Equality Issues to Consider
Use when carrying outEqualities Impact Assessments, setting equality objectives or making equality improvements.

Produced by:

Heather Johnson, Equalities Team

X1726

If you know of, or find out, any more equality issues that can be included here let me know; I’ll add them in. Thanks.

December 2007.

Contents / Page
Generic Themes:
Buildings ------/ 3
Consultation ------/ 3
Cost of the Service ------/ 4
Customer Care / Service Delivery ------/ 5
Information and Communication ------/ 5
Location of Premises ------/ 6
Monitoring , evaluation and review (incl. Complaints) / 7
Service Planning and Development ------/ 8
Staff and Skill Profile ------/ 8
Timing ------/ 10
Service Specific:
Adult Education ------/ 10
Adult Services ------/ 11
Back Office Functions ------/ 12
Bins / Recycling ------/ 13
Children’s Social Services ------/ 13
City Maintenance ------/ 14
Client Function and Service Provision/Contractor------/ 15
Economic Development ------/ 15
Festivals ------/ 15
Food Safety/Environmental Health ------/ 15
Housing ------/ 16
Internal Audit ------/ 18
IT ------/ 18
Libraries ------/ 18
Parking ------/ 19
Partnerships ------/ 19
Planning and Development ------/ 19
Procurement ------/ 20
Public Meetings (Planning, Ward Committees) ------/ 20
Revenues and Benefits (incl. Fraud)------/ 21
Sport and Leisure ------/ 21
Taxis ------/ 21
Toilets ------/ 22
Voluntary Sector Grants / Funding ------/ 22
Voting ------/ 22
Youth Offending ------/ 23
Equalities – Useful Information ------/ 24

Buildings

  • Think about the accessibility of your building – including parking, entrances, receptions, toilets, emergency evacuation, hearing loops and signage. Is there anything that could be improved?
  • What provision or alternative arrangements do/could you make if the building is not accessible to someone?
  • Think about things like background noise levels for people with hearing impairments as well as physical barriers.
  • Does the inaccessibility of any building restrict the choices or appropriateness of services offered to disabled service users (e.g. with multiple impairments)?
  • Accessibility can be an issue for parents with prams and pushchairs as well as disabled people.
  • Do services provided by the voluntary sector, but funded by CYC, meet the same access standards as CYC? If not, how does this impact on those services and people using those services?
  • Is there a procedure in place for ensuring that parking bays reserved for disabled people are not used inappropriately (by the public, bus drivers or delivery vans/lorries)?

Possible Solutions

  • Provide home visits for customers, or is it something you can do over the phone? If it’s a long conversation book a phone appointment time with the customer so you’re not springing it on them.
  • Meet customers somewhere that is accessible – a meeting room or reception (if the meeting is quick and informal) in another council building or department
  • Organise events/conferences/public meetings in accessible meeting rooms then you won’t have to try an find another room at the last minutes when a wheelchair user confirms attendance.

Also see

  • Making Connections guide on the intranet – lots of information about building access and things to think about when organising a meeting.
  • List of accessible meeting rooms (some free, some with charges) on the intranet.

Consultation

  • Does your service consult or involve minority groups?
  • What do you do with the results of your consultation?
  • Could this be improved?
  • Do you give feedback to customers on what has changed as a result of the consultation?
  • Do service users have adequate access to advocacy services?
  • Do you ensure that service users are able to express their views about their support services independently of their carers? Could this be improved?
  • For example disabled people may feel unable to say exactly what they think if their carer is present.
  • Likewise a woman who does not speak English may not be able to say what she thinks if she is relying on a family member to interpret for her.
  • Do you consider accountability – are those who are ‘speaking for’ a community (e.g. disabled people, BME communities) accountable to those communities?
  • Are women, for example, more numerous amongst service users?
  • Is this reflected in the proportion of service users that we consult?
  • Are groups actively representing women’s interests regularly consulted?
  • Are their views incorporated into how services are designed?
  • How are different groups (e.g. black and minority ethnic people) involved in service planning?
  • How is this implemented?
  • What measures have you taken to develop consultation with these groups, especially the harder to reach elements of groups, for example BME older people, in order to address their specific cultural needs?
  • How well are these working?
  • Are you conversant with the voluntary and community groups you could approach to involve people from communities of interest?

Also see

  • Perspectives: How to make Consultation Accessible and Inclusive (on the intranet). Lots of suggestions on how to improve your consultation with minority groups.

Cost of the Service

  • Are any aspects of the service charged for?
  • Are these charges applied equally and fairly? Or do they end up disadvantaging particular groups?
  • Are the methods/points of payment accessible?

Possible Solutions

  • Offer free places/tickets to disabled people’s carers.

