecting our environment, and reducing health inequalities through the generation of more and better jobs, support for education and skills development more affordable safe housing and better community and transport connectivity.

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
Stakeholder engagement		City Partners were engaged in the development of the prospectus, providing feedback on Council driven proposals but also identifying their own projects for inclusion. This ensures the prospectus is a ‘York’ document not just a Council product.
Corporate Scrutiny Committee		To ensure Members from across the city have had the opportunity to consider the proposals and provide feedback
Internal officer engagement		Officers from across the Council have regularly been engaged in the development of the prospectus to ensure it reflects project realities
Combined Authority		Meetings have taken place with the Mayor and Combined Authority colleagues to ensure the prospectus reflects the Local Growth Plan priorities
Desktop research		To identify similar documents from other local authorities to build from best practice

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
Public engagement		Engagement will be undertaken on individual projects listed in the prospectus as they develop

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 development of the prospectus has no impact on age. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed	0	L
Disability		The Council can develop multi-format versions (e.g. easy-read, braille) of the prospectus to ensure accessibility needs are met Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed	0	L
Gender		The development of the prospectus has no impact on gender. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed	0	L
Gender Reassignment		The development of the prospectus has no impact on gender reassignment. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed	0	L
Marriage and civil partnership		The development of the prospectus has no impact on marriage and civil partnerships. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed	0	L
Pregnancy and maternity		The development of the prospectus has no impact on pregnancy and maternity. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed	0	L
Race		The development of the prospectus has no impact on race. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed.	0	L
Religion and belief		The development of the prospectus has no impact on religion and belief. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed.	0	L
Sexual orientation		The development of the prospectus has no impact on sexual orientation. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed.	0	L
Other Socio-economic groups including :		Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes?
Carer		The development of the prospectus has no impact on carers. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed.	0	L
Low income groups		The development of the prospectus has no impact on low-income groups. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed.	0	L
Veterans, Armed Forces Community		The development of the prospectus has no impact on veterans and the armed forces community. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed.	0	L
Other		The Council can develop different language versions of the prospectus to ensure those whose primary language is other than English are able to access the prospectus. Specific projects identified in the prospectus will undertake individual EIAs as they are developed	0	L
Impact on human rights:
List any human rights impacted.

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?
The prospectus highlights projects that aim to deliver a vibrant, prosperous, welcoming and sustainable city, where everyone can share and take pride in its success. As these projects are fully developed, individual EIAs will be undertaken. To ensure the prospectus is available to all, the Council can develop multi-format and multi-language copies.

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		As the prospectus sets out projects, rather than is a project itself, it does not have an immediate impact on individuals and groups. It will be for the individual projects to identify potential impacts/mitigations as they are developed.

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
Access to multi-format, multi-language version of the prospectus		Develop as needed	Samuel Blyth	Ongoing

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?
	The prospectus is a living document. As new priorities and projects emerge, they will be included in later iterations with completed projects moving out of the prospectus. Regular reviewing will take place to ensure robust measures are in place to ensure no adverse impacts on groups emerge or are mitigated as required.