Inverclyde Council Equality Analysis Toolkit

This toolkit aims to assist the process of carrying out analysis of the effects on equality of the policies, plans, strategies and programmes of Inverclyde Council. It sets out what services require to do in order to embed equality analysis into processes, and to ensure the Council meets it’s legislative requirements in regard to the Equality Act 2010.

This toolkit should be completed using the Equality Analysis Toolkit Guidance which provides further detail and information to assist in the process.

Policy Profile

1 / Name of the policy, plan, strategy or programme / Inverclyde Libraries Management Rules
2 / Responsible organisations/Lead Service / Libraries, Museum and Archives
3 / Lead Officer / Alana Ward: Libraries, Museum and Archives Manager
4 / Partners/other services involved in the development of this policy / n/a
5 / Is this policy: / New
Reviewed/RevisedX
6 / What is the purpose of the policy?
(include any new legislation which prompted the policy or changes to the policy) / The purpose of the policy is to manage membership, access and use of Inverclyde Libraries and its materials.
7 / What are the intended outcomes of the policy? / The policy is intended to provide guidance to staff and the public as to acceptable conduct within the library, appropriate use of library materials, and the rights and responsibilities of library users.
8 / What is the period covered by the policy? / 2013-23
9 / Target geographical area / Inverclyde
10 / Which parts of the Equality Duty is the policy relevant to? / X Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
X Advance equality of opportunity between people from different groups
□ Foster good relations between people from different groups
Which of the protected characteristics will the policy have an impact upon? (see guidance for examples of key considerations under each characteristic)
Protected Characteristic / Positive Impact
+ / Neutral Impact
= / Negative Impact
- / Cross cutting theme
Age / Under 16s and over 60s are not charged fines for the late return of materials. / Poverty; access
Disability / Certain rules contain exceptions to advance equality of opportunity for disabled people in accessing libraries. / Access
Gender Reassignment / X
Pregnancy and maternity / X
Race / X
Religion or Belief / X
Sex / X
Sexual Orientation / X
Other groups to consider / X
What evidence do you have to help identify any potential impacts of the policy?
(Evidence could include: consultations, surveys, focus groups, interviews, projects, user feedback, complaints, officer knowledge and experience, equalities monitoring data, publications, research, reports, local, national groups.)
Evidence / Details
Consultation/Engagement (including any carried out while developing the policy) / Customer Survey carried out February 2012
Research / Staff used the Management rules of other Scottish local authority library services to inform this policy.
Officer’s knowledge and experience (inc feedback from frontline staff). / The Rules were reviewed using officers’ knowledge and experience, and included feedback from frontline staff.
Equalities monitoring data. / Equalities monitoring data was gathered as part of the customer survey carried out in 2012 and used to inform this policy.
User feedback(inc complaints) / User feedback is encouraged, collected, monitored and was used to inform this policy.
Stakeholders
Other / n/a
What information gaps are there? / None.
What are the actual or likely effects of the policy, in relation to the three aims of the equality duty and the protected groups? (list both positive and negative)
The Management Rules outline acceptable conduct within the library, appropriate use of library materials, and the rights and responsibilities of library users. The Rules apply equally to all service users. Exceptions have been made to a small number of rules to allow working guide dogs, wheelchairs and mobility scooters access in to libraries to provide equality of opportunity for disabled people.
There is a slight positive impact on people aged under 16 and those aged 60+, who are not required to pay fines for the late returns of library materials.
The likely effect of the policy is neutral on all other protected characteristics.
The policy eliminates unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010 and advances equality of opportunity between people from different groups.
What steps will you take in response to the findings of your analysis?
None.
How will you review the actual effect of the policy after it is implemented? (e.g. monitoring)
We will monitor the effects of the policy in a variety of ways: customer surveys; equalities monitoring; complaints monitoring; staff feedback.
What is the timescale for implementation?
1 April 2013
How will you put the policy into practice and who will be responsible for delivering
it? (e.g. other Council departments, partner agencies, communities of interest,
equality target groups.)
The policy will be delivered by library staff.
What resources are available for the implementation of this policy? Have these resources changed?
n/a
Name of Person (s) who completed the Assessment
Name: Marian Taggart & Sean McNamara
Position: Library Officer & Learning Services Librarian
Date: 20 February 2013
Authorised by:
Name: Alana Ward
Position: Libraries, Museum and Archives Manager
Date: 20 February 2013