EDC 25/07-08
UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
Equality Impact Assessments – recommendations
for future management
1.0
Introduction
1.1
This paper aims to review the legislative background to equality impact assessments
and make recommendations on how EIAs could be embedded within relevant
processes of the University in the future.
2.0
Current legislative requirements
2.1
The requirement to carry out EIAs was first introduced in the Race Relations
(Amendment) Act 2000. It has since also been incorporated into the Disability
Discrimination Act 1995 and the Gender Equality Duty 2007, giving rise to a
requirement that EIAs are carried out in respect of race, disability and gender.
2.2
Although the process for carrying out EIAs may be streamlined into a multi-strand
approach which may be published in a single document, the processes of considering
the impact of race, disability and gender must each have been considered separately.
2.3
The Government is considering the introduction of a Single Equality Act, which will
encompass six equality strands – race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion
or belief and age. It is likely that there will be a requirement to carry out equality
impact assessments in respect of all six strands.
3.0
Definition of an EIA
3.1
EIA is the term given to a review of the impact of an institution’s existing or proposed
policies, practices and procedures on equality. It is designed to check that the
institution is not discriminating unlawfully – and that it is making a positive contribution
to equality.
3.2
Guidance from the Equality Challenge Unit (part of HEFCE) draws an analogy
between the EIA process and an MOT:
“Equality impact assessment can be thought of as an “equality MOT”, with the
examination of each individual process adding up to a collective assessment of the
performance of the whole. Without looking at individual policies and practices, it
would be impossible to assess institutional performance with regard to
equality……..As with an MOT, there is a legal imperative to assess, but the process
should also be a beneficial one for all concerned….”1
3.3
Similarly, an analogy may be drawn with health and safety risk assessments - which
seek to identify hazards, evaluate risks, and decide upon actions to mitigate the risks.
Similar steps are undertaken with an EIA.
1
Conducting Equality Impact Assessments in Higher Education: ECU/HEFCE Guidance September
2007
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3.4
Legislation requires that EIAs are carried out at least once every three years and that
results of any assessments are published.
4.0
Future requirements
4.1
As noted above, there is a requirement to carry out EIAs at least once every three
years in respect of race, disability and gender.
4.2
In order to respond to the Government’s agenda on a Single Equality Act, the
University is seeking to develop a Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan to
supersede a number of current policies and action plans.
5.0
Warwick approach
5.1
From 2005-2007, the University conducted an exercise where Departments were
asked to impact assess their local policies, practices and procedures in respect of
race, religion or belief, gender and disability. A report on progress to date is
submitted separately to the Equality and Diversity Committee (Paper EDC 24/07-08).
6.0
Conclusions
6.1
As noted in the EDC paper (24/07-08) the EIA project has not been fully completed
across the University. Due to the need to address a “back catalogue” of policies,
impact assessments were approached as a stand-alone project. This has meant,
however, that the process has not been embedded or mainstreamed into routine
management processes.
6.2
It is more likely that EIAs would be carried out and lead to a culture of continuous
assessment of the impact of our actions on equality if processes were embedded into
mainstream management processes. However, care needs to be taken that they are
carried out thoroughly.
6.3
Legislation views EIAs as key to engendering a “bottom up” mainstreaming of
equality through a continuous process of considering the impact of our actions on
equality, hence the rolling nature of re-assessment taking place once every three
years.
7.0
Recommendations
7.1
The current project be drawn to a close and the database archived and maintained as
appropriate. The summary report of results (EDC paper 23/07-08) should be
published on the website and the database archived.
7.2
That future EIAs should include sexual orientation and age, in addition to the current
race, religion or belief, gender and disability.
7.3
The process should, where possible, be embedded across the University in a number
of processes and be ready for use from the academic year 2008/9:
(a)
Strategic Departmental Review Process (SDR)
A quality check on whether a Department has completed and is reviewing its
equality impact assessments could be included by asking Departments to
confirm this in the self-assessment document and also by asking the Review
Group to include EIA in its key questions relating to management.
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(b)
Administrative and Service Departments Annual Review (ASDARs)
A quality check on whether a Department has completed and is renewing its
equality impact assessments could be included by asking Departments to
confirm this in the review document and by asking those officers involved in
the Scrutiny and Dialogue stage to confirm this.
(c)
Policy approval processes
All new policies which are formally approved by University committees should
be accompanied with an EIA for consideration by the committee.
(d)
Student Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs)
SSLCs should be requested to include EIA on at least one committee meeting
per academic year.
7.4
The current EIA website should be re-launched with simplified EIA guidance and
forms for carrying out these EIAs.
7.5
There should be a process of ongoing review – as SDRs or ASDARs are reviewed on
a cycle of more than three years (and the legal requirement is to carry out EIAs once
every three years as a minimum) there should be an annual check that Departments
are carrying out EIAs. This could be done by means of a request to Department to
provide updated or new EIAs for publication on the EIA website. By way of guidance
to Departments, they should be aware that they will need to have in place an EIA on
each of their major policies, processes and procedures. Each time a change is made
to one of them, or a new one devised, an EIA should be carried out. For example, if a
Department decides to change the method of allocating personal tutors, or how
resources are allocated, or draws up documentation for exchange programmes which
identifies how people will be selected, an EIA should be carried out. A rule of thumb
should be that any activity which affects students and/or staff in some way probably
needs an EIA. Using the new guidance and form this should not be an onerous
activity and advice will be available from Human Resources.
7.6
Departments should be asked annually to provide copies of their EIAs and an annual
summary of activities relating to EIA for publication on the website.
LCM May 2008
The Council Meeting held on 9 July agreed the recommendations set out in this paper
(minute 115/07-08), including the addition of a recommendation by Senate that the Academic
Quality and Standards Committee consider including equality impact assessments in course
approvals or reviews.
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