Equality impact Assessment form (Part 1)Screening

Name of strategy/policy/procedure/project/function:

Accessibility to Face to Face Services

Name and telephone number of officers completing assessment:

Bryn Panther – Head of Customer Services
Lindsey Baxter – Customer Services Manager
Ben Willis – Team Leader Customer Services
Morag Williams – Team Leader Customer Services

Date completed:

13.11.08
Section one: Identify your aims and objectives

The purpose of an Equality Impact Assessment is to improve the work of the Council by making sure it does not discriminate and that, where possible, it promotes equality. It is a way to make sure individuals and teams think carefully about the likely impact of their work on people in Reigate & Banstead and take action to improve strategies, policies, procedures, projects and functions where appropriate.

Consider the following questions with regard to your strategy/policy/procedure/project/function:

·  How will it be put into practice and who will be responsible for it?

·  Who are the key stakeholders?

·  What are you trying to achieve and for whom?

What is the main aim or purpose of the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function?

Customer Services provides key interface with the Public through the following channels:
·  Face to face - Four Help Shops, one Help Shop surgery and Town Hall Reception.
·  Telephone - Help Line, including the council’s switchboard function
·  Online - Help OnLine via the councils website, which deals with customer enquiries and increasingly offering transactions such as payments or requests for service
·  Written – managing e-mails sent to the council and also handling the councils complaints handling processes
Where access is face to face the unit aims to deliver excellent customer service, through the provision of well-trained, knowledgeable staff, and exploitation of systems and data to help customers with their enquiries about Council services. Work will also continue to provide self-service access to customers where appropriate. Face to face access is provided through the following locations, Banstead Help Shop, Redhill Help Shop, Horley Help Shop, Merstham Help Shop, Preston Help Desk, Customer Services Desks at the Town Hall and Reception.

List the main activities or objectives of the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function

(for strategies list the main policy areas):

To act as the first point of contact for all Council services
To provide a quality information service to external and internal customers, with a total commitment to customer care, aiming to answer 80% of queries at first point of contact.
In Help Shops there is a focus on help with Benefits claims, access to planning applications, Housing applications, we also facilitate a wide selection of surgeries via partner agencies.

Who are main beneficiaries of the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function and in what way?

All customers of the council, be they colleagues, residents, businesses or visitors
Section two: Consider data and research

A vital part of the process is exploring any available data and relevant research. This will help to form an opinion on the implications a strategy/policy/procedure/project/function may have in relation to equality and diversity.

Data can be statistical information from formal audits, consultation exercises (both external and internal), and surveys. Qualitative and quantitative data can be used. This may include service performance information, workforce profiles, local population and census data.

·  Statistical data can be found in the About the Borough section of The Knowledge under Facts and figures

·  Consultation data can be found in the About the Borough section under Consultations

Where data is limited or not available managers should identify this as a limitation and devise action plans to overcome this. This may be achieved by contacting specialist organisations, representatives from the respective equality groups, and by further research of existing regional and national data.

What data is available to help inform the EIA?

Population data for the Borough including specific information on equality topics, feedback from residents' surveys and focus groups. Annual Equalities forums. Day to day management of the F2F service is informed by data generated from the Synergy system.

Are there any gaps, which may require further research or consultation?

Access to customer segmentation data would be beneficial
Section three: Assess the impact on equality target groups

Assess where you think that the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function could have a negative impact on any of the equality target groups i.e. it could disadvantage them or where it could have a positive impact or contribute to promoting equality, equal opportunities or improving relations within equality target groups.

Consider the following:

·  publicity, including design, distribution, accessible communications issues

·  physical access

·  location, geography

·  poverty, deprivation and social exclusion issues

·  employment

·  safety

·  direct discrimination: does the strategy, policy or project intentionally exclude a particular equality category? Is this justified?

·  indirect discrimination: does the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function affect some equality categories disproportionately? Is this justified? Is the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function or its outcomes (such as the services provided) likely to be equally accessed by all? Are there barriers that might inhibit or restrict access to the service for some people?

This section can be difficult to answer in areas where there is little or no information but lack of data should not be a reason to halt the process. Please continue to complete this form.

Using the table below, take each one of the equality target groups and predict the likely impact on people from these groups. Impact can be positive, negative, direct or indirect. You do not have to complete all the boxes. Only those where there is a disproportionate or greater impact either way.

