City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		Place
Service Area:		Safer York Partnership
Name of the proposal :		PSPO’s to be introduced in Union Tce and City Centre
Lead officer:		Paul Morrison
Date assessment completed:		2^nd May 2022
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise
Jane Mowat	Head of Community Safety		CYC
Lee Pointon	NYP Inspector		North Yorkshire Police
James Ford	Changing Lives Manager		Changing Lives

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 introduce a Public Space Protection Order to stop issues with street drinking and the anti-social behaviour that goes with it in the city centre and Union Terrace and surrounding areas.

1.2	Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)
	.The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Public Sector Equality Duty under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010

1.3	Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?
	Local residents – who want to be able to move through the city centre and Union Terrace areas without fear and feeling intimidated. Residents of Changing Lives on Union Terrace – who want to be able live quietly without being targeted. Street drinkers – who want to have a place to drink with other members of the community

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 introduction of PSPO’s in these areas, supports the priority within the Council Plan 2019 – 23, Making History, Building Communities.  To ensure that residents have safer communities and culture for all. Good Health and Wellbeing Safer Communities and Culture for All

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
Working group made up of Council Officers, Partner agencies, and voluntary sector partners		To establish the scale of the problem and whether the introduction of PSPO’s would be proportionate and support reducing the issues in the area
Meeting with local residents association		To determine whether local residents support the issues and whether they were concerned about being marginalised
Undertook a survey of local residents including asking for details about protected characteristics		To understand whether these residents had different thoughts on the subject because of their lived experiences

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

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			0	L
Disability		From conversations with NYP Officers and Voluntary groups there is an increased number of individuals involved who are likely to be qualify as disabled under the Equality Act.  However the impact would be similar for all parties	-	L
Gender			0	L
Gender Reassignment			0	L
Marriage and civil partnership			0	L
Pregnancy and maternity			0	L
Race			0	L
Religion and belief			0	L
Sexual orientation			0	L
Other Socio-economic groups including :		Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes?
Carer			0	L
Low income groups		Some members of this community are either currently homeless or have been previously been homeless	-	L
Veterans, Armed Forces Community		There is a higher level of homelessness amongst armed forces veterans, so they may be more likely to become involved.	-	L
Other
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 Council, North Yorkshire Police and voluntary partners recognise that the introduction of the PSPO is only one tool to tackle the increasing issues of ASB in these areas.  We are committed to providing support and advice to people involved, both from a health perspective as well as about accommodation if appropriate. The council are looking at a stepped approach to enforcement to ensure that good practice is followed, and has established a multi-agency meeting to ensure that the numbers of people who may receive Fixed Penalty Notices are kept as low as possible.

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		Residents, voluntary groups and partner agencies have all been consulted to minimise the risk of unlawful discrimination. The Council will continue to provide support and assistance to people who are drinking and causing ASB in these areas, both from within the council and through partners such as Salvation Army and Changing Lives.

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?
	We will need to undertake a review of the PSPO’s after 3 years.  This will ensure that we can monitor residents and organisations thoughts about the process once it is in place. This review will also allow the council to review the impact on protected characteristics where we have that information.