Equality Impact Assessments (EqIA)

• What is an Equality Impact Assessment?
• Why do we undertake Equality Impact Assessments?
• How do we do it?
• Using the right data
• Do we publish results?

What is an Equality Impact Assessment?

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) is a way of systematically taking equal opportunities into consideration when making a decision. Haringey Council undertakes EqIAs on significant changes to policy or services and decisions that could have disproportionate impacts on individuals or groups protected under the Equality Act 2010 (external link).

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Why do we undertake Equality Impact Assessments?

1. They help us meet our Public Sector Equality Duty:

The Equality Act 2010 introduced the Public Sector Equality Duty. This requires all public bodies, including local authorities, to have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
• Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

Equality Impact Assessments enable to council to:

• Demonstrate due regard for the provisions of the Public Sector Equality Duty
• Identify possible negative impacts of decisions on individuals and groups with protected characteristics and plan mitigating action accordingly
• Identify additional opportunities to advance equality within policies, strategies, and services

2. It is good practice in policy and strategy development:

Haringey Council believes that it is good practice when developing a policy or strategy or a new initiative to anticipate the likely effects it may have and to take steps to prevent or minimise any likely harmful effects especially on persons who share any of the characteristics that are protected under the Equality Act. This ensures that disadvantaged groups are not further disadvantaged by the policies and strategies we adopt. It also ensures that Councillors are properly advised of the potential effects of proposals before they take decisions that affect people’s lives.

3. They offer an opportunity to involve stakeholders in our decision-making process:

In the Haringey Borough Plan 2019-23 we make a commitment to talk to those affected at the start of the process when looking at changing existing services or policies, and developing new ones, so people are able to inform what we do. This kind of consultation is a key part of our equality impact assessment process. When developing a policy or initiative, council officers are advised to seek the views of people who share protected characteristics to find out how it is likely to affect them, and to use those views to inform their impact assessments and recommendations to Councillors.

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How do we do it?

In Haringey, we undertake Equality Impact Assessments by working methodically through a number of questions:

• One set of questions is intended to screen proposals to help council officers decide if a full impact assessment is necessary
• One set of questions forms the basis of a full Equality Impact Assessment. These questions allow the affected groups to be identified, enables data analysis of those affected groups, and leads on to analysis of the impact based on that data analysis. A final section requires any negative impacts and mitigating actions to be noted. 

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Using the right data

It is important that up to date information is used for conducting EqIAs. The most recent data can be found in:

• Equalities profile of Haringey (PDF, 677KB)
• Ward level Equalities data (Excel, 23KB)
• Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
• Haringey facts and figures
• Haringey Council employment profile

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Do we publish results?

Yes, we do publish results of EqIAs. EqIAs should be attached to each report where there is a public decision. Please see the appendices of the relevant committee papers

Equality Impact Assessments from previous years

• Equality Impact Assessments 2019-20
• Equality Impact Assessments 2018-19
• Equality Impact Assessments 2017-18
• Equality Impact Assessments 2016-17
• Equality Impact Assessments 2015-16
• Equality Impact Assessments 2014-15

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