Customer Care in your Service Delivery

  • Do your emergency evacuation procedures ensure that disabled people can be evacuated safely and as independently as possible?
  • Do you need any equipment / adaptations made?
  • Do staff know how to use this equipment or how to evacuate disabled people?
  • What systems are in place to allow hearing impaired people to respond to fire alarms?
  • Do service users understand the procedures?
  • You might not be responsible for building evacuation yourself but find out what the procedures are in case you need to evacuate whilst holding a meeting with disabled customers.
  • Are service users aware of how to report harassment and bullying?
  • Do they know what constitutes harassment and bullying?
  • Do staff know how to respond to incidents?
  • We have a legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled service users – are your staff aware of this?
  • How do you respond if a disabled customer complains or comments about something they find a barrier?
  • Do you come up with an alternative, make an adjustment, find a way round the barrier?
  • What is the equality profile of volunteer workers?
  • Are disabled or minority ethnic people, for example, adequately represented?
  • Do you have any procedural issues that impact negatively on different groups? E.g. Do customers have to complete forms to access your service?

Information and Communication

  • How accessible are standard print versions of leaflets etc?
  • Is information about your services available in accessible formats or other languages?
  • Do you provide relevant information already transcribed/ translated? E.g. information for older people could be automatically provided in large print - this would reduce the number of requests you get.
  • Are service users made aware that they can request information and correspondence in accessible formats?
  • How and where do you publicise the availability of this accessible information? Could it be improved?
  • Is the customer’s communication requirements recorded on file/database for future reference and referral purposes?
  • If you give customers forms to complete can you accept this information in another way ? Can you complete the form with the customer in person or over the phone? Not everyone can complete a hand written form.
  • What measures are in place to enable communication with people who cannot use telephones?
  • Do you have access to a minicom or talktype/textdirect service?
  • Can customers contact you by e-mail or fax?
  • Is this publicised?
  • Do you treat faxes or e-mails from disabled people (e.g. people with hearing impairments who don’t use the phone) as a phone call rather than a letter? (i.e. you answer their request imminently rather than within 10 working days)
  • Do all buildings (interview or meeting rooms and receptions) have hearing loops?
  • Are staff trained to use them?
  • Are they switched on regularly and tested?
  • Do any staff who work away from the office have access to a minicom service?
  • Do they know how to use it / use Typetalk/textdirect?
  • Do queuing systems that call out the next number also have a visual number flashing above the booth, for example, so haring impaired people can respond?
  • Do you play piped music?
  • Does this cut out when a number is announced?
  • Do your staff know how to use Language Line? Including people who work away from the office?
  • Do staff give their name and telephone number to disabled or BME customers so that they can go back to the same person with further questions or for the next stage in the process?

Possible Solutions

  • See the Making Connections guide for lots of practical advice about translation and transcription – affording it, producing it yourself and supplier contacts.

Also see

  • Textdirect/Typetalk instructions (BT website):

Location of Premises

  • Are there good transport links to the building your customers have to come to?
  • Do they enable people to travel independently?
  • Does they allow people to use public transport (not everyone drives, has a car or can afford taxi’s)
  • Is it easy to find?
  • Is the signage clear, large enough and engaging?
  • Are there any service users unable to use the provided transport (e.g. not all buses are wheelchair accessible)?
  • What alternative transport arrangements can be made?
  • Are services located, where appropriate, close to other (accessible) facilities and services?

Possible Solutions

  • Offer to pay for a taxi (if local) so people who can’t use public transport and don’t have a car can attend appointments or meetings.
  • Use accessible meeting rooms/places in the city centre so people have a choice of public transport/cycling/walking/blue badge parking.
  • Use pictures or diagrams on signage, use different colours to differentiate different departments or services. Not everyone reads or understands English – pictures, colour and icons improve understanding for everyone.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Review (incl. Complaints)

  • Do you have the management information you need to know how well your service meets equality objectives?
  • Do you equality profile your customers?
  • Does your customer profile match the city profile?
  • What performance indicators do you have that encompass equalities?
  • How do you use these indicators?
  • Do you analyse them and alter your service accordingly?
  • Are PI’s supported by action plans?
  • Does your service assess user satisfaction (by minority groups)?
  • Do you use voluntary sector to deliver services on your behalf?
  • Do you require them to monitor the take-up of services by minority group?
  • How many are run and controlled by disabled people, BME people etc?
  • Are service users aware of how to complain and what support is available to help them do so? Could this be improved?
  • Do you have sufficient information regarding the levels and types of need for local people and communities?
  • How could you improve this?
  • Do you need to do some research or consultation to find out what the needs and issues are?

Also see

  • Profile of York – what % of BME people, disabled people etc is there in York?
  • Equality profile questions to ask and categories to use.

