Colchester Resident's Panel Equality Impact Assessment

Initial Equality Impact Assessment

Name of policies to be assessed

Colchester residents panel

1. What is the main purpose of the policy?

The main purpose of the policy is to:

• put residents at the front and centre of issues and service provision
• ensure that residents are always consulted and listened to early
• give residents a voice in decision making and issues affecting them

2. What main areas or activities does the policies cover?

Anyone that lives in Colchester or works for CBC

3. Are there changes to an existing policy being considered in this assessment?

There are no changes to an existing policy being considered in this assessment.

4. Who are the main audience, users or customers who will be affected by the policy?

The main groups who will be affected by the policy are:

• residents of Colchester
• members and teams within CBC

5. What outcomes does the Council want to achieve from the policy?

The outcomes that the policy should achieve are:

• Give residents a voice and put them at the forefront of decision making.
• Giving teams within CBC speedier access to residents increases the changes of residents being engaged with appropriately and earlier on in the process of decision making.

6. Are other service areas or partner agencies involved in delivery?

All teams wanting to work with the panel will have to play an active role in the activities they are hoping to consult with residents on and an appropriate budget to cover any necessary reasonable adjustments or expenses which are not already covered by the research team.

7. Relevant information, data, surveys or consultations¹

The following relevant information, data, surveys or consultations help us assess the likely or actual impact of the policy upon customers or staff.

Other local authorities (including Essex) have recently introduced a residents’ panel and are benefiting from this approach. The LGA also promote the use of such a forum to encourage engagement and to collect insight to:

• improve planning, policy and decision making and service provision
• making better use of resources
• accessing new information, ideas, and suggestions
• encourage greater participation in the activities of the council
• govern by consent
• measure residents’ satisfaction
• shape council activities around residents’ needs and aspirations

8. The ‘general duty’

The ‘general duty’ states that we must have “due regard” to the need to:

1. eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
2. advance equality of opportunity between people who share a ‘protected characteristic’²and those who do not³
3. foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not⁴

Not all policies help us to meet the ‘general duty’, but most do.

This policy helps us to meet the ‘general duty’ by:

• The Residents panel aims to be as inclusive and non-discriminatory as possible. Consideration will continue to be given to the terms of the Equality Act in all research activities the panel engages with, and panel members will be required to sign up to a code of conduct which includes ensuring panel members do not act or talk in discriminatory ways. We will ensure that all reasonable requirements and reasonable adjustments are made where possible and will aim to provide alternative ways of engaging with the resident panel where possible.
• By advertising the panel through community networks and with groups which represent minority and seldom heard groups we hope to give each resident in Colchester an equal opportunity of being a member on the panel. Activities will also be planned to take account of differing availability.
• By having representation on the panel from a wide cohort we hope that policy, service design and solutions to issues are informed and appropriate for a wide range of needs, and by being representative of differing needs, services will in turn help to advance equality of access to the support people need.
• This approach should actively encourage good relations with all parties. By breaking down barriers to engagement and encouraging positive two-way communication.

9. The Council has an important role in improving residents’ health under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

This relates to both its ‘core functions’ (such as housing, leisure, green spaces and environmental health) and to its ‘enabling roles’ (such as economic development, planning and engaging with communities)⁵.

The Council recognises that its Public Sector Equality Duty and its role in improving health are interrelated and mutually supportive. This is especially true across the ‘protected characteristics’ of age and disability.

'Health inequalities are the unjust and avoidable differences in people's health across the population. They come from the unequal distribution of income, wealth and power and influence the wider determinants of health such as work, education, social support and housing. Currently, in England people living in the least deprived areas will live around 20 years longer in good health than those in the most deprived areas. Reducing health inequalities means giving everyone the same opportunities to lead a healthy life, no matter where they live or who they are.'

10. How does the policy help us to improve health/reduce health inequalities for residents?

• By engaging with a wide cohort of residents through community contacts it is hoped that the power differential can be rebalanced, and as such provide residents with the opportunity to highlight where resources need redirecting and provide solutions that work for those living in the more deprived areas of Colchester. 
• By working on topics of importance to wider determinants of health, including direct work with NEE Alliance neighbourhood panels, we hope the panel can be instrumental in bringing about change that has a positive impact on health and thus reduces inequalities.

11. Disproportionate impacts

This section helps us to identify any disproportionate impacts. We will indicate whether the policy is likely to particularly benefit or disadvantage any of the 'protected characteristics'.

