The Equality Impact Assessment of the Warm Zone contract for 2011-12

Name of EqIA: / The Equality Impact Assessment of the Warm Zone contract for 2011-12
Period of EqIA / April 2011- March 2012
Date signed off by D.D. / DMT / April 21st 2011
Scope of EqIA / The services provided by Warm Zone CIC and its partner organisations under the terms of a call off contract for 2011-12
EqIA Team / The framework manager (Peter Snell) supported by the decent homes and thermal comfort sub-groups of the partner Boroughs on whose behalf Newham agrees the contract.
Relevant data / research / Assessment supported by attendance at meetings with funders and bid submission to maximise external funding for the work. Use of BRE modelling of the housing conditions and fuel poverty of vulnerable residents to demonstrate need. Analysis of beneficiary data collected by the partner Boroughs and contractors on the beneficiaries of previously funded schemes
Consultation who and how / Scheme managers and commissioning officers in partner Boroughs attend meetings which keep the contract under continual review. They have been consulted on the nature of changes to the call off contract from those of previous years. All Councillors are asked to approve the contract at Cabinet. Prior consultation was held with the Councillors who have Cabinet and Advisory responsibility for the work and approval obtained from appropriate senior Council Officers.
Assessment of impact / The call off contact has to reflect significant reductions in capital funding and uncertainty about funding sources for this work in future years. The assessment has sought to minimise the impact of this by an increased focus on the most vulnerable clients and by increasing partner Borough flexibility in tailoring the services to local priorities.
Actions / The new call off contract makes best use of a reduced budget by maximising leverage from external funding sources, by increasing partner flexibility to tailor services to local need, and by creating mechanisms to transfer the services to local funding to ensure continuity of provision if future funding from regional and national sources in not found.
Date Last Reviewed: / The service was reviewed in September 2010 in preparing the 2010-11 call off contract.
Approved by: / Andrew Billany
Date Approved: / 21st April 2010
Version Number / 1
Review Date: / July 1st 2011 (In preparation for next contract management meeting)
Document Owner: / Peter Snell
Post Holder: / Coordinator, East London Renewal Partnership
EQIA Assessed:

Warm Zone / DABD 2011-12 call off contract. Equalities Impact Assessment

1. Management of the Equality Impact Assessment.

The Warm Zone framework agreement allows Newham and partner Boroughs in east London to commission services and works to address fuel poverty and improve the homes of vulnerable residents living in the private sector towards the decent homes standard. In support of these objectives Newham has bid for a series of funds. Until now that funding has come primarily from the CLG private sector renewal programme which has been ended. It is possible that funds may also be available from an LDA programme named RE:NEW but this is as yet uncertain.

The funding bids and management of the framework are supervised by a steering group representing all the partner Boroughs and advised by more specialist sub-groups of front line officers delivering thermal comfort and decent homes programmes. The programmes are kept under continuous review through a cycle of quarterly meetings to ensure that funding goes to meet the needs of the most vulnerable among the target groups for the programme.

2. Identification of policy aims, objectives and purpose.

The aims of the funding are to address fuel poverty and improve the homes of vulnerable residents living in the private sector towards the decent homes standard. The impact assessment that has supported this report has;

  • Sought to better target the availability of support to ensure that reducing budgets are spent to greatest public benefit.
  • Increased the scope for individual Boroughs to tailor services to address local need.
  • Provided some level of continuity for the services to enable Boroughs to benefit from “green deal” and ECO funding from 2012.

3. Scope/ focus of the equality impact assessment

The private sector renewal funding stream that has traditionally supported this work can only be spent on vulnerable residents who are on qualifying income and disability related benefits. In 2011-12 this will continue to be the principal source of funding for the programme. As a consequence the policies that govern the use of the contract have high impact on older clients, those who are disabled and those with class or socio-economic disadvantage. The contract employs a number of techniques such as the use of multi-ethnic assessment teams to identify clients from all groups in society and ensure that none are excluded if they are within these target groups.

