Equality Impact Assessment Template
Level 2
(Please use with the Equalities Impact Assessment Toolkit – available on intranet)
Published Equality Impact Assessment
Equality is about recognising that people are diverse and therefore have different needs and should be treated accordingly and taken into
account in service delivery and employment practices.
Equality Impact Assessments will enable services to identify these needs and adapt their services and functions primarily through
drawing on existing research, information/data and consultation. The overall purpose of Equality Impact Assessments is:
•
To assess and identify the impact of policies or procedures, strategies, functions and services on different members of the local
community and key stakeholders
•
To establish objectives and targets for action to mitigate impacts and improve services where appropriate
•
To promote and work towards equality of opportunity and reduce discrimination and enhance relations between different groups in
society.
An impact assessment must be completed before the formal implementation of a policy, strategy, procedure or function can take place. In
general the sooner an impact assessment is completed the better.
Equality Impact Assessment Template
Name of function being assessed (Service, Policy, Procedure, Strategy etc)
Website – http://www.stevenage.gov.uk and Web Strategy 2005-2008
Who is completing the assessment? (Please state names and should include at least 3 people from across the department)
Henry Lewis – Head of eGovernment and Customer Services
Paul Tyler – Knowledge Manager
Alison Hill – Programme Manager (Housing)
Alan Dawson – ICT Standards, Quality & Research Manager
Peter Wain – ICT Services Manager
Jenny Body – Knowledge Developer
Stage 1: AIMS OF FUNCTION
What are the main aims and objectives or purpose of the service/policy/procedure/strategy?
The aim / vision and objectives have been taken from the Web Strategy (July 2005):
Aim / Vision
stevenage.gov.uk is always open and provides all customers with full access to the Council. Using the online facilities is effortless
and intuitive, enabling customers to interact with the Council at their convenience. Access via the Internet offers a complimentary
alternative to contacting the Council by telephone or in person.
Objectives
` Delivery of correct, high quality and essential information
` Provision of continuous access to all Council services
` Enable effective participation and community involvement
What outcomes do you want to achieve and for whom?
Provide continuous and easy access to Council services and information online
Who is affected by this function and by the way it is carried out? i.e. the internal and external customers, groups, communities or any
other stakeholders?
Any person wishing to access information held, or services provided, by Stevenage Borough Council
Who implements, carries out or delivers the function? Please state where more than one person, team, department or body?
The Knowledge Management Unit is responsible for:
` maintaining an overview of the site, implementing appropriate standards, and managing its ongoing development
` ensuring that it supports the Council deliver its duties and responsibilities
` identifying and responding to customer to customer need
The technology used is supported by the Information Systems and ICT Technical teams, as are the majority of other applications
used by the Council.
Site content could potentially be generated by any employee. As a result, the content published to the site is the responsibility of
the author who published it. However, the Knowledge Management Unit has produced standards and guidance about the
production of site content and provide ongoing support to those who need to publish information online.
Is the policy, practice, service or function affected by external drivers for change? e.g. new legislation, national policy, external
inspections etc.
The Government’s agenda for streamlining access to public services and information has a significant impact on the Council’s
website development. There is also legislation / guidance regarding the provision of specific Council functions online – e.g.
planning.
How are people (internal & external incl. staff) informed about the service or function? How is information publicised or explained to those
affected either directly or indirectly?
The website is promoted using routine Council publications and communications.
Who will be responsible for the service or function? How will it be implemented? What monitoring and reviewing arrangements are in
place?
The Knowledge Manager is responsible for the ongoing development of the Council’s website.
What steps have you taken to ensure that your procurement procedures address equality issues, if the policy, practice, function or
service is provided by another organisation or agency on behalf of the Council?
N/A
What are the key performance indicators? These may be national, local or service designed?
The key measures that are used to assess website performance are as follows:
` Number of site ‘Page views’
` Number of service requests / online applications made using stevenage.gov.uk
What links are there between this service/policy/procedure/strategy and other corporate objectives?
The website and strategy should support the Council achieve all of its ambitions and priorities. Specifically, the site can directly
support the Council’s priorities to:
` Improve the image of Stevenage – the website is accessible to people all over the world via the internet and is returned as
the first result when ‘Stevenage’ is searched for in many internet search engines (e.g. google). This means that the
Council’s website has important role to play in promoting both the town and the Council.