We set out the potential benefits or disadvantages for particular protected characteristics.

Age - older people (60+)

Positive impact

If retired, older people potentially have a greater opportunity to be involved with the panel, however, the panel aims to recruit a wide range of members through mainstream comms and targeted community outreach.

The majority of activity will be online which we feel gives people greater flexibility and access to technology that puts them at a better advantage. We acknowledge that online is not suitable for everyone and thus we will flex our approach where possible and appropriate to do so.

All activities will aim to take individual needs into account and will seek to utilise the technology available within Teams and other similar technologies, where training is needed it can be given.

Each activity the group is asked to be involved with will be assessed to see whether it places people with certain demographics at a greater or lesser advantage and/or whether it is more relevant to specific groups of people and thus we will purposefully seek to involve them.

Age - younger people (17-25) and children (0-16)

Positive impact

At this time we will not be including young people in the recruitment. However, we are hoping that we can recruit to a young persons panel in the future. Where a project has particular relevance to young people we may step up recruitment sooner.

Disability – physical

Positive impact

The majority of panel activities will be online. This provides greater flexibility for those who may have physical access issues.

Negative impact

Materials will be designed with consideration for disabilities where appropriate and/or where technology or existing support solutions are not available.

Disabiliy - sensory

Negative impact

Negative impacts are the same as those for physical disability.

Disabiliy - Learning

Negative impacts are the same as those for physical disability.

Language – English not as a first language

Negative impact

If English is not a panel members first language and they require interpretation, we (CBC) can utilise the interpretation services that we commission.

12. Could the policy discriminate⁶ against any ‘protected characteristic’ either directly or indirectly?

No, the policy could not.

Summary and findings of Initial Equality Impact Assessment

13. Confirmation of findings

There are four options to describe the finding of the EqIA:

1. No negative impacts have been identified – Action is to sign off screening and finish.
2. Negative impacts have been identified but have been minimised or removed  - Action is to sign off screening and finish.
3. Negative impacts could not be minimised or removed – Action is to sign off screening and complete a full impact assessment – Section 2.
4. There is insufficient evidence to make a judgement - Action is to sign off screening and complete a full impact assessment – Section 2.

The findings and action are confirmed as (B). Negative impacts have been identified but have been minimised or removed. The action is to sign off screening and finish.

14. Name and job title of person completing this form

Tricia Smith, Research & Change Officer.

15. Date of completion

Friday 10 November 2023.

16. Date for update or review of this screening⁷

Next review date is Sunday 10 November 2024.

• [1] Click on Customer Insight for more information. The Council’s surveys and consultations include ‘equality monitoring information’ to help us identify any particular concerns or views expressed by any particular group or ‘protected characteristic’. It can also help us to assess how representative of our customers the respondent group is. Local data on the ‘protected characteristics’ is available on this page of Sharepoint.
• [2]The Equality Act’s ‘protected characteristics’ include age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and sex and sexual orientation. It also covers marriage and civil partnerships, but not for all aspects of the duty.
• [3]This involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to: (a) remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by persons who share a ‘protected characteristic’ that are connected to that characteristic; (b) take steps to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant ‘protected characteristic’ that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it, and (c) encourage persons who share a relevant ‘protected characteristic’ to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low.
• [4]This involves having due regard, in particular, to the need to (a) tackle prejudice, and (b) promote understanding.
• [5]The King’s Fund: The district council contribution to public health: a time of challenge and opportunity, 2015
• [6]The Council has a general duty to ‘eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation’. Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another in a comparable situation because of their ‘protected characteristic’ whether on grounds of age, disability, pregnancy and maternity, ethnicity; religion or belief; sex (gender), sexual orientation, or marriage and civil partnership. Indirect discrimination occurs when an apparently neutral provision or practice would nevertheless disadvantage people on the grounds of their ‘protected characteristic’.
• [7]This is normally three years, but not always: You may know that the policy itself will be reviewed earlier in which case the EqIA should be reviewed at that time. Or, in the case of a five year strategy, you may want to have a review date of five years. In the case of a “one off” decision, such as closing a service, a review date may not be needed - in which case you should indicate ‘N/A’. In any event, the review date should be brought forward if you receive information or feedback which raises new concerns, or if the public policy context changes. You can speak to the Equality and Safeguarding Co-ordinator for more advice.