APPENDIX B

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

Rent Setting Policy

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) form is a document that proves paying due regard by considering protected characteristics. EIAs that accompany reports presented to Councillors for decision-making are published with the committee papers on our website and are also available in hard copy at the relevant meetings.

Section 1: Initial Equality Impact Assessment Screening

This section documents the equality screening process of actual or potential impacts of the proposed activity on a specific protected characteristic, along with NYC's additional agreed-upon characteristics, to determine whether a full Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is necessary or appropriate.

Basic Details

Directorate

Community Development

Service area

Housing

Proposal being screened

Rent Setting Policy

Officer(s) carrying out screening

Holly Watson

Lead Officer and contact details

Holly Watson, Graduate Trainee – Housing Strategy & Partnerships (holly.watson@northyorks.gov.uk)

Date of the assessment

March 2026

Please describe briefly what this EIA is about.

(e.g. are you starting a new service, changing how you do something, or stopping doing something?)

This EIA seeks to assess the proposed Rent Setting Policy for North Yorkshire Council, which has been developed using government legislation and regulatory guidance, alongside legacy documents and best practice examples from other local authorities.

What does the authority hope to achieve by it? (E.g. to save money, meet increased demand, do things in a better way.)

To bring together existing statutory requirements and current practice into one harmonised, county‑wide approach, reflecting how North Yorkshire Council is required to set rents as a social landlord.

Further Details

1.1 How have stakeholders been involved in this policy/ decision/ proposal? (e.g. a consultation exercise)

Internal officers were consulted throughout the policymaking process, with a kick off meeting at the beginning to agree on the scope of the policy, important decision points and any potential issues. The first and second drafts of the policy were sent to the relevant officers and service areas for feedback, which were implemented. The third draft was then shared with tenants for feedback on transparency and readability, rather than on any decision points, given the limited scope for discretion in rent setting. This led to some minor changes to the language in the policy, and the Council has committed to producing a tenant guide to rents to sit alongside the policy, offering a simplified overview of how different rents are calculated.

1.2 Will the proposal have a significant effect on how other organisations operate? (e.g. partners, funding criteria, etc.). Please explain briefly

The Rent Setting Policy is not expected to have a significant impact on how partner organisations operate. It reflects how North Yorkshire Council is already required to set rents as a social landlord and does not therefore bring in any significant changes. External organisations such as other social landlords will continue to follow their own rent setting practices, which will not be impacted by this policy.

1.3 Impact on people with any of the following protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010, or NYC’s additional agreed characteristics

As part of this assessment, please consider the following questions:

To what extent is this service used by particular groups of people with protected characteristics?

Does the proposal relate to functions that previous consultation has identified as important?

Do different groups have different needs or experiences in the area the proposal relates to?

If for any characteristic, it is considered that there is likely to be an adverse impact or you have ticked ‘Don’t know/no info available’, then a full EIA should be carried out where this is proportionate. You are advised to speak to your directorate representative for advice if you are in any doubt.

Tick and indicate which protected characteristics are identified as relevant to the proposal (positive, negative, neutral or don’t know).

Protected characteristic

Impact

Comments

Positive

Negative

Neutral

Don't know

Age

From information currently available we can estimate that 51% of our tenants are aged over 60. In 2021, 25% of the county’s adult population was over the age of 65. This is higher than the national percentage of

18.4%. This means that our tenant population is significantly more aged than the average population for North Yorkshire and the country.

By 2035, 32.60% of North Yorkshire’s total population will be aged 65+ and 5.97% will be aged 85+.

Nationally 23.26% will be 65+ and 4.05% will be 85+ by 2035.

Less than 5% of our tenant population are under 29. North Yorkshire has a lower proportion of young people than the national average- 24.5% under 25 compared to 29.2% nationally.

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Disability

North Yorkshire has a lower proportion (19.3%) of people with a disability or long-term limiting illness whose day-to-day activities are limited a lot- against the national average of 23.69%.

However, this will rise to 20.89% of the 65+ population in North Yorkshire, against a national average of 24.86%.

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Sex

The proportion of females is slightly higher (51%) than that of males (49%).

This pattern is reflected across all localities, with the exception of Richmondshire, where the large number of predominantly male military personnel have the effect of reversing the proportions.

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Race (including GRTS)

North Yorkshire has a much lower proportion (4.77%) of people who identify with a non-UK identity than the national average (12%).

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Gender reassignment

In the 2021 census 1478 (0.28%) of residents across North Yorkshire identified themselves as transsexual or with a gender identity different to that registered at birth.

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Sexual orientation

In the 2021 census 11,291 (2.2%) of residents across North Yorkshire identified themselves as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Other (LGB+).

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Religion or belief

North Yorkshire has higher levels of Christians (55.6%) than the national average (46.2%), and lower levels of all other religions than the national average. Percentages of those with no religion or not stating their religion are broadly similar to the national average.

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Pregnancy or maternity

In 2021 there were 5133 live births in North Yorkshire.

In 2020 the conception rate per 1000 for under 18’s was 10.9. This is below the rate for England (13).

In 2020/21 4.2% of deliveries in North Yorkshire were to mothers from ethnic minorities, compared to the England value of 21.6%.

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Marriage or civil partnership

A higher percentage of North Yorkshire’s population is married or in a civil partnership (53.7%) than the national average (46.8%)

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

NYC’s additional characteristics

People in rural areas

The population in North Yorkshire is generally sparser than the national average (77 people per square kilometre as opposed to 434 nationally). In some parts of the county this is lower still (Ryedale 36, Richmondshire 38, Craven 48, Hambleton 69).

