The Equality Impact Assessment of the Warm Zone contract for 2011-12
Name of EqIA:
The Equality Impact Assessment of the Warm Zone contract for 2011-12
Period of EqIA
April 2011- March 2012
Date signed off by April 21st 2011
D.D. / DMT
The services provided by Warm Zone CIC and its partner organisations
Scope of EqIA
Date Last
Reviewed:
Approved by:
under the terms of a call off contract for 2011-12
The framework manager (Peter Snell) supported by the decent homes and
thermal comfort sub-groups of the partner Boroughs on whose behalf
Newham agrees the contract.
Assessment supported by attendance at meetings with funders and bid
submission to maximise external funding for the work. Use of BRE modelling
of the housing conditions and fuel poverty of vulnerable residents to
demonstrate need. Analysis of beneficiary data collected by the partner
Boroughs and contractors on the beneficiaries of previously funded schemes
Scheme managers and commissioning officers in partner Boroughs attend
meetings which keep the contract under continual review. They have been
consulted on the nature of changes to the call off contract from those of
previous years. All Councillors are asked to approve the contract at Cabinet.
Prior consultation was held with the Councillors who have Cabinet and
Advisory responsibility for the work and approval obtained from appropriate
senior Council Officers.
The call off contact has to reflect significant reductions in capital funding and
uncertainty about funding sources for this work in future years. The
assessment has sought to minimise the impact of this by an increased focus
on the most vulnerable clients and by increasing partner Borough flexibility in
tailoring the services to local priorities.
The new call off contract makes best use of a reduced budget by maximising
leverage from external funding sources, by increasing partner flexibility to
tailor services to local need, and by creating mechanisms to transfer the
services to local funding to ensure continuity of provision if future funding
from regional and national sources in not found.
The service was reviewed in September 2010 in preparing the 2010-11 call
off contract.
Andrew Billany
Date Approved:
21st April 2010
Version Number
1
Review Date:
July 1st 2011 (In preparation for next contract management meeting)
EqIA Team
Relevant data /
research
Consultation who
and how
Assessment of
impact
Actions
Document Owner: Peter Snell
Post Holder:
EQIA Assessed:
Coordinator, East London Renewal Partnership
Warm Zone / DABD 2011-12 call off contract. Equalities Impact Assessment
1. Management of the Equality Impact Assessment.
The Warm Zone framework agreement allows Newham and partner Boroughs in east
London to commission services and works to address fuel poverty and improve the
homes of vulnerable residents living in the private sector towards the decent homes
standard. In support of these objectives Newham has bid for a series of funds. Until
now that funding has come primarily from the CLG private sector renewal programme
which has been ended. It is possible that funds may also be available from an LDA
programme named RE:NEW but this is as yet uncertain.
The funding bids and management of the framework are supervised by a steering
group representing all the partner Boroughs and advised by more specialist subgroups of front line officers delivering thermal comfort and decent homes
programmes. The programmes are kept under continuous review through a cycle of
quarterly meetings to ensure that funding goes to meet the needs of the most
vulnerable among the target groups for the programme.
2. Identification of policy aims, objectives and purpose.
The aims of the funding are to address fuel poverty and improve the homes of
vulnerable residents living in the private sector towards the decent homes standard.
The impact assessment that has supported this report has;
 Sought to better target the availability of support to ensure that reducing
budgets are spent to greatest public benefit.
 Increased the scope for individual Boroughs to tailor services to address local
need.
 Provided some level of continuity for the services to enable Boroughs to
benefit from “green deal” and ECO funding from 2012.
3. Scope/ focus of the equality impact assessment
The private sector renewal funding stream that has traditionally supported this work
can only be spent on vulnerable residents who are on qualifying income and disability
related benefits. In 2011-12 this will continue to be the principal source of funding for
the programme. As a consequence the policies that govern the use of the contract
have high impact on older clients, those who are disabled and those with class or
socio-economic disadvantage. The contract employs a number of techniques such
as the use of multi-ethnic assessment teams to identify clients from all groups in
society and ensure that none are excluded if they are within these target groups.
To ensure the work programme does address these goals beneficiary data is
collected on clients for all areas of support delivered by this contract. To ensure that
more limited resources available in 2011-12 are most effectively targeted Newham
has commenced a review of the data currently collected in relation to the protected
characteristics defined by the Equalities Act 2010. The April/ May 2011 cycle of
management meetings will review the data and ensure that any further requirements
to meet these goals are incorporated into a review of the collection, storage and
reporting of monitoring data already in progress to support the requirement of the
RE:NEW programme.
The data currently collected in relation to the protected characteristics defined by the
Equalities Act 2010 and the additional characteristic (class or socio-economic
disadvantage) that Newham seeks to monitor is as follows:Characteristic
Age
Disability
Gender
reassignment
Pregnancy and
maternity
Race
Religion or belief
Sexual orientation
Sex
Class or
socioeconomic
disadvantage
DABD
financial
coaching
support


