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Draft Revised Equality Impact Analysis process |
Equality analysis is an important part of our commitment to meeting the needs of all members of our communities.
Carrying out an equality analysis of policies and decisions helps the Council to think about the different needs some group of people may have and make sure that the decisions it makes do not unfairly affect some people more than others.
The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination on the basis of 9 'protected characteristics', and introduced a single Public Sector Equality Duty on all Government organisations. The Equality Act 2010 requires us to have due regard to:
In order to comply with the Public Sector Duty, we must demonstrate that we have considered Equalities when planning new services making amendments to policies, procedures, services or working practices and that we have identified any impact there may be on equality and diversity matters. You should complete an EIA when considering any proposal which will impact people including:
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· Developing a service specification · Commissioning a service · Providing a new service to residents · New staff working procedure · Refreshing and updating a policy |
· Removal of service · Developing a strategy · Changing a service · As part of consultation process · Changes to services delivered jointly with other agencies
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The Equality Act 2010 does not require public authorities to carry out EIAs, however, recent case law has clarified that public authorities do have to assess the impact their proposed policies have on equality and some form of documentary evidence of compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty is invaluable to when defending a decisions in court.
The EIA provides a systematic way of checking that some groups do not inadvertently receive different treatments or outcomes which causes a disadvantage, ensures the Council is not acting in a discriminatory way, allows us to identify mitigation to avoid discriminatory action and helps to identify when consultation work with stakeholders may be required.
Data and Evidence
The evidence needed to complete an EIA will depend on the type of the proposal, but it will probably include some of the following items:
· Service-level equality monitoring data (disaggregated by disability, gender, gender reassignment, ethnicity/nationality, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy/maternity and religion or belief) for the services being assessed or those which are similar.
· Information about the population or local community, including census findings. See STREAM.
· The results of involvement activities, consultations or recent surveys.
· Comparisons with similar policies/activities in other departments or authorities.
· Analysis of records of enquiries or complaints from the public about services or policies.
· Recommendations of inspection and audit reports and reviews.
· Recent research findings from a range of national, regional and local sources.
· Information from groups and agencies directly in touch with particular protected groups in the communities the authority serves; for example, qualitative studies by trade unions and voluntary and community organisations.
Where there is insufficient information to properly assess the proposal, further research may be needed to fill the gap. Examples include surveys, or holding informal consultation exercises to supplement the available statistical and qualitative data. Where a significant gap in knowledge exists; does this justify suspending the development of the proposal to carry out further research
Identifying positive and negative impacts
· Is there any evidence that any part of the proposed policy could discriminate unlawfully, directly or indirectly, against people from some communities or groups?
· Could the policy outcomes differ according to those with a protected characteristic? For example, because they have particular needs, experiences, concerns or priorities in relation to the issues addressed by the policy or practice. Put another way:
· Could the policy or practice affect different groups disproportionately? For example, are more women than men affected.
· Is there evidence of higher or lower participation or uptake by different groups?
· Is the proposed policy likely to affect relations between certain communities or groups? (positively or negatively)
· If there will be a greater impact on one group, is that appropriate and consistent with the policy objective?
· Does the policy involve procurement or joint working? If so are you aware of your partner's equality policy and 'track record'?
· It is essential to consider not just the intended consequences of the policy or practice but also any unintended consequences and barriers that might prevent it being effective for certain communities or groups.
This form records the equality screening process to determine the relevance of equality to a proposal and the decision whether or not a full EIA would be appropriate or proportionate.
You should complete this form if you are carrying out any of the activities listed in the box on the first page of this document.
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Service Area |
Licensing – LGR
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Officer(s) carrying out screening
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Sharon Cousins |
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Proposal being screened |
Proposed Hackney Carriage Maximum Fare intended to cover the whole of the North Yorkshire, following public consultation
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What is the reason for carrying out the proposal and what are the desired outcomes? |
The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (“the Act”) provides that in respect of charges for Hackney Carriages, “the Council may fix the rates or fares within the district”.
