Transformation Budget Savings – Community Enabling Team Resource Equality Impact Assessment

Name of policies to be assessed

Transformation Budget Savings – Community Enabling Team Resource

1. What is the main purpose of the policies?

The main purpose of the policies is to:

• reduce the baseline budget across the service by £65,000 by introducing new ways of working and maximising externally funding

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

The Community Enabling Team cover:

• S106
• Voluntary Welfare Grants
• Locality Budgets
• Resettlement & Asylum Seeker Schemes
• Local Delivery Pilot
• Public Health
• Reducing inequalities
• Member and community engagement
• Crisis management – Covid response and Homes 4 Ukraine
• Armed Forces support and advice
• Alliance Neighbourhood support
• Asset Based Community Development – Communities Can
• One Colchester and System Wide support

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

This is a new approach to ways of working in these service areas.

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

The team work closely with:

• residents
• communities and their leaders
• partner organisations
• members
• senior leadership team
• teams across the council and Colchester Borough Homes

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

Ensure we continue to provide a professional service to residents, partners and council team in a more streamline way maximising all external funding opportunities and sharing system resources.

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

The team work closely with communities and their leaders, partner organisations, members, senior leadership team and teams across the council. So any reduction in service provision will have a wide impact and a reduction to the support offered across the system in Colchester.

7. Relevant information, data, surveys or consultations

The following relevant information, data, surveys or consultations¹ help us assess the likely or actual impact of the policy upon customers or staff.

• Positive informal feedback from Essex County Council and other partner organisations and community groups.

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

The 3 principles duties of the Equality Act will be observed when developing a new look team to deliver this budget theme.

7. How does the policy help the council to improve health/reduce health inequalities⁵ for residents?

This teams plays a key role in improving/reducing health inequalities for residents so any reduction will have an impact on how we assist partners and work with communities to make Colchester City a better place to live, work and visit.

8. 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+) and younger people (17-25)

Negative impact

The reduction in staffing will mean a reduction into the Colchester City Council contribution to the Age Well & Die Well domains and our general work supporting the older residents of Colchester.

The reduction in staffing will mean a reduction into the Colchester City Council contribution to the Start Well domain and our general work supporting the younger residents of Colchester. 

Disability – physical, sensory, learning, mental health issues, other

Negative impact

The reduction in staffing will mean a reduction into the Colchester City Council contribution to the Feel Well domain and our general work supporting residents with disabilities in Colchester.

Ethnicity⁶ - white; mixed or multiple ethnic groups; asian or asian british; black, black british, caribbean or african; other ethnic group

Negative impact

The reduction in staffing will mean a reduction in general work supporting Faith Groups and Resettlement/Asylum Seeker schemes as a City of Sanctuary.

Language – english not as a first language

Negative impact

Negative impacts are the same as those for ethinicity.

Pregnancy and maternity – women who are pregnant or have given birth in the last 26 weeks

Negative impact

The reduction in staffing will mean a reduction into the Colchester City Council contribution to the Start Well domain and our general work supporting new families in Colchester. 

Religion or belief – people with a religious belief (or none)

Negative impact

Negative impacts are the same as those for ethinicity.

Sex – men and women

Negative impact

The reduction in staffing will mean a reduction in general work supporting all residents. 

Gender reassignment⁷ – transgender/transsexual

Negative impact

Negative impacts are the same as those for sex. 

Sexual orientation – straight/heterosexual, gay or lesbian, bisexual, other sexual orientation

Negative impact

Negative impacts are the same as those for sex. 

Marriage and civil partnership - people who are married or in a civil partnership

Negative impact

Negative impacts are the same as those for sex. 

9. How negative impacts be minimised or removed?

We will continue to investigate and implement different ways of working to minimise the impact to residents.

10. Could the policy discriminate⁸ against any ‘protected characteristic’ either directly or indirectly⁹?

No, this change will not directly discriminate but will reduce our capacity to assist and advice to make improvements.

Summary and findings of Initial Equality Impact Assessment

11. 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.

12. Name and job title of person completing this form

Michelle Tarbun, Group Manager – Communities.

13. Date of completion

11 January 2023. 

• [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.
• [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] 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’.
• [9] If you answer ‘yes’ to question 11 (above) you will need to complete the following section and go on to complete Section 2 in order to conduct a full Equality Impact Assessment.