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

(Form updated October 2025)

Library Strategy Mid Term Strategy Review

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

Libraries

Proposal being screened

Officer(s) carrying out screening

Lead Officer and contact details

Hazel Smith

Date of the assessment

27.3.26

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?)

To accompany the Executive Report on the Library Strategy Mid-Term review

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

Further Details

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

Reviews of budget allocations are BAU regarding service provision and we do not feel that stakeholder engagement is required in this case.

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

No effect.

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

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)

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			No
Advance equality of opportunity			No
Foster good relations between different groups			No

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.

The proposal is to reduce our spending on online subscriptions. We regularly review our resources to ensure that they are adding value to our offer and providing value for money. Given the under-usage of the resources in question, we feel that we can reduce our budget by £20K without any detrimental impact on customers.

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:

Job title:

Directorate:

Signature:

Completion date:

Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature): Jo Ireland

Date: 02/04/2026

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