/ Positive impact (itcould benefit) / Neutral / Negative impact
(It could disadvantage) /

Reason

/

Gender

/ Women /
High Low
/ Service does not discriminate on the basis of gender.
Men /
High Low
/ Service does not discriminate on the basis of gender.
Transgendered Men/Women /
High Low
/ Service does not discriminate on the basis of gender. However there may be a small negative impact if transgender people have documents in other names.

Race

The categories used in the Race section are those used in the 2001 census. Consideration should be given to the needs of specific communities within the broad categories. / Asian /
High Low
/ Non English speakers may have difficulty in accessing the service, but CS have produced an Accessibility Guide to support staff in service delivery, this includes information regarding translation and interpreting services.
Black /
High Low
/ See above
Mixed race /
High Low
/ See above
White /
High Low
/ See above
Chinese /
High Low
/ See above
Other racial or ethnic groups - specify /
High Low
/ See above. Also depending on the service being accessed, gypsy/travellers may have difficulty if they cannot prove residency within the borough.

Disability

Long term health impairment could include, mental health problems, asthma, heart conditions, chronic fatigue etc. / Physical /
High Low
/ All premises are DDA compliant but some difficulties may still be experienced due to location and limitations of the building.
Sensory /
High Low
/ Information regarding service provision has been made in the Accessibility Guide to support customers with sensory disabilities.
Learning /
High Low
/ Staff are trained to assist customers of all abilities particularly in the completion of forms.
Long Term Health Impairment /
High Low
/ All premises are DDA compliant but some difficulties may still be experienced due to location and limitations of the building.
Sexual orientation / Heterosexuals, lesbians, gay men and bisexuals /
High Low
/ No evidence of differential impact with regard to sexual orientation

Age

/ Older people /
High Low
/ F2F locations give access to those less able to use services via other channels such as web and phone
Younger people
and children /

High Low

/ Some surgery provision is focussed at younger people and information held is often accessed for study purposes. Small play areas are provided for the very young.
Religion or belief
Faith groups cover a wide range of groupings, the most common of which are Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs. Consider faith categories individually and collectively when considering positive and negative impacts. / Faith groups /

High Low

/ There is no evidence of differential impact with regard to religion and belief.

If you have indicated there is a potential negative impact on any group, are these Intentional and of a High Impact?

Intended? – i.e. can be justified in terms of legislation

e.g. Concessionary fares over 60s Yes No

High impact? – i.e. it is or may be discriminatory

against some groups. Yes No

Is the negative impact

NOT INTENDED and/or of HIGH IMPACT?

·  If yes, a full assessment is required. Please complete the Equality impact assessment form Part Two: Full assessment.

·  If no, complete the rest of this form below and consider if completing the Equality impact assessment form Part Two: Full assessment would be helpful in making a thorough assessment. Do not ignore low impacts – these could help you develop services in the future.

Section four: Improvement planning

It is important to consider any influence the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function is having, or could potentially have, on the individual strands of equality. The strategy/policy/procedure/project/function should be examined for its effectiveness in:

·  promoting equality

·  eliminating discrimination

·  achieving equity

Could you minimise or remove any low negative impact or improve the positive impact of the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function and if so how?

Analysis must be undertaken with the strategic objectives of the Council in mind and the questions should reflect legal requirements, the emerging Local Development Framework and population needs.

Use the table below to record how you could minimise or remove any low negative impact or improve the positive impact of the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function:

Issue / Action /
Communication / Consider producing literature in other languages
Physical Disability / Consideration to be given to location and design of future F2F offices
Sensory Disability / Consider holding key documents in Braille

If there is no evidence that the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function promotes equality, equal opportunities or improved relations – could it be adapted so that it does? How?

Not applicable
Section five: Monitoring and reviewing

What data do you have which monitors the impact of the strategy/policy/procedure/project/function on minority groups?

Limited data from annual equalities forum. Customer with sensory disability provides feedback on a regular basis.

How is this data used?

To inform our equalities action plan

If there is no data, please explain how you intend to continue monitoring the impact of this strategy/policy/procedure/project/function:

Insight gained from customer feedback

Please send a copy of the completed form to the Equalities Steering Group, via Lorraine Hatton at .

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