Equality impact assessment (EIA) form: evidencing paying due regard to protected characteristics

(Form updated October 2023)

Introduction of a North Yorkshire Pavement licensing policy

If you would like this information in another language or format such as Braille, large print or audio, please contact the Communications Unit on 01609 53 2013 or email communications@northyorks.gov.uk.

Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) are public documents.  EIAs accompanying reports going to County Councillors for decisions are published with the committee papers on our website and are available in hard copy at the relevant meeting.  To help people to find completed EIAs we also publish them in the Equality and Diversity section of our website.  This will help people to see for themselves how we have paid due regard in order to meet statutory requirements. 

Name of Directorate and Service Area	Environment, Licensing
Lead Officer and contact details	Sharon Cousins, Area Licensing Manager Sharon.cousins@northyorks.gov.uk
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the EIA	Gareth Bentley, Head of Licensing gareth.bentley@northyorks.gov.uk
How will you pay due regard? e.g. working group, individual officer	Individual officers
When did the due regard process start?	September 2025

Section 1. Please describe briefly what this EIA is about. (e.g. are you starting a new service, changing how you do something, stopping doing something?)

It is proposed to introduce a pavement licensing policy that will cover the whole of the North Yorkshire Councils area.

The proposed policy incorporates the Secretary of States Guidance, the Equality Act 2010

Section 2. Why is this being proposed? What are the aims? What does the authority hope to achieve by it? (e.g. to save money, meet increased demand, do things in a better way.)

Although the Council is not legally required to adopt a Pavement Licensing Policy, the implementation of such a policy offers significant governance and operational advantages.

A formally adopted policy provides a transparent framework that holds the Council accountable for its decisions and actions, promotes consistency in the determination of applications, and ensures that both citizens and stakeholders are furnished with clear, accessible guidance. Moreover, it reinforces public confidence in the Council’s licensing processes by demonstrating a commitment to fairness, transparency, and good administrative practice.

Section 3. What will change? What will be different for customers and/or staff?

The Policy will provide customers with improved access to information about the licence application process, the Council’s expectations, and enforcement procedures—both before applying and throughout the duration of their licence.

It will also support Council officers in making informed decisions and applying enforcement measures consistently.

Section 4. Involvement and consultation (What involvement and consultation has been done regarding the proposal and what are the results? What consultation will be needed and how will it be done?)

Subject to Executive approval, the proposals will be consulted on for a period of 6 weeks to gauge the views of the public, the licensed trade and any other interested parties.

The Communications Team will be fully engaged in delivering the consultation. Any responses to the consultation will be considered by the Executive in due course prior to a decision being made.

Section 5. What impact will this proposal have on council budgets? Will it be cost neutral, have increased cost or reduce costs?

The proposals are cost neutral. The licensing authority’s service costs (including the proposed consultation and any subsequent meetings) are recovered by way of licence fees and the service will continue to operate on the same cost-recovery basis in future.

Section 6. How will this proposal affect people with protected characteristics?	No impact	Make things better	Make things worse	Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc.
Age	ü			When an application is received a public consultation will follow. Any representations will be considered. The Policy takes into account the Equality Act 2010 and there is a no obstruction condition on any licence granted.
Disability	ü			The proposal considers the Equality Act 2010 and there is a no obstruction condition on any licence granted. A 2-meter pedestrian route should be maintained, this will assist those with prams.
Sex	ü
Race	ü
Gender reassignment	ü
Sexual orientation	ü
Religion or belief	ü
Pregnancy or maternity	ü
Marriage or civil partnership	ü
Section 7. How will this proposal affect people who…	No impact	Make things better	Make things worse	Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc.
live in a rural area?	ü
have a low income?	ü
are carers (unpaid family or friend)?	ü
are from the Armed Forces Community	ü

Section 8. Geographic impact – Please detail where the impact will be (please tick all that apply)
North Yorkshire wide	ü
Craven
Hambleton
Harrogate
Richmondshire
Ryedale
Scarborough
Selby
If you have ticked one or more areas, will specific town(s)/village(s) be particularly impacted? If so, please specify below.

Section 9. Will the proposal affect anyone more because of a combination of protected characteristics? (e.g. older women or young gay men) State what you think the effect may be and why, providing evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc. People of advanced age and with a disability will benefit more because of the improved access to wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Section 10. Next steps to address the anticipated impact. Select one of the following options and explain why this has been chosen. (Remember: we have an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people can access services and work for us)	Tick option chosen
1. No adverse impact - no major change needed to the proposal. There is no potential for discrimination or adverse impact identified.	ü
2. Adverse impact - adjust the proposal - The EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. We will change our proposal to reduce or remove these adverse impacts, or we will achieve our aim in another way which will not make things worse for people.
3. Adverse impact - continue the proposal - The EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. We cannot change our proposal to reduce or remove these adverse impacts, nor can we achieve our aim in another way which will not make things worse for people. (There must be compelling reasons for continuing with proposals which will have the most adverse impacts. Get advice from Legal Services)
4. Actual or potential unlawful discrimination - stop and remove the proposal – The EIA identifies actual or potential unlawful discrimination. It must be stopped.
Explanation of why option has been chosen. (Include any advice given by Legal Services.) The Policy considers the Equality Act 2010 and has the national no obstruction condition on any licence granted. Boundary railing is required to be in place around the perimeter of the pavement licence area. A 2 meter pedestrian route should be maintained, although applications will be judged on their own merits.

Section 11. If the proposal is to be implemented how will you find out how it is really affecting people? (How will you monitor and review the changes?)

Ongoing dialogue with the trade, and feedback from the public.

Section 12. Action plan. List any actions you need to take which have been identified in this EIA, including post implementation review to find out how the outcomes have been achieved in practice and what impacts there have actually been on people with protected characteristics.
Action	Lead	By when	Progress	Monitoring arrangements
Ongoing dialogue with the trade and wheelchair users.	Gareth Bentley and Simon Fisher	Ongoing and by 1 April 2027		Head of Licensing

Section 13. Summary Summarise the findings of your EIA, including impacts, recommendation in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.

Legal Services have been involved in the drafting of the proposed policy revisions and in the preparation of the report.

Section 14. Sign off section

This full EIA was completed by:

Name:

Job title:

Directorate:

Signature:

Completion date:

Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature): Callum McKeon

Date: 08/10/2025