Equality impact assessment for the Rent Setting and Service Charge Policy

1. What is the main purpose of the policies?

The main purpose of the policies is to set out the principles in relation to the initial setting of rents, annual revisions to rent and service charge setting that ensures that:

• rents and charges remain affordable in the long-term
• social tenants are protected from excessive increases in rents
• ensures rents take account of local conditions
• provides long-term certainty and stability to social tenants, social landlords and their funders
• enables cost recovery and future investment in housing stock

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

The principles used in calculating and application of:

• rent charges – according to current legislation and government policy
• housing related support charges
• rental based utility charges
• service charges

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

• Charging affordable rent for new builds and acquisitions.
• Revision of charging methodology to service charge.
• New service charge provisions.

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:

• existing tenants and leaseholders
• applicants on the housing register

5. What outcomes do we want to achieve from the policy?

• Ensuring rent and service charges are set in a consistent manner and cover the cost of management and service delivery, whilst also taking into account the future investment needs, is an essential element of the Housing Investment Programme.
• The housing stock represents Colchester City Councils highest value asset and its repair and maintenance its largest liability. The property owned is worth many millions of pounds, either as capital assets or as revenue generating assets therefore planning for its sustainable future is important.

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

Colchester Borough Homes.

7. Relevant information, data, surveys or consultations

Are you aware of any relevant information, data, surveys or consultations¹ that help us assess the likely or actual impact of the policy upon customers or staff.

No.

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 characteristic²’ and 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.

The policy does not specifically help us to meet the duty.

Improving residents’ health

We have an important role in improving residents’ health under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. This relates to both our ‘core functions’ (such as housing, leisure, green spaces and environmental health) and to our ‘enabling roles’ (such as economic development, planning and engaging with communities)⁵. We recognise that our Public Sector Equality Duty and our 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.

Explain how this policy helps us to improve health/ reduce health inequalities for residents:

Ensuring rents are set according to legislation and government policy to enable us to provide well managed and maintained social housing for our tenants and leaseholders which in turn helps us to improve and reduce health inequalities for tenants and leaseholders.

9. 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'.

Positive impact: Ongoing improvements to housing stock, providing housing that meets their needs.

• Age (older people (60+))
• Younger people (17-25) and children (0-16)
• Disability (physical, sensory, learning, mental health issues)

Negative impact: Those on low income.

• Age (older people, 60+)
• Younger people (17-25) and children (0-16)
• Disability (physical, sensory, learning, mental health issues)
• Ethnicity⁶ (White, Black, Chinese, Mixed ethnic origin, Gypsies/Travellers)
• Language – English not as first language
• Pregnancy and maternity – women who are pregnant or have given birth in last 26 weeks
• Religion or belief – people with a religious belief (or none)
• Sex – men and women
• Gender reassignment⁷ – transgender/transsexual7
• Sexual orientation – bisexual, heterosexual, gay or lesbian
• Marriage and civil partnership – people who are married or in a civil partnership

10. How negative impacts be minimised or removed?

• Processes are in place to ensure early monitoring and intervention in cases of rent, service charge and leasehold service charge arrears. Colchester Borough Homes Tenancy Services is pro-active in ensuring appropriate support is in place to help tenants sustain tenancies. This takes into account specific needs associated with the ‘protected characteristics’.
• The Housing Options and Advice service provides advice and assistance in relation to a range of housing issues including arrears, affordability and financial management.
• We seek to ensure that all eligible residents receive the welfare benefits they are entitled to in order to maximise income. This particularly benefits vulnerable groups and helps to minimise negative impacts generally, and specifically in relation to the protected characteristics: older people, younger people, disability, pregnancy and maternity.
  
  Colchester Borough Homes Housing Management Team are trained to provide basic advice on maximising income, and the dedicated Financial Inclusion Team provide specialist support and advice and have a good track record in maximising income for our residents.
• A member of ‘Gateway to Homechoice’ choice-based lettings scheme, where council owned vacant properties are advertised for prospective tenants to bid on a home alongside other local authority and registered provider properties in the gateway region. The rent and service charges are detailed in the advertisements enabling applicants the choice to bid on properties that meet their need in terms of size, location and affordability.

11. Could the policy discriminate⁸ against any ‘protected characteristic’ either directly or indirectly?

No.

12. 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.

13. Name and job title of person completing this form

Suzanne Norton – Housing Client Co-ordinator (2024)

14. Date of completion

October 2024.

15. Date for update or review of this screening⁹

Upon change or revision of policy or October 2027.

• [1] 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 the staff intranet, ‘Colin’.
• [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] National Census 2011 categories are: Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Other Asian (Asian or Asian British), African, Caribbean, Other Black (Black or Black British), White and Black African, White and Asian, White and Black Caribbean (Mixed), British, Irish, Other White (White), Chinese, Other (Other Ethnic Group).
• [7] The protected characteristic of gender reassignment is defined by the Equality Act 2010 as “a person proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.” This is a personal process that may involve medical interventions such as counselling, psychotherapy, hormone therapy or surgery, but does not have to.
• [8] We have 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’.
• [9] 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.