Derbyshire County Council
Equality Impact Assessment Record
Form 2010
Department
CAYA
Service Area Responsible
Resources
Chair of Assessment Group
Ian Thomas
Title of Policy/ Service/
Function
Development of Integrated Locality
Services (live Document v2.0)
1 Prioritising what to impact assess
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1.1 Why has this policy, service or function been chosen?
1.1.1 Currently, children’s services across the Children’s Trust
Partnership in Derbyshire are on a journey towards greater
integration. The formation of the Children’s Trust created
integrated governance. Development of a joint Children and
Young Peoples Plan established integrated planning
arrangements. Many integrated working practice, such as use
of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and multiagency meetings are common practice. The next stage on the
journey to greater integration is integration of the front-line
workforce.
1.1.2 Since the formation of the Children’s Trust arrangements in
2007, services with a preventative, targeted and early
intervention remit are managed in separate departments, across
the component agencies. This structure was complemented by
a new District Management Structure, with 21 new posts
established: 7 0-11 District Managers, 7 11-19 District Managers
and 7 Safeguarding District Managers.
1.1.3 The current structure of management and of delivery of
preventative and early intervention services is complex and
management heavy. There is also a strong drive to improve
outcomes, as in recent years there have been unprecedented
increases in: children in need, initial contacts, referrals into
social care, numbers of children on the child protection register
and numbers of children admitted into the care system. Other
statistics relating to young people not in education employment
or training and the qualification of young people aged 19 require
prioritisation for improvement.
1.1.4 The structure is also expensive and requires review in the light
of the existing and future economic challenges. Learning from
Serious Case Reviews and national guidance encourages Local
Authorities to integrate better to enable more effective early
intervention1 and take services closer to the communities
served- Derbyshire is later than many other Authorities in taking
such an approach. Learning from other areas of the country
which have preceded Derbyshire in such an approach has been
utilised in planning the proposed model for Derbyshire.
1.1.5 In response to these drivers CAYA and its partners are
undertaking a re-structure of its service provision to create new,
community-facing multi-agency teams and a newly formed
management structure (Integrated Locality Services) for
preventative and targeted services for children, young people
1
See
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/safeguardingandsocialworkreform/a006
4974/working-together-to-safeguard-children-change-to-statutory-guidance
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and families. The new teams and structures should be in place
in April 2011 and the approach is endorsed by the Derbyshire
Children’s Trust. This represents a significant change to the way
that services are delivered, and has an impact on staff, and as
such an EIA is required.
1.2 Why does the policy, service or function exist/ what is its
purpose? Who should benefit?
1.2.1 Preventative and Early Intervention Services exist to improve
outcomes for Children, Young People and Families. The new
structures will support better integration of services for children,
young people and families by providing co-located workspaces
for multi-agency teams reporting to a single manager. This is
based on evidence obtained from investigations into learning
from integration of children’s services in many areas of the
country. More integrated working will enable improved working
practice, better outcomes, service redesign and enhanced
experience of services for service users who will receive a more
timely, co-ordinated and efficient service.
2 Pulling an assessment team together
Name
Ian Thomas
Nicole Chavaudra
Beverley Smith
Mandy Stafford-Wood
Karen Gurney
Shelley Kerslake
Area of expertise/ role
Chair
Children’s Transformation Programme
Head of HR, CAYA
Head of Information
CAYA Finance
CAYA Finance
3 Scoping of the assessment / identifying likely
issues
As part of early consultation, a series of events were held involving hundreds
of multi-agency staff and community group representatives from across the
County to identify concerns and opportunities regarding a re-shaping of
services. It was anticipated that the formation of new structures and services
may raise the following issues from an equalities perspective:
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3.1.1 Accessibility
3.1.1.1 The original proposal, which was widely consulted on, identified that
new teams would be co-located on secondary school sites, providing
easy access to a large proportion of the target population.
Consultation indicated that many target groups would be
disadvantaged by this, due to not being located on site, the site being
relatively inaccessible or disinclination to use the facilities due to
having a negative experience of school themselves.
3.1.1.2 There was also a risk that people living in rural areas may struggle to
access services located a significant distance from their homes.
