City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		Governance
Service Area:		Policy and Strategy
Name of the proposal :		GBR HQ
Lead officer:		Claire Foale
Date assessment completed:		Feb 2022
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise
Alison Edeson	Skills Manager		CYC	Skills
Nick Collins	Head of Commercial Property		CYC	Commercial Property inc. West Offices
Alex Dochery	Economic Growth Manager		CYC	Economic growth
Sarah Thomas	Economic Growth		Y & NY LEP	Economic Growth
Charles Storr	Sector Development Manager		CYC	Economic Growth

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 should formally submit an expression of interest to be included in the Great British Railways headquarters competition process, jointly with North Yorkshire and York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.   If successful, this would result in the headquarters being based in York city centre at a location for example at West Offices or the Hudson Quarter, or alternatively in a purpose built facility on York Central.

1.2	Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)
	The government are deciding where the Headquarters will be based.  They are following a four stage process, with the expression of interest the first stage, shortlisting, then a public vote, before making a final decision in the summer.

1.3

Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?

The government and transition team are interested in where the location for the headquarters should be. Local businesses and city partners are keen to attract Great British Railways to York because of the economic value and opportunity it will bring as a new anchor institution in the city. Residents are interested because it provides employment opportunity. Commuters and those within a 1-2 hour radius of York are interested because of both the employment and skills/secondment/intern opportunities.

1.4

What results/outcomes do we want to achieve and for whom?  Attracting Great British Railways to York will: · help cement York’s position as the natural home of a decarbonised national transport infrastructure · re-ignite York’s long association as the heart of the railway industry, strengthening civic pride. · build future opportunities for a range of job roles that would balance out the reliance on service/hospitality sectors. · strengthen the rail industry eco-system that would form around a new anchor institution in the heart of the city centre, acting as an attractor for related businesses and industries. · respond to the economic strategy priority of encouraging more higher value jobs in the city. The Expression of Interest to encourage GBR HQ to locate to York responds to the Council Plan priority Well paid jobs and an inclusive economy by creating new jobs, and encouraging higher paid roles in the city centre.

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
Our Big Conversation – resident survey/consultation used to inform the economic strategy • 1,934 residents and 93 businesses responded		To understand resident’s appetite to strengthen the economy, their constraints and opportunities.
Economic / business roundtable discussions		To understand business leader’s concerns and learn more about what representative organisations thought barriers might be.
Citizen’s Advice		The experiences of those experiencing financial hardship

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 don’t yet understand the requirements of the headquarters or how they will function.		As an executive body of the Department for Transport we expect Great British Railways to apply civil service equality processes and policies and will have this discussion with them if successful in the competition. The civil service published equalities and inclusion strategy is here: Equality and diversity - Civil Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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 move of the headquarters to York will provide corporate services roles of different levels for all ages, the focus on the rail sector will help increase the number of apprenticeships available and GBR will be invited to become a member of the York Skills Board to help ensure sufficient provision.	+	M
Disability		The headquarters will be located in accessible offices – there is an issue about whether accessible transport routes to and from are sufficiently accessible and we will work with transport providers as part of ongoing work with the disabled community to support this. As an executive body of the Department for Transport we expect Great British Railways to apply civil service equality processes and policies. The civil service published equalities and inclusion strategy is here: Equality and diversity - Civil Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) – They will publish data on progress against these targets within the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Dashboard.	0	H
Gender		Rail is typically a more male orientated career.  Actions are being taken to encourage women into the sector with Women in Rail Home | Women in Rail and STEM activities targeting young women and children.	+	M
Gender Reassignment		As an executive body of the Department for Transport we expect Great British Railways to apply civil service equality processes and policies. The civil service published equalities and inclusion strategy is here: Equality and diversity - Civil Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)	+	M
Marriage and civil partnership		As an executive body of the Department for Transport we expect Great British Railways to apply civil service equality processes and policies. The civil service published equalities and inclusion strategy is here: Equality and diversity - Civil Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)	+	M
Pregnancy and maternity		The civil service has a shared maternity/paternity policy Microsoft Word - SPL Having a baby HMG FV.docx (publishing.service.gov.uk)	+	M
Race		As an executive body of the Department for Transport we expect Great British Railways to apply civil service equality processes and policies. The civil service published equalities and inclusion strategy is here: Equality and diversity - Civil Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) – They will publish data on progress against these targets within the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Dashboard.	+	M
Religion and belief		As an executive body of the Department for Transport we expect Great British Railways to apply civil service equality processes and policies. The civil service published equalities and inclusion strategy is here: Equality and diversity - Civil Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) They will publish data on progress against these targets within the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Dashboard.	+	M
Sexual orientation		As an executive body of the Department for Transport we expect Great British Railways to apply civil service equality processes and policies. The civil service published equalities and inclusion strategy is here: Equality and diversity - Civil Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)	+	M
Other Socio-economic groups including :		Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes?
Carer		As an executive body of the Department for Transport we expect Great British Railways to apply civil service equality processes and policies and will have this discussion with them if successful in the competition. The civil service published equalities and inclusion strategy is here: Equality and diversity - Civil Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)	+	M
Low income groups		There are several programmes in place to help build skills and aspirations to help introduce lower income groups to the different roles available in the rail sector.	0	M
Veterans, Armed Forces Community		The City of York Council’s armed forces covenant describes how the council works closely with veterans and the community to identify how to introduce different employment opportunities, including upskilling and reskilling If required.	0	M
Other		The civil service have published recommendations on how employers can measure socio-economic background in their workforce. The recommendations have been developed in consultation with private sector employers and experts. Publishing these measures, is part of their commitment as outlined in the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, to establish a baseline socio-economic data for the whole of the Civil Service by March 2020. This data will be used alongside the data already collected and used to understand how diverse the workforce is and their lived experience in the Civil Service, and to inform development of inclusive HR policies. The recommendations can be found here.
Impact on human rights:
List any human rights impacted.		Workers rights covered by human rights, such as right to strike, prohibition of slavery/servitude/forced labour and right to fair working conditions are covered by the Civil Service equality and diversity strategy.	0	M

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?
We will work with Great British Railways to: · Understand their skills requirements and invite them to participate in/join the York Skills Board        · Explore how to make commuting to their location more accessible · Introduce them to the different networks and associations that exist in York to champion equality, diversity and human rights.

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 an executive body of the Department for Transport we are confident that equality and human rights issues will be a core part of the new headquarters policies and practices.

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
Understanding skills agenda		Invite to Skills Board, meet to discuss how York Skills Board can support	Alison Edeson	TBA – dependent on if successful
Understand accessibility of location		Discussion once location has been selected	Simon Brereton/Nick Collins	TBA – dependent on if successful
Understanding equality and diversity networks and partnerships		Introduce key partners across York	Simon Brereton	TBA – dependent on if successful

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 a new anchor institution in York, Great British Railways will be invited to become part of the fabric of York, through the introduction of different networks, the opportunity to influence how their workforce commute and to inform the Skills Agenda.  Activities will be monitored through regular engagement and meetings including city leaders groups.