` Maintain customer focus – It is not convenient for some customers to contact the Council during normal office ours and the
website provides people with an opportunity to interact with the Council when they want / or are able to.
` Use resources effectively – Making services accessible online is not only more convenient for some customer groups, but it
can have efficiency benefits for the Council too. Well defined and integrated online transactions can be received and
processed for a fraction of the cost of other channels.
Stage 2: DATA COLLECTION
Evidence: Consultation, data, research: Knowing your customers and the community
This section is about obtaining information and evidence to inform decisions and judgements made about the impacts/barriers different
people may face in accessing a service or function.
Answers must be made using correct, quantifiable and qualitative information. An impact assessment cannot be carried out unless this
information is available, where not a reasonable explanation must be given or further consultation undertaken.
What is the profile of the people affected/service users?
Based on an analysis of contacts recorded in the CRM and across the web during 2007:
2.59% of all service transactions profiled were made using the Council’s website. Although this is probably not representative of
overall website use, as only transactions where an electronic / online form was used could be profiled. Over 1.3 million web pages
were viewed during 2007.
Indicate all available information, including data, consultation that will support the development of the impact assessment?
As a result of participating in a national Customer Profiling project we have access to socio-demographic information about the
use of the Council’s online services. However, this does not include information about who is browsing the information published
to site.
It is possible to identify information about what areas of the site are being accessed and this can be reviewed to understand what
published information is most frequently used.
It is also becoming increasingly possible to compare the services being accessed online and those accessed through the
Customer Service Centre (face-to-face and telephone)
Who was involved in the consultation? (National duties indicate that interest groups related to the six strands and those with a disability
should be consulted)
No specific consultation with website users been conducted recently.
Have any complaints been made on the basis of discrimination? What are these?
No complaints received at time of writing
Where gaps in information have been identified, further research and consultation will need to be undertaken before the assessment can
be carried out to identify impacts. If this is not possible, it must be stated in the action plan.
Does the data, information, consultation etc. suggest any impacts on the users of this function? What are these impacts?
Use the tables below to think through potential impacts
Stage 3: ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT
The assessment should cover the impact on all members of the six strands of diversity
Race:
Broad categories used Identify any impact/barriers of the policy, practise, service or function on people based on their race
in 2001 census
Negative
Positive
N/A
N/A
Asian or Asian British
British or Black British
Chinese
Mixed Race
White
Gypsies and
Travellers
Any other people
Where a negative impact does occur, is this appropriate/can it be supported to promote equality of opportunity?
If not, what action can be taken to ensure people from different racial groups are not adversely impacted? (Should be further identified in
action plan)
Gender:
It is worthwhile remembering that women and men have different priorities in relation to what services they want and different needs for
how these are provided.
Identify any impact/barriers of the policy, practise, service or function on people based on their gender
Negative
Positive
N/A
N/A
Women
Men
Transgender
Where a negative impact does occur, is this appropriate/can be supported to promote equality of opportunity?
If not, what action can be taken to ensure people from different gender groups are not adversely impacted? (Should be further identified
in action plan)
Disability:
All service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities, including physical features of premises, so
it is advisable to anticipate any adjustments that may be required. Consider the barriers faced by different groups of people with
disabilities as listed in the boxes below. Note also that changes to legislation mean that conditions such as MS, HIV and cancer are now
included under the DDA from the time of diagnosis.
Identify any impact/barriers of the policy, practise, service or function on people based on their disability
People with physical
or mobility
impairments
People with sensory
impairments (hearing,
visual and speech)
Negative
Positive
N/A
The site uses accessible design techniques, as
recommended by the W3C. This enables those
with disabilities to access information and service
as easily as people without disabilities.
People with learning
disabilities
People who have a
non-visible condition
such as epilepsy or
diabetes
Where a negative impact does occur, is this appropriate/can be supported to promote equality of opportunity?
If not, what action can be taken to ensure people from different disability groups are not adversely impacted? (Should be further identified
in action plan)
Age:
Identify any impact/barriers of the policy, practise, service or function on people based on their age
Negative
Positive
N/A
N/A
0-9
10-15
16-19
20-29
30-44
45-59
60-64
65-74
75 or over
Where a negative impact does occur, is this appropriate/can be supported to promote equality of opportunity?