Service Planning and Development

  • Are our equality objectives shared with our partner organisations and voluntary sector?
  • How do you ensure that partners or people carrying out services on you behalf comply with equalities legislation and promote equalities?
  • Do you monitor this? How do you do this?
  • Are there any identified gaps in service provision for service users from disadvantaged groups?
  • How are you addressing these?
  • Are services commissioned from the BME, disabled etc voluntary sector?
  • Could this be extended to support the voluntary sector from other minority groups?
  • How are we supporting BME, Women’s’ and Disabled People’s etc voluntary organisations and groups to apply for and secure resources for the provision of services?
  • Are there any information or training needs that you could assist with?
  • How do you involve minority groups in your service planning?
  • What sort of say does the community have in this process?
  • How do the results of consultation findings impact on service plans or changes to service?
  • Do we actually do what we say we do? (e.g. provide interpreters if requested)

Staff and Skill Profile

  • Have all staff been briefed on the need to provide information in accessible formats when requested?
  • Do they know how to go about meeting these requests?
  • Do staff know how to use Language Line for telephone interpretation services?
  • Do any staff have training requirements related to equality issues – e.g. disability equality, gender equality, working with particular impairment groups etc?
  • Are there any employee equality groups?
  • Are staff encouraged to attend?
  • If not how can this be improved?
  • What is the equality profile of staff in your service (office or field based)?
  • Are any groups under-represented?
  • Are there any areas / services where there is a particular need to address this (eg. minority ethnic staff working in homes/centres where there are minority ethnic residents/users)?
  • What is the equality profile of professional workers and/or managers?
  • Does this reflect the overall profile of staff?
  • If not what can you do to improve this?
  • What initiatives have you taken to recruit a more diverse workforce?
  • Are staff skills (eg in communicating and / or working with adults who have with specific impairments or needs) being optimally used?
  • Do we know what staff have what skills?
  • Could better use of staff and their skills provide a more flexible service and more choice?
  • How can work/life balance policies and procedures be supported? (esp. in home care, residential and day care services)
  • Have employees been consulted?
  • Are anti-discriminatory principles fully integrated into local recruitment practices?
  • Are managers aware of the duty to consider “reasonable adjustments” for disabled people to access the workplace?
  • Do disabled staff enjoy equal opportunity to attend training courses?
  • How is this monitored?

Suggested solutions:

  • Offer employees mentoring to help them progress to the next level.
  • Source specialist training courses to fulfil staff needs for their job.
  • Check the skills required in job descriptions – are they over qualified for the role (e.g. asking for a degree when this isn’t necessary).
  • Accept equivalent qualifications gained in other countries
  • Accept experience in transferable skills gained in non-related jobs, self-employment or non-paid work (volunteer work, caring work (parents/carers), positions within communities/clubs/societies (e.g. school or village hall committees, Women’s Institute, Gardening Club etc)
  • Access to Work (from Job Centre Plus) gives advice about and grants for employing disabled people. See website for more details:
  • Speak to your HR representative for advice on employing disabled people
  • Get involved in the Workstep programme. It helps disabled people gain employment by supporting them and their employers. Contact the Supported Employment Officer at Yorkcraft. 706654 or
  • Offer job shares, flexible working hours, home working (part time or full time where relevant) to accommodate work/life balance
  • Monitor take up of training and development activity by different groups.

Also see:

Making Connections document on the intranet – lots of advice and guidance for staff on Language Line, accessible formats, translators etc.

Timing

  • Is your service available when people want or need it?
  • If so is this the case for minority groups?
  • For example, disabled people or older people might not be able to catch public transport until after rush hour, either due to travel concession restrictions or because it’s easier to access transport when it’s not so busy; a lot of BME people run or work in restaurants so can’t attend appointments or meetings over the lunch period or in the evenings, single parents may not be able to access childcare during the day or vice versa in the evenings.

Possible Solutions

  • Offer to cover childcare costs or provide crèche facilities if you want parents, especially single parents, to attend meetings or events.
  • Be flexible on the times your service is available (e.g. occasional evenings) or offer home visits.
  • Be aware of religious events or timetables – e.g. Friday is a holy day for Muslims, don’t organise events for Fridays.
  • If you’re holding a big event you want as many people to participate in as possible, consider repeating the event at two different times (say afternoon and evening), or on two different days (one in the morning, the other in the afternoon), or give people different options on how they can contribute (e.g. attend an event or fill in a questionnaire at home)
  • Could you offer your service, or access to it in different ways – via the internet, e-mail, over the phone, in person.

Specific Services

Adult Education

  • Do you equality profile attendance at part times courses?
  • Are disadvantaged groups attending courses?
  • Could attendance be improved?
  • Do you need to publicise courses more to disadvantaged groups?
  • Do you hold courses for specific groups e.g. BME people wanting to learn English?
  • Are there enough classes
  • Are they held at the right time or location?
  • Have you consulted people to find out about the above questions?
  • How do you challenge gender stereotyping in courses?
  • Does literature about the course/attitude of tutors encourage, for example, women to take woodwork/plumbing/DIY/motor mechanic courses?
  • Are venues for courses accessible for disabled people?
  • Do tutors know how to make documentation accessible?
  • Are course prospectuses available in alternative formats or languages (or an alternative, e.g. talking to someone via Language Line interpreters) if needed?
  • Is there a complaints procedure if students feel they are being bullied or harassed on courses (by tutors or peers)?

Adult Services

Care plans and assessments