Officers working on the Licensing area for the Local Government Reorganisation (“LGR”) process, established early on that there was a significant risk to the Council if a single Hackney Carriage (“HC”) and Private Hire (“PH”) licensing policy was not in place by day 1 of the new Council and had not adopted the Act. Due to this, a report is due before the Executive seeking approval to adopt a HC and PH taxi licensing policy and the Act in February. If the Act is adopted, it will automatically create one ‘controlled district’ to reflect the administrative area of North Yorkshire Council from 1 April 2023. The creation of the new Council will bring together 7 licensing authorities who previously had their own Hackney Carriage Maximum Fare in place.
As part of the LGR process officers carried out a risk assessment that showed the risk factors if the Council was not to introduce one maximum HC fare from 1 April 2023.
The risks were as follows:
1. Complaints from drivers aggrieved by current different maximum fares than their colleagues in neighbouring zones in North Yorkshire. 2. Complaints from customers confused by varied fares in areas licensed by the one authority 3. Additional resources required to consider any subsequent fare increases (i.e., up to 7 separate consultations, cabinet meetings, newspaper advertisements etc. 4. Separate fares
The maximum fare proposal for Hackney Carriage Vehicles may affect those who rely on such a service, specifically those members of the public who do not wish to pre-book a journey via a Private Hire Operator. This Equality Impact Assessment is focused on the proposed draft maximum fare for the new North Yorkshire Council and not a change of policy, practices, or procedures.
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What information or evidence do you have on current and future service users and the impacts that carrying out the proposal could have on them? |
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What other information and evidence has been used to support this equality analysis? |
The adoption of a policy will affect any person who uses a taxi. Regardless of their protected characteristic. Though it will most heavily impact those who would be most reliant on public transport. Such as the elderly and disabled and other vulnerable users. However other groups would also be impacted.
The Councils equalities officer has been consulted |
Please use the table on the next page to list any impacts that the proposal might have on people with protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010. As part of this assessment, please consider:
· How the proposal will impact on members of our community or people we employ with protected characteristics
· Whether there is any evidence that any part of the proposed policy could discriminate unlawfully, directly or indirectly, against particular groups of people.
· Any indication that different groups have or will have different needs, experiences, issues and priorities in relation to the proposal.
If for any characteristic it is considered that there is likely to be a significant adverse impact or you have ticked ‘Don’t know/no info available’, then a full EIA should be carried out where this is proportionate.
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Protected Characteristic |
No Impact |
Positive Impact |
Negative Impact |
Don’t know/ No info available |
Description of any Impacts |
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Age
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X |
The proposed Hackney Carriage fare may negatively impact older people, if in the legacy district the maximum fare set was lower than the proposal for the new North Yorkshire Council, especially those with reduced mobility who are more likely to require accessible vehicles or depend on this service. However, each legacy District have in 2022 reviewed the maximum fares to cover the increase of fuel at the pump. As this is a maximum fare rate, over time market forces and competition should take effect and prices are likely to go down. |
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Disability
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X |
The proposed Hackney Carriage fare may negatively impact disabled people, if in the legacy district the maximum fare set was lower than the proposal for the new North Yorkshire Council, especially those who do not want to book a journey in advance with a Private Hire Operator. However, each legacy District have in 2022 reviewed the maximum fares to cover the increase of fuel at the pump. As this is a maximum fare rate, over time market forces and competition should take effect and prices are likely to go down. |
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Sex (gender)
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X |
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Open to all and no adverse impact Complaints regarding discrimination will be fully investigated. |
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Race
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X |
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Open to all and no adverse impact. Complaints regarding discrimination will be fully investigated |
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Sexual orientation
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X |
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Open to all and no adverse impact. Complaints regarding discrimination will be fully investigated |
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Marriage or civil partnership |
X |
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Open to all Complaints regarding discrimination will be fully investigated |
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Religion or belief
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X |
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Open to all Complaints regarding discrimination will be fully investigated |
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Pregnancy or maternity
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X |
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Open to all Complaints regarding discrimination will be fully investigated
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Gender reassignment
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X |
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Open to all Complaints regarding discrimination will be fully investigated
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Decision (Please tick one option) |
Initial Screening indicates EIA not relevant or proportionate |
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Initial Screening indicates Full EIA required
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Reason for Decision
No confirmed change to the table of fares have been agreed. Though once a draft fare is proposed it may need to be reviewed. This would be dependent on if and what any increase in fare is.
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Signed Head of Service
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Date
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