3.1.1.3 Due to the size and diversity of the County, there are many population
groups which may find services more difficult to access due to
barriers such as culture, and fear of services based on previous
experiences.
3.1.1.4 There was a concern raised that the services may be more targeted
towards secondary school children, rather than younger or older
children and young people.
3.1.1.5 There were no other anticipated issues regarding disadvantage to any
other groups on the basis of gender, race, age or other potential
discriminating factors by the initial consultation.
3.1.2 Targeting Service provision
3.1.2.1 There could be the potential for services to be accessed more
frequently by those members of the community with less need, who
traditionally are more likely to request and become involved in
services. This could exacerbate inequalities, and perpetuate any
existing disharmony in local communities regarding perceived
unfairness.
3.1.2.2 Due to the diverse nature of the responsibilities of the new teams,
varying from low level preventative work to complex case
management of families in need, there is a risk that team activity may
be focused further towards one end of the spectrum to the
disadvantage of the other groups.
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3.1.3 Customer Service and Responsiveness to Local Need
3.1.3.1 Due to the size and diversity of Derbyshire as a County it is possible
that there may be differentiated practice and customer service
approaches in different areas, leading to some service users facing
disadvantage regarding the quality of the services available. Also,
different communities have different needs and a single model or
approach across the County would be inappropriate and not fairly
meet the requirements of diverse neighbourhoods.
3.1.4 Staff
3.1.4.1 The following issues relating to staff which may have an equalities
perspective were anticipated:
 Dual management arrangements
 Clarity about the roles of staff in the new teams
 Training and support
 Clarity about working practice
 Clarity about membership of the team
 Differing terms and conditions for different members of the team
 Issues for staff working across several sites
No potential issues were raised by staff with regard to risks on the basis of
gender, age, race, sexual orientation or other potential discriminating factor at
this stage.
4 Pulling together all the information
Name of source
Management Information relating
to performance against key
indicators
Population and deprivation data (in
particular FSM and indices of
Multiple Deprivation)
Human Resources information
regarding staff demographics for
the group whose posts are to be
disestablished (Summarised and
Reason for using
to enable the differentiated needs
in different areas to be identified
to enable a clear understanding of
need across the county
To create a profile of staff affected
by disestablishment of posts
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anonymised in Appendix A)
Human Resources information
regarding staff demographics for
the groups of staff which may form
the Multi-Agency Teams
(summarised and anonymised
Appendix B)
Qualitative data from customer
feedback, and consultation with
staff and partners from across the
County (see Appendix C):
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To create a profile of staff affected
by new structures
To ensure services are customer
focused and planned according to
local knowledge from practitioners
Consultation with staff
and partners preCabinet paper
Citizens Panel Survey
Community Forums
School council meeting
Consultation with staff,
partners and trade
unions during formal
consultation period post
Cabinet
5 Assessing the impact or effects
5.1 What does customer feedback, complaints, and
discussions with stakeholder groups tell you about your
service, policy and function, including which aspects are
seen as negative, inaccessible, unhelpful, difficult to use
etc?
5.1.1 Staff felt that the following aspects of services could be
improved by proposed changes:
 New teams will offer a better response to families and service
users, with more timely actions and proactive services
 Easier communication between staff will be enabled
 Integrated practice such as CAF and Lead professional can be
more embedded into services
 Provision of a ‘one stop shop’ for families, with easier and more
simple routes through services
 Better understanding of different professionals roles and
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thresholds for specialist services
Reduced duplication and bureaucracy
The opportunity to take a whole family approach to services, with
services accessible for all family members not just children and
young people
Sharing of resources and equipment
Better co-ordination and planning
Build on learning from existing local examples of effective multiagency working
Provision of a better service to the wider community
Enhanced relationship with schools
More early intervention- a more proactive service
Better safeguarding, by preventing people from slipping through
the net
Improved partnership working, especially with the voluntary
sector
Removal of professional barriers through new job roles
Richer mix of skills and experience in teams
Fewer unnecessary referrals
Cost savings
Improved motivation for staff
Better perceptions of the school in communities
Better management, through dual accountability
5.1.2 Members of the community raised the following issues:
 Raising concerns about children to services- knowing where to go
 Ensuring that younger children are also targeted by services, not just
secondary schools
 Services should be consistent across the county
 Better access to services such as police, benefits advice, health and
activities for children and young people
 Lack of availability of mental health provision for children and young
people, youth services, parenting support and information about childcare
 Speed of response, reducing the number of people to deal with,
knowing where to go
Young people raised the following priorities for services:
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Staff shouldn’t be nosy or put people under pressure
Services should be easy to get to
Staff should make people feel welcome
Staff should treat the grounds with respect
Staff shouldn’t stereotype and should treat young people like ‘normal’
people
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Staff should be Confidential
Young people should be able to complete a questionnaire or text about
their experience of using a service
Young people should be involved in designing a logo
Services should have the same name throughout so that when you go
to different areas you know it’s the same thing
5.2 What does your information tell you about the effects of
the policy, service or function on the lives of different
groups or communities? Is any of this negative or
unwanted?
