Equality impact assessment (EIA) form: evidencing paying due regard to protected characteristics
(Form updated October 2025)
Experts at Hand
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.
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Basic Details |
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Directorate |
Children and Young People’s Service
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Service area |
Education and Inclusion / SEND and Resources
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Proposal being screened |
Experts at Hand Grant: Proposed use of Department for Education grant
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Officer(s) carrying out screening |
Chris Reynolds, Head of SEND and Resources
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Lead Officer and contact details |
Chris Reynolds, Head of SEND and Resources
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Date of the assessment |
June 2026
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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 considers the proposed deployment of the Department for Education Experts at Hand grant to develop and implement a locality-based, multi-disciplinary support model for mainstream schools and settings across North Yorkshire. The proposal builds on existing Inclusion Support Hub arrangements and would bring together education and health specialists, including Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and specialist teachers, to provide earlier advice, consultation, training, assessment and modelling of inclusive practice.
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What does the authority hope to achieve by it? (E.g. to save money, meet increased demand, do things in a better way.) |
The authority aims to strengthen early identification and inclusive practice, improve access to specialist advice before needs escalate, increase confidence in mainstream provision, improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND, and support financial sustainability by reducing avoidable escalation to statutory assessment and higher-cost specialist placements.
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Further Details |
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1.1 How have stakeholders been involved in this policy/ decision/ proposal? (e.g. a consultation exercise) |
The proposal was the subject of stakeholder engagement during April and May 2026. It will be subject to further engagement with schools, early years providers, colleges, health partners, Parent Carer Voice, children and young people and wider system stakeholders. Engagement will focus on how the model should operate in practice, including thresholds, response standards, locality delivery arrangements, workforce deployment and links with existing support.
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1.2 Will the proposal have a significant effect on how other organisations operate? (e.g. partners, funding criteria, etc.). Please explain briefly |
Yes. The proposal will affect schools, early years settings, colleges, the local authority, ICBs, health providers, parents, carers and children. It will require coordinated workforce planning, clear commissioning arrangements, consistent communication and strengthened locality governance.
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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:
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). |
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Protected characteristic |
Impact |
Comments |
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Positive |
Negative |
Neutral |
Don't know |
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Age |
✓
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Positive impact for children and young people across the 0-25 age range through earlier access to specialist advice and support in mainstream settings.
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Disability |
✓
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Positive impact for children and young people with SEND and disabled children by improving access to earlier, multi-disciplinary support, inclusive practice and reasonable adjustments in mainstream settings.
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Sex |
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✓
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No differential impact is identified at this stage. Monitoring should consider whether access and outcomes differ by sex.
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Race (including GRTS) |
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✓
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No differential impact is identified at this stage. Implementation should ensure communication and engagement are accessible and inclusive, including for Gypsy, Roma, Traveller and Showpeople communities where relevant.
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Gender reassignment |
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✓
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No differential impact is identified at this stage. The model should be delivered in a way that is inclusive and respectful of all children, young people and families.
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Sexual orientation |
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✓
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No differential impact is identified at this stage. The model should be delivered in a way that is inclusive and respectful of all children, young people and families.
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Religion or belief |
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✓
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No differential impact is identified at this stage. Implementation should ensure support is responsive to pupils’ cultural, religious and family contexts where relevant.
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Pregnancy or maternity |
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✓
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No direct differential impact is identified. Families with very young children may benefit indirectly through earlier support in early years settings and links with Best Start and Family Hubs.
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Marriage or civil partnership |
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✓
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No differential impact is identified.
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NYC’s additional characteristics |
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People in rural areas |
✓
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Positive impact is anticipated through explicit attention to equitable reach across North Yorkshire, including small schools, federations and rural settings.
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People on a low income |
✓
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Positive impact is anticipated where earlier local support reduces barriers to access and helps children and young people receive support closer to home without families needing to navigate multiple referral routes.
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Carer (unpaid family or friend) |
✓
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Positive impact is anticipated for parents and carers, including unpaid carers, through earlier joined-up advice, clearer pathways and reduced need to repeat concerns across services.
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Are from the Armed Forces Community (including veterans) |
✓
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Locality delivery should provide more rapid and responsive support to families who move into or within North Yorkshire, including Armed Forces families.
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1.4 To which Part(s) of the Public Sector Equality Duties is the Policy/decision/proposal relevant? Tick and briefly describe.
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1.5 Decision (Please tick one option) Decision to recommend this policy/ decision for an Equality Impact Assessment? |
Yes |
✓
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No |
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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. |
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Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent) |
Howard Emmett |
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Date |
2nd July 2026 |
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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.
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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): |
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2.2 Stakeholder Engagement: What engagement has been done regarding the proposal and what are the results? |
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2.3 What positive impact will this proposal have on the council budget, people, community, economic growth and environment, etc? Please explain briefly
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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. |
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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. |
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Age |
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Disability |
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Sex |
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Race (including GRTS) |
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Gender reassignment |
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Sexual orientation |
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Religion or belief |
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Pregnancy or maternity |
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Marriage or civil partnership |
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NYC’s additional characteristics |
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People in rural areas |
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People on a low income |
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Carer (unpaid family or friend) |
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Are from the Armed Forces Community (including veterans) |
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2.5 Geographic impact: Please detail where the impact will be (please tick all that apply) |
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North Yorkshire wide |
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Craven |
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Hambleton |
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Harrogate |
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Richmondshire |
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Ryedale |
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Scarborough |
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Selby |
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If you have ticked one or more areas, will specific town(s)/ village(s) be particularly impacted? If so, please specify below. |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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2.10 Sign off section This full EIA was completed by:
Signature:
Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature):
Date:
Once this has been signed off, please send it to webteam@northyorks.gov.uk for publication on the appropriate webpage. |
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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 |