Annex A

City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		Customer & Communities
Service Area:		Customer & Communities
Name of the proposal :		Preparations for Welfare Winter Planning & Support
Lead officer:		Pauline Stuchfield
Date assessment completed:		2/9/2021
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise
David Walker	Head of Customer & Exchequer Services		CYC	Welfare Benefits, Government Covid Grants

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.
	To provide a clear roadmap to support financially vulnerable residents in our communities during the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.  The proposal looks specifically at pressures around, food, utility costs, access to emergency funding,  digital inclusion and Free School Meals (FSM) vouchers during the school holidays.

1.2	Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)
	No not as such all support is discretionary driven bya reduction in  Government support.  There is no statutory obligation for the council to provide any support after September 2021 when Government covid grants expire.

1.3	Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?
	The key stake holders are: · The Council in trying to provide welfare support for its residents to alleviate food & fuel poverty and providing online access to digitally excluded residents.  · The residents of the city who will benefit from any support provided · Schools in respect of FSM voucher support for their pupils · Third sector agencies who provide similar support and or advice

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 council is not in a position to alleviate poverty as it has neither the financial resource nor the power to reshape national policy.  This paper looks to set out a range of activities at least for the 2021/22 winter period that seeks to address some of the financial pressures on individuals and families whilst building in some community resilience.l

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
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
We do not know what if any future government funding may become available		Assume that nothing further will be received

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		No
Low income groups		Yes	+	High
Veterans, Armed Forces Community		No
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?

The recommendations will have positive impacts as the purpose is to provide support in terms of financial, digital and advice and information for those residents who have been struggling financially as a result of the pandemic, or their financial vulnerability has worsened due to the pandemic.  Once approved it will be possible to communicate more broadly and also work with our third sector partners to promote of of the activities.  There is equality of access to all residents who live in the York boundary and who meet the criteria for the support.  Advice and information will be available to all.

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.		The proposal develops existing measures the council has been using to support residents throughout the covid pandemic.  These are also aligned to other local authorities nationally and their experiences.

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?
	As currently happens all actions that are quantifiable are measured and reported back through Financial Inclusion Steering Group (FISG) and its mid-year and outturn financial inclusion published reports.