Equality Impact Assessments
FAQs
Are we legally obliged to produce Equality Impact Assessments?
If you are in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, yes. English public bodies are not legally required to produce equality impact assessment however they still have to demonstrate that they have paid due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty, and an equality impact assessment can be an effective way of comprehensively demonstrating “due regard”.
Do we have to use an Equality Impact Assessment template?
You don’t have to but a template should enhance the quality of the assessments and ensure that you can demonstrate a systematic approach. A template can keep you right and assist monitoring impact. It also means that you can more easily update equality impact assessments.
Which is the best Equality Impact Assessment template?
There’s no “best” template but there are some templates which should be avoided, particularly lengthy ones (some templates exceed 12 pages). You want to make sure that any template works for your organisation.
What is essential in an Equality Impact Assessment template?
The essentials sections in an equality impact assessment template should be:
Information which informs consideration of how the policy or practice might affect each protected group;
An assessment of how this might complement the 3 elements of the Public Sector Equality Duty;
Consideration of action which could be taken to better meet the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Do we have to have a separate Equality Impact Assessment Screening Template?
No, and the use of one can be problematic because some people screen out policies and practices which should be assessed (even lightly). Some screening templates include huge sections asking for equality evidence which will then have to be duplicated in the plenary assessment.
It is better to have a question about relevance to the Public Sector Equality Duty at the start of an equality impact assessment template which focuses the mind on whether a full assessment is needed.
How long does it take to do an Equality Impact Assessment?
This depends on the policy or practice and existing resources. A proportionate approach is advised. For example, an equality impact assessment of a policy such as Subject Access Request Procedure can be done very quickly, whereas an equality impact assessment of a Recruitment and Selection Policy will take longer.
The first assessments you do may take quite a while; however with many policies once they have been done it should just be a matter of revisiting the data regularly to monitor the equality impact. Also, the more equality impact assessments you do, the more resources you will have readily available to inform other assessments, and you will have a better handle on equality evidence indicators.
Do we have to publish Equality Impact Assessments?
You don’t have to publish the full assessments but you are obliged to publish “the results” of the assessment. “The results” could include the changes you plan to make to better meet the Public Sector Equality Duty, and how you plan to monitor the equality impact.
Some organisations publish the full equality impact assessments however if you plan to do that then make sure that you update versions of assessments. Note also that Freedom of Information requests are commonly made for copies of equality impact assessments.
Our staff seem reluctant to produce Equality Impact Assessments. What can we do?
You can try to promote them as a method of continuous improvement, and better meeting the needs of protected groups, but at the end of the day there is often resistance and you are better thinking about ways to make the process easier and more efficient.
It’s best to empathise with staff and acknowledge that it can sometimes be an onerous task, and provide resources to help them with the assessments. Resources could include an area on the Staff Intranet with equality evidence, guidance on assessments and good practice examples.
What are the risks of not doing them?
A systematic approach using templates and embedding equality impact assessments into practice is the most effective way of demonstrating compliance.
The highest non-compliance risk is with the duty to assess practices as opposed to policies. Practices will include projects, strategies and decisions which can be highly relevant to the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Let’s take a regeneration project as an example. Such projects often involve large public funds, and there is ample scope to pay due regard to the need to advance equality. A lack of an equality impact assessment for such a project could be hugely problematic.
Other high-risk areas include decisions which involve a reduction or change to services. Listed authorities should ensure that equality impact assessments clearly demonstrate due regard has been paid to the Public Sector Equality Duty in such circumstances.