Northern Ireland Assembly Engagement
Strategy – Equality Impact Assessment
Response Form
The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission has developed a new Engagement Strategy for
2015-16 and is carrying out an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) to consider the potential equality of opportunity or negative impact the strategy may cause to Section 75 Groups.
The Assembly Commission welcomes comments from anyone with an interest in the EQIA, with specific reference to its impact on Section 75 groups. Section 75 groups fall into nine categories:
I.
Religious belief
II.
Political opinion
III.
Racial group
IV.
Age
V.
Marital status
VI.
Sexual orientation
VII.
Gender
VIII.
Disability
IX.
Dependants
You may comment in any format you wish (full contact details are listed on page 3 of the EQIA report); however, this standard Response Form has been provided to assist you to comment and to help us to analyse the responses. Please return completed Response Forms directly to the Outreach Manager by Monday, 16 th March 2015 by post or email:
To: Outreach Manager
Room 135
Parliament Buildings
Stormont
Belfast
BT4 3XX

email: outreach@niassembly.gov.uk
If you require hard copies or alternative formats of this response form, please contact the Outreach Manager: email:
Tel: outreach@niassembly.gov.uk
02890 521169
Textphone: 028 90 521209
Northern Ireland Assembly Engagement
Strategy – Equality Impact Assessment
Response Form
The objectives of the Engagement Strategy are threefold:

1 To use traditional, social and emerging digital media to raise awareness, understanding and participation with the Assembly, its Members, Committees and the wider democratic process.
2 To build partnerships with relevant stakeholders to create and improve engagement opportunities with under-represented and/or hard-to reach groups, build synergies and improve the effectiveness of our engagement.
3 To increase visitor numbers to Parliament Buildings and deliver an excellent visitor experience.
For all questions, please put an X in the box that most closely corresponds with your opinion. Please select only one answer to each question.
1 To use traditional, social and emerging digital media to raise awareness, understanding and participation with the Assembly, its Members, Committees and the wider democratic process.
Q1. With reference to the tactics detailed in the Engagement Strategy to address how people find out information about the Assembly, its Members, Committees and the wider democratic process do you feel the Engagement Strategy will create a negative impact on the following s75 groups:
Please tick relevant
S75 category (you can tick more than one).
Religious belief
Yes No Don’t Know
Political Opinion
Racial group
Age
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Gender
Disability

Dependants
If no, please detail how can equality of opportunity be promoted?
Q2. Do you feel the Engagement Strategy gives due consideration to how accessible this information is for the following s75 groups?
Please tick relevant Yes No Don’t Know
S75 category (you can tick more than one).
Religious belief
Political Opinion
Racial group
Age
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Gender
Disability
Dependants
If no, please detail how can equality of opportunity be promoted?

2 To build partnerships with relevant stakeholders to create and improve engagement opportunities with under-represented and/or hard-to reach groups, build synergies and improve the effectiveness of our engagement.
Q1. With reference to the tactics detailed in the Engagement Strategy to address how the Assembly can build partnerships with relevant stakeholders, do you feel the
Engagement Strategy will create a negative impact on the following s75 groups?
Please tick relevant Yes No Don’t Know
S75 category (you can tick more than one).
Religious belief
Political Opinion
Racial group
Age
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Gender
Disability
Dependants
If no, please detail how can equality of opportunity be promoted?
Q2. Do you feel the Engagement Strategy will improve engagement opportunities with under-represented and/or hard-to-reach groups from the following s75 groups?

Please tick relevant
S75 category (you can tick more than one).
Religious belief
Yes No Don’t Know
Political Opinion
Racial group
Age
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Gender
Disability
Dependants
If no, please detail how can equality of opportunity be promoted?
3 To increase visitor numbers to Parliament Buildings and deliver an excellent visitor experience.
Q1. With reference to the tactics detailed in the Engagement Strategy to address how to increase the number of visitor to Parliament Buildings, do you feel the Engagement Strategy will create a negative impact on the following s75 groups?
Please tick relevant Yes No Don’t Know
S75 category (you can tick more than one).
Religious belief
Political Opinion

Racial group
Age
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Gender
Disability
Dependants
If no, please detail how can equality of opportunity be promoted?
Q2. Do you feel the Engagement Strategy gives due consideration to making Parliament
Buildings accessible for visitors from the following s75 groups?
Please tick relevant Yes No Don’t Know
S75 category (you can tick more than one).
Religious belief
Political Opinion
Racial group
Age
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Gender
Disability
Dependants

If no, please detail how can equality of opportunity be promoted?
Do you have any further comments?
About you
It would help us to have a little information about you, but please feel free to leave these questions blank if you wish.
Gender Female
Male
Transgender
Marital Status Divorced
Living Together
Married
Separated
Single
Age Group 18-24
25-34
Political Opinion
35-44
45-54
55-64
Alliance
Democratic Unionist
Party
Green Party
Sinn Fein
SDLP

Racial Group
Over 65
White
Indian
Pakistani
Chinese
Bangladeshi
Black African
Black Caribbean
Irish Traveller
Other:
Traditional Unionist
Voice
Ulster Unionist Party
Other Nationalist
Other Unionist
Neither Unionist nor
Nationalist
Other:
Religious Belief Protestant
Roman Catholic
Other Christian
Other Faith
No Religious Belief
Disability
Sexual Orientation Heterosexual
Homosexual
Bisexual
A person has a disability if s/he has “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-today activities” Disability discrimination Act 1995
I have a physical disability
I have a sensory disability
I have a learning disability
Dependants I have personal responsibility for the care of a child
I have personal responsibility for the care of a person with an incapacitating disability
I have personal responsibility for the care of a dependent elderly person
Thank you - your feedback is very much appreciated.