Groups
Disadvantaged
communities
People with a
negative experience
of services
Rural communities
Young people
Younger children
All communities
Some professional
groups
Staff changing base
Staff in linked
services
Effects identified from data/ information
Priorities are different across different areas of
the County. Without appropriate adaptability of
planning for performance management and
planning, inequalities may be created. For
example, come areas of the county have a
greater of the population that is deprived.
Levels of need, deprivation and population vary
substantially across the County, and services
need to be planned appropriately according to
needs as well as population
Some groups are unlikely to access services
without particular targeting.
Areas of rurality experience particular challenge
in accessing services and could lead to
exclusion of some key communities and
individuals
Services need to be accessible and friendly to
prevent young people feeling excluded
Basing staff on secondary schools may present
a perception of bias towards older children
Service differ from one area to another- there
should be greater consistency
Some professional groups may be more
disadvantaged in terms of professional
supervision and support
Some staff may have to travel further to work as
a result of the change of work base
There is some perception that staff from linked
services such as health and voluntary sector
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may not be adequately represented
Staff in
There is some concern that staff in
disestablished roles
disestablished posts may not have been had
their roles selected for disestablishment as a
result of a fair process of review
Lower graded staff in Staff included in a ring fence with higher graded
disestablished posts staff competing for the same posts may feel
disadvantaged
Men in posts
A higher proportion of men as percentage of the
intended to be
total DCC Workforce are in posts planned to be
disestablished
disestablished (30%) than are represented in the
DCC workforce in total (21.5%). This is
explained as a higher proportion of men are in
higher graded roles which make up most of the
roles to be disestablished.
Older people in posts A higher proportion of people aged 50 and over
intended to be
are in posts planned to be disestablished (61%)
disestablished
than in the DCC workforce as a whole (37%).
This explained as a higher proportion of older
people are in the more senior roles included in
the posts to be disestablished.
People aged under
A higher proportion of people aged under 30
30 who may become make up the staff pool that may become part of
part of the new multi- the MATs (22%) than in the workforce as a
agency teams
whole (12%). A contributory factor to this is the
large number of childcare workers and youth
workers included in the pool which are roles that
attract younger workers.
Women who are in
A higher proportion of women make up the staff
the staff pool that
pool that may become part of the MATs (82.7%)
may become part of
than in the workforce as a whole (78.5%). A
the multi-agency
contributory factor to this is the large number of
teams
caring professions included in the pool which
frequently attract more women.
No further potential effects were identified from the information with
regard to any of the protected characteristics of pregnancy and
maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation, sex,
religion of belief, race, gender re-assignment, disability or age.
6 Ways of reducing or removing unwanted effects
6.1 What small steps could be taken to achieve
improvements? Please outline the main things that need
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to be altered to reduce any illegal, negative and unwanted
impact.
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6.1.1 A performance management framework will be developed to
include performance indicators which are universally applied to
all teams across the County, however the framework will also
include locally developed indicators and measures to ensure
local sensitivity and greater equity. This will enable local needs
to be identified and planned for, including meeting the needs of
communities such as travelling groups, very rural areas or areas
where there are larger communities of disadvantaged families
6.1.2 A weighting will applied to population data when planning
services for rurality to ensure that rural communities are not
unfairly disadvantaged.