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

People on a low income

The proportion of households in deprivation in North Yorkshire reduced between 2011 and 2021. In 2011 52.1% of households in North Yorkshire were deprived in at least one of the four dimensions (employment, education, health and disability, housing).

By 2021 this had fallen to 46.7%. This 5.4 percentage point reduction in North Yorkshire compared with a 5.9 percentage point reduction across England as a whole, with the proportion of households in deprivation in North Yorkshire remaining below the national average.

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Carer (unpaid family or friend)

Carers’ allowance claimants make up 0.98% of North Yorkshire’s population.

This is lower than the average for England (1.42%) but there are variations across the county. It is likely, however, that these figures do not reflect the true number of people carrying out caring roles in the county as many do not claim allowances.

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

Are from the Armed Forces Community (including veterans)

North Yorkshire has 29,831 Armed Forces Veterans. Richmondshire has the highest proportion of Armed Forces Veterans in North Yorkshire at 9.5% (3,962), which is the third highest nationally.

The proportion of veterans in Richmondshire is more than double the national average rate, which is 3.8%.

Harrogate has the highest number of Armed Forces Veterans in North Yorkshire with 7,076 (5.2%).

Our ambitions will not have any anticipated impacts on people specifically due to them sharing this particular protected characteristic.

1.4 To which Part(s) of the Public Sector Equality Duties is the Policy/decision/proposal relevant? Tick and briefly describe.

General Duties	Yes	No	Details
Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation	X		The Rent Setting Policy supports the elimination of discrimination by ensuring that rents are set consistently for all tenants and leaseholders across North Yorkshire. It sets out clearly how rents will be set for the relevant tenure types and ensures that, where there is scope for case-by-case decision-making, this is done based on tenant and leaseholder affordability and the Council’s financial position, rather than any personal characteristics.
Advance equality of opportunity		X	The policy does not directly promote equality of opportunity because it does not bring in significant changes to how the Council already sets rents. However, supporting consistency through a county-wide policy helps to ensure that rents for properties of the same tenure type are calculated in the same way, reducing the risk of some North Yorkshire residents being unable to access the Council’s housing as a result of inequity between rents.
Foster good relations between different groups		X	The policy does not directly influence relations between different groups. However, providing a consistent and transparent process for setting different rents and explaining the legislation underpinning this may improve relations between tenants and leaseholders by offering clarity around any discrepancies between their individual rents.

1.5 Decision (Please tick one option)

Decision to recommend this policy/ decision for an Equality Impact Assessment?

Yes

If the answer is “Yes”, or you indicate a negative impact on any of the characteristics mentioned in the table above, please continue to Section 2 and complete the full Equality Impact Assessment.

If the answer is “No”, please give a brief reason here.

Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)

Date

Section 2: Equality Impact Assessment

This section aims to provide a full assessment of the actual or potential impacts on specific protected characteristics, along with NYC's additional characteristics. It will also identify the proper actions to mitigate these impacts, if needed.

2.1 Evidence, Consultation and Data: What data or evidence source(s) has/ have been used to inform this assessment? Select the relevant source (s): Demographic data Service usage data Consultation feedback National/local research and report Expert opinion Others
2.2 Stakeholder Engagement: What engagement has been done regarding the proposal and what are the results? Who has been consulted? How were they consulted? What feedback was received?
2.3 What positive impact will this proposal have on the council budget, people, community, economic growth and environment, etc? Please explain briefly
2.4 Please briefly describe how will this proposal affect people with protected characteristics? Only those who are identified as relevant to the proposal in section 1.
protected characteristics	Negative	Don’t know	Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information, etc.
Age
Disability
Sex
Race (including GRTS)
Gender reassignment
Sexual orientation
Religion or belief
Pregnancy or maternity
Marriage or civil partnership
NYC’s additional characteristics
People in rural areas
People on a low income
Carer (unpaid family or friend)
Are from the Armed Forces Community (including veterans)

2.5 Geographic impact: Please detail where the impact will be (please tick all that apply)

North Yorkshire wide

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.

2.6 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, citing evidence from Q2.1 & Q2.2, e.g. engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information, etc.

2.7 Mitigation and Actions: List the actions that will be taken to reduce or eliminate any negative impact identified above and how positive impacts will be enhanced. Briefly describe the action you defined.

Actions	Lead	By when

2.8 Monitoring and Review: If the proposal is to be implemented, how will the impact be monitored? Briefly describe the monitoring arrangements/systems that will be put in place to find out how the expected outcomes have been achieved in practice.

2.9 Conclusion: Please summarise the findings of your EIA, including impacts, recommendations 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.

2.10 Sign off section

This full EIA was completed by:

Name: Imogen Downie

Job title:

Directorate: Community Development

Signature:

Completion date:

Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature): A Rowe

Date: 24 March 2026

Once this has been signed off, please send it to webteam@northyorks.gov.uk for publication on the appropriate webpage.

Publication:

To help people find completed EIAs, we publish them in the Equality and Diversity section of the NY Council website.

Contact details

If you need further support and guidance about carrying out EIA, please contact your directorate equality representative as listed in Stage 4 on our Intranet: Paying due regard to equality using equality impact assessments

Or contact North Yorkshire Council’s equality team on email Equality@northyorks.gov.uk