City of York Council

Equalities Impact Assessment

Who is submitting the proposal?

Directorate:		Transport, Environment and Planning
Service Area:		Community Safety
Name of the proposal :		Safer York Partnership Community Safety Strategy 2023-26
Lead officer:		Jane Mowat, Head of Community Safety
Date assessment completed:		03/06/24
Names of those who contributed to the assessment :
Name	Job title		Organisation	Area of expertise

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.
	Safer York Partnership is the Statutory Community Safety Partnership for York.  The statutory partners who make up the partnership approved the Community Safety Strategy 2023-26 in September 2023.  The purpose of this proposal is to cross check the strategy against the Council’s Equalities Impact Process.

1.2	Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.)
	. The Community Safety Strategy falls within the requirements of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

1.3	Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests?
	York Residents, the business community and visitors all have an interest in the priorities contained within the strategy and the subsequent delivery of  outcomes as a result of the implementation of the strategy.

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 aim of the strategy is to make York a safe place for all you live in work in or visit the city. Officers within the respective partner organisations are required to ensure that their actions related to delivery of the strategy meet the equalities policies associated with their own organisation.  The Strategy links to the following strands of the Council Plan: Equalities and Human Rights Affordability Climate Health

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
The information contained within the strategy has been compiled and agreed by the board members representing each of the statutory partners that make up the Community Safety Partnership. In relation to the specific input from City of York Council, this has included adherence to the Council Plan which includes ensuring that the strategy provides equal opportunity and balances the human rights of all		As a priority within the Council Plan, the work that is undertaken through the partnership to impact on the safety, security and quality of life needs to ensure that it is inclusive for all communities impacted by the delivery of the strategy and achievement of its outcomes.
Assistant Director Customer & Communities is a member of the Safer York Partnership Board and as such has contributed to the development and final version of this straegy

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
Whilst consultation on the strategy was not extended to direct contact with specific community groups or third sector organisations representing specific communities, representation on the Safer York Partnership Board includes York CVS and input from the Hate Crime Partnership		Where specific actions to deliver the strategy require consultation, support or direct input from specific communities, engagement with representative groups will be included within the delivery plans.

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 strategy is inclusive of all ages with appropriate actions aligned to specific age profiles as appropriate	+	M
Disability		The strategy is inclusive of all disability requirements and copies of the strategy can be made available in alternative formats as required	+	M
Gender		The strategy is inclusive of all genders	+	M
Gender Reassignment		The strategy is inclusive of all genders and allows for flexibility within its delivery plans to meet the needs of any specific groups	+	M
Marriage and civil partnership		The content of the strategy is applicable to all individuals irrespective of their marital status	+	M
Pregnancy and maternity		The content of the strategy is fully inclusive and allows flexibility within its delivery plans to meet the specific needs of any individual requiring adjustments	+	M
Race		The strategy is inclusive of all races and allows flexibility within its delivery plans to meet the specific needs of any particular race	+	M
Religion and belief		The strategy is inclusive of all religions and beliefs and allows flexibility within its delivery plans to meet the specific needs of any particular religion or belief	+	M
Sexual orientation		The strategy is inclusive of all sexual orientation and allows flexibility within its delivery plans to meet the specific needs of any particular community	+	M
Other Socio-economic groups including :		Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes?
Carer		The strategy has strong links to safeguarding and social care through the delivery of its priorities and as such the input, support and engagement with carers is included within the delivery plans required to implement each priority	+	M
Low income groups		The delivery plans which underpin each priority have the flexibility to ensure that they meet the needs of any low income groups affected	+	M
Veterans, Armed Forces Community		The Armed forces are engaged with the work of Safer York Partnership though membership of appropriate sub groups which support delivery of the strategy	+	M
Other
Impact on human rights:
List any human rights impacted.		Equalities and Non discrimination Education Decent Standard of Living Housing Health & Social Care	+	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?

It is the responsibility of the Safer York Partnership Board Members to ensure that where any equalities concerns are highlighted through the delivery of the strategy, these are addressed by the Board, including any specific action to be taken by any of the partners through their organisation’s disciplinary processes.  This may at times require representatives of specific communities or groups to be invited to attend a partnership meeting or for specific consultation with communities or groups to be commissioned by the partnership board in order to execute it’s duties.

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 change to the proposal		The governance structure of the partnership ensures that any emerging equalities impacts can be identified, discussed and addressed through the Partnership Board.

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?
	Equa Equalities impact will form part of the ongoing monitoring of the delivery of the strategy, drawing on the contributions of the statutory partners that make up the Partnership Board.