6.1.3 Further weightings will be applied to populations with regard to
need. An assessment of different potential approaches included
use of free school meals entitlement measures, and indices of
multiple deprivation measures, both of which resulted in very
similar weightings for Derbyshire communities.
6.1.4 A full evaluation of potential premises is being undertaken to
ensure that appropriate consideration is given to the location
and nature of the venues to be used. Decisions regarding
venues will be informed by service user and staff consultation.
6.1.5 Working practice guidance for new teams will be established to
ensure consistency of practice across the County.
6.1.6 The locations of the Multi-Agency Teams (MATs) will be planned
to ensure that they are accessible, in terms of geography,
disability and perception by all sections of the community
through buildings and how the services are marketed.
6.1.7 All staff appointed will be evaluated against a consistent person
specification for all roles they are in the ring fence for,
regardless of current grade.
6.1.8 Any potential bias towards staff on the basis of race, age,
gender, sexual orientation or any other discriminating factor will
be mitigated by a fair and robust process for recruitment to the
new structures.
6.1.9 Staff will be able to make preference regarding role and location
and meeting these preferences where possible for all staff who
may become part of the teams. Due to the large number of
women and younger people within the staff pool who may
become part of the teams, we acknowledge caring and
parenting responsibilities and will take account of this. We also
further acknowledge that these issues are not restricted to
women and as such will be equally applied across all affected
parties.
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6.1.10 We will invite equalities officers from the trade unions to observe
planning of new team structures.
Stage 7.
Finding out whether your assessment has identified
what people think needs changing.
The information identified by early stages of consultation and analysis
was used to compile the Cabinet report. Formal consultation following
the Cabinet report identified further issues which have been added to
version 2 of the EIA document.
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Stages 8 and 9 Action planning, target setting and monitoring
TARGETS / SUCCESS CRITERIA
RESOURCES
PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS/
MILESTONES
Health,
Police, Local
partnerships
Staff time
Complete Feb 11
Co-location design
group
Not
applicable
Staff time
Complete August
10
Co-location design
group/ SMT
LEAD
PARTNER
INPUT
Development of performance
Management Framework with local
priorities and performance measures
Mandy
Stafford
Wood
Population data to be modelled with
weighting applied for rurality and
deprivation
Karen
Gurney
ACTION
QUALITY
ASSURANCE
Evaluation of potential premises
undertaken, with options appraisal, and
preferences identified
Chris Caley
Connexions,
police, health
Staff time,
reduced
building costs
as part of
accommodatio
n strategy
Complete
December 2010
Co-location design
group/ SMT/
CAYA
Accommodation
Strategy group
Premises options appraisal agreed with
service user and staff groups
Chris Caley
Staff, service
users
Staff time
Complete
January 2010
C-location design
group
Working practice guidance to be
developed for staff and managers in new
Nicole
Chavaudra
Staff, health,
police, VCI
Staff time
Complete
January 2011
Co-location design
group/ SMT
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ACTION
LEAD
PARTNER
INPUT
RESOURCES
PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS/
MILESTONES
QUALITY
ASSURANCE
teams
Staff to be consulted regarding
preferences for new working bases to
reduce additional travel implications and
take account of personal circumstances
Induction programme for staff and
managers developed prior to
commencement of new ways of working
Recruitment processes for appointment to
be developed to ensure appropriate action
is taken to prevent any discrimination on
the grounds of race, age, gender or any
other discriminating factor
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Heads of
Service/ HR
Les Biggs
Beverley
Smith
Health,
Police, VCI
Staff time
New team plans
available
February 2011
Co-location design
group
Staff time
Complete
February 2011
Workforce
Strategy group/
SMT
Staff time
Complete
November 2010
SMT
Step 11. Publishing your assessment
Please indicate below:Your assessment has been signed off for publishing by
Your assessment was published on
Medium/ location
Date
Signed
Date
Added to DCC website
Supporting Documents:
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Structure charts- existing and future structures
Consultation events feedback report
Outcomes baseline information
Population weightings by need
Citizens Panel survey results
Community forum minutes
School council meeting feedback
Responses to cabinet paper consultation
Summary of evidence from other areas
LARC research on integrated working
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