Warm Zone
heating &
insulation


Comments
Could be derived from disability
related benefits






(Fuel poverty
& benefit
details)
Could be derived from numbers
on income related benefits.
The funding has advanced equal opportunities for its target groups by reducing fuel
poverty and improving the homes of the most vulnerable. The current review has
sought to mitigate the impact of declining funds by better targeting their use in the
following ways;
 Treating only the “hardest to heat” homes of residents on qualifying benefits.
 Introducing income tests for such residents of middle ranked homes
 Establishing fee structures and Borough management procedures to help
each Borough to apply the scheme so as to best address local needs.
 Maximising leverage from funding streams that continue to be targeted at
vulnerable clients; particularly the industry funded Carbon Emissions
Reduction Target (CERT) scheme.
4. Relevant data, research and consultation
Newham bid for the sub-regional 2008-11 funding which the framework was intended
to deliver on the basis of the levels of need in East London. That need was set out in
a table based on modelling conducted by BRE and to identify levels of need. The
figures submitted with that bid and further estimates of the levels of fuel poverty
included in the table below clearly demonstrated that tackling the needs of the
vulnerable and in particular those in fuel poverty was an essential priority in tackling
inequality in the east London Boroughs. The contract has therefore established clear
requirements in all Boroughs for the prioritisation of clients based on the goals of the
bid but then allowed Boroughs to vary the precise eligibility rules to address local
circumstances.
The case for such an approach is set out in the table below.
Local Authority
Barking and Dagenham
Hackney
Havering
Newham
Redbridge
Tower Hamlets
Waltham Forest
TOTAL
Dwellings
(private)
41,147
40,158
77,128
55,392
80,586
34,793
66,167
424,283
Vulnerable
non decent
6,951
4,254
6,908
10,117
7,186
3,244
7,016
45,676
Cost to make decent
£122,724,634.12
£75,100,067.55
£121,950,131.79
£178,609,381.89
£126,858,079.08
£57,268,859.52
£123,870,233.76
£806,381,387.72
Fuel poverty
3,408
2,843
6,737
6,571
7,886
1,512
6,345
35,302
Consultation on the management of the scheme is conducted with partner Boroughs
at management groups established by Newham with its partner Boroughs which
agree on variations to the scheme to better deliver bid targets and address local
needs. In particular the changes listed at the end of section 3 of this report have
been intended to make best use of fast ending funds whilst maximising leverage and
funding the scheme till March 2012 when a new “green deal” funding stream should
become available.
Beneficiary data is required to support any claim for funds under the scheme and is
reported on a quarterly basis to management groups and the GLA. Details of
complaints received by Borough are also reported to the management groups. On an
annual basis this is collated and reported to Boroughs to support them in reviewing
their use of the programme and in making returns required by CLG.
Assessment of impact and outcomes
The policy revisions have been forced on the Council by funding reductions. The
changes make it clear that the scheme is being managed in a way that makes the
fairest possible use of the funds that remain. The introduction of income checks in
instances where there is not an immediate threat to health should avoid friction from
clients who feel they are more deserving of assistance.
Formal agreement
This Equality Impact Assessment will be approved by the sub-regional management
team and its appropriate sub-groups and the Divisional Director of Housing and
Public Protection before being presented to Councillors to support the call off
contract for this work.
Publication of results
A summary of the Equality Impact Assessment will be published on the Council
website if the tender acceptance report is approved following the call-in period.
Monitoring and review
The actions incorporated as a consequence of this impact assessment are;
 Treating only the “hardest to heat” homes of residents on qualifying benefits.
 Introducing income tests for such residents of middle ranked homes
 Establishing fee structures and Borough management procedures to help
each Borough to apply the scheme so as to best address local needs.

Maximising leverage from funding streams that continue to be targeted at
vulnerable clients; particularly the industry funded Carbon Emissions
Reduction Target (CERT) scheme.
To ensure these actions are effective current data collection on protected groups has
been reviewed and additional beneficiary data will be collected. This will be reported
to the same management groups that initiated this equality impact assessment and
they will review the beneficiary data on a quarterly basis through their regular cycle of
meeting to ensure it better targets limited resources. Those reviews will inform any
revisions required to subsequent call-off contracts.
Borough Commissioning Officers are expected to monitor the impact of the changes
at local level and manage the programme to maximise the impact of the changes in
making best use of resources. They may also supplement sub-regionally managed
funding of the scheme with local provided resources to safeguard the interests of
residents with “protected characteristics”. The baseline data for Newham Officers in
carrying out this role is set out in the table below.
Beneficiaries from DABD and Warm Zone services in 2009-10.
Number of households assisted
DABD
Warm
Zone
Eligible vulnerable households
45
277
Non vulnerable households*
0
50
Total number of households assisted
45
327
* Able to pay residents benefit from the insulation programme but receive no Council
assistance with the work.
Number of vulnerable beneficiaries
DABD
On benefit and children in household
On benefit and older people in household
On benefit with long term ill health or disability
On benefit and none of the above
DABD
Demographics of beneficiaries
Pregnant
Religion
* Heating schemes only
6
21
15
3
Warm
Zone
16
154
87
92
Warm
Zone*
1
Christian
Hindu
Muslim
Sikh
None
Not provided
23
18
50
4
29
5
Demographics of beneficiaries
Total beneficiaries
Ethnic breakdown
White
Mixed
Asian
Black
Chinese or Other
DABD
Male
Female
Transgender
British
Irish
Any Other White
Total White
White & Black Caribbean
White and Black African
White & Asian
Any Other Mixed
Total Mixed
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Any Other Asian
Total Asian
Caribbean
African
Any Other Black
Total Black
Chinese
Any Other
Not Provided
Warm Zone
19
26
0
13
13
0
7
1
26
2
4
32
1
1
4
12
9
3
3
15
2
37
33
6
1
77
9
3
4
16
1
4
1