If not, what action can be taken to ensure people from different age groups are not adversely impacted? (Should be further identified in
action plan)
Faith or belief
Identify any impact/barriers of the policy, practise, service or function on people based on their faith or belief
Negative
Positive
N/A
N/A
Christian
Buddhist
Hindu
Jewish
Muslim
Sikh
Other
No religion or belief
Where a negative impact does occur, is this appropriate/can be supported to promote equality of opportunity?
If not, what action can be taken to ensure people from different religious/belief groups are not adversely impacted? (Should be further
identified in action plan)
Sexuality
Identify any impact/barriers of the policy, practise, service or function on people based on their sexuality
Negative
Positive
N/A
N/A
Bisexual
Gay
Heterosexual
Lesbian
Where a negative impact does occur, is this appropriate/can be supported to promote equality of opportunity?
If not, what action can be taken to ensure people from different LGBT groups are not adversely impacted? (Should be further identified in
action plan)
Overall Impact
Diversity Strand
Impact
- Positive and Negative or neutral
- High, Medium, Low, none
Reason
Race
Neutral
-
Gender
Neutral
-
Disability
Positive – Medium
Accessible web design enables people
with disabilities to use assistive
technologies to access Council services
information
Age
Neutral
-
Faith/Belief
Neutral
-
Sexuality
Neutral
-
Stage 4: ACTION PLANNING
Action
Responsible
Review the Council’s web
strategy.
Knowledge
Manager
Review quality of website
content, considering the
needs of different groups and
ensuring that plain English is
used to improve accessibility.
Date for
Completion
Milestones
Outcome
Resource
implications
Mar 09
?
?
?
Knowledge
Manager
Dec 09
?
?
?
?
?
?
Identify online resources that
may be of interest / benefit to
specific audiences and
provide links to them from
stevenage.gov.uk
Knowledge
Manager
Jul 09
Use profiling information and
customer preference
information to improve /
direct the development of the
website.
Knowledge
Manager
Mar 09
?
?
?
Consultation with RNIB and
RNID to look at improving
accessibility of website,
including consideration of:
+ Print friendly pages
+ Text only pages
Knowledge
Manager
Apr 10
?
?
?
Action
Responsible
Encouraging those
responsible within the
organisation to use the
website to publish
information to relevant hard
to reach groups
Knowledge
Manager
Date for
Completion
Jun 09
Milestones
Outcome
Resource
implications
?
?
?
How and where will these actions be monitored?
The actions identified in this assessment will be included in the revised web strategy, where a full consideration of the resource
implications and timescales will be undertaken. Progress towards the actions will be monitored as part of the strategies implementation.
When will this service or function be reviewed?
The impact assessment will be reviewed before the revised web strategy is agreed – Mar 09
Impact Assessment Summary
Name of function under review
Review period
Date for completion
Author
Outline of Review
Stevenage.gov.uk and web strategy
October 2008
October 2008
Paul Tyler
The website aims to provide access to Council information and services
online. It should provide customers with an alternative to contacting the
Council by telephone or in person.
Review Team
Henry Lewis – Head of eGovernment and Customer Services
Paul Tyler – Knowledge Manager
Alison Hill – Programme Manager (Housing)
Alan Dawson – ICT Standards, Quality & Research Manager
Peter Wain – ICT Services Manager
Jenny Body – Knowledge Developer
Data, information and Consultation used (sources, who & How)
The review included a transactional analysis comparing customer use of the
three main channels of access to Council information and services (Face-toface, Telephone and Website).
Limited direct feedback from customers was not available and will need to be
addressed for future reviews.
Impact, Outcomes and actions identified
Most significantly, the website can be used as a channel for promoting fair
and equal access to Council services and information for people with
disabilities.
The accessibility of the site needs to be further improved to ensure that it
continues to have a positive impact.
It is also recognised that comprehension of the English language could be a
potential barrier. Further work is required to improve the quality of website
content, ensuring that it meets customer need and is easy to understand.
The scheduled review of the web strategy will address these issues and
identify a comprehensive plan for future development. This will also include
development of the web as an access channel for additional Council
functions.
Date completed
Signed by Head of Service