To ensure the work programme does address these goals beneficiary data is collected on clients for all areas of support delivered by this contract. To ensure that more limited resources available in 2011-12 are most effectively targeted Newham has commenced a review of the data currently collected in relation to the protected characteristics defined by the Equalities Act 2010. The April/ May 2011 cycle of management meetings will review the data and ensure that any further requirements to meet these goals are incorporated into a review of the collection, storage and reporting of monitoring data already in progress to support the requirement of the RE:NEW programme.

The data currently collected in relation to the protected characteristics defined by the Equalities Act 2010 and the additional characteristic (class or socio-economic disadvantage) that Newham seeks to monitor is as follows:-

Characteristic / DABD financial coaching support / Warm Zone heating & insulation / Comments
Age /  / 
Disability /  /  / Could be derived from disability related benefits
Gender reassignment
Pregnancy and maternity / 
Race /  / 
Religion or belief / 
Sexual orientation
Sex / 
Class or socioeconomic disadvantage / 
(Fuel poverty & benefit details) / Could be derived from numbers on income related benefits.

The funding has advanced equal opportunities for its target groups by reducing fuel poverty and improving the homes of the most vulnerable. The current review has sought to mitigate the impact of declining funds by better targeting their use in the following ways;

  • Treating only the “hardest to heat” homes of residents on qualifying benefits.
  • Introducing income tests for such residents of middle ranked homes
  • Establishing fee structures and Borough management procedures to help each Borough to apply the scheme so as to best address local needs.
  • Maximising leverage from funding streams that continue to be targeted at vulnerable clients; particularly the industry funded Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme.

4. Relevant data, research and consultation

Newham bid for the sub-regional 2008-11 funding which the framework was intended to deliver on the basis of the levels of need in East London. That need was set out in a table based on modelling conducted by BRE and to identify levels of need. The figures submitted with that bid and further estimates of the levels of fuel poverty included in the table below clearly demonstrated that tackling the needs of the vulnerable and in particular those in fuel poverty was an essential priority in tackling inequality in the east London Boroughs. The contract has therefore established clear requirements in all Boroughs for the prioritisation of clients based on the goals of the bid but then allowed Boroughs to vary the precise eligibility rules to address local circumstances.

The case for such an approach is set out in the table below.

Local Authority / Dwellings (private) / Vulnerable non decent / Cost to make decent / Fuel poverty
Barking and Dagenham / 41,147 / 6,951 / £122,724,634.12 / 3,408
Hackney / 40,158 / 4,254 / £75,100,067.55 / 2,843
Havering / 77,128 / 6,908 / £121,950,131.79 / 6,737
Newham / 55,392 / 10,117 / £178,609,381.89 / 6,571
Redbridge / 80,586 / 7,186 / £126,858,079.08 / 7,886
Tower Hamlets / 34,793 / 3,244 / £57,268,859.52 / 1,512
WalthamForest / 66,167 / 7,016 / £123,870,233.76 / 6,345
TOTAL / 424,283 / 45,676 / £806,381,387.72 / 35,302

Consultation on the management of the scheme is conducted with partner Boroughs at management groups established by Newham with its partner Boroughs which agree on variations to the scheme to better deliver bid targets and address local needs. In particular the changes listed at the end of section 3 of this report have been intended to make best use of fast ending funds whilst maximising leverage and funding the scheme till March 2012 when a new “green deal” funding stream should become available.

Beneficiary data is required to support any claim for funds under the scheme and is reported on a quarterly basis to management groups and the GLA. Details of complaints received by Borough are also reported to the management groups. On an annual basis this is collated and reported to Boroughs to support them in reviewing their use of the programme and in making returns required by CLG.

Assessment of impact and outcomes

The policy revisions have been forced on the Council by funding reductions. The changes make it clear that the scheme is being managed in a way that makes the fairest possible use of the funds that remain. The introduction of income checks in instances where there is not an immediate threat to health should avoid friction from clients who feel they are more deserving of assistance.

Formal agreement

This Equality Impact Assessment will be approved by the sub-regional management team and its appropriate sub-groups and the Divisional Director of Housing and Public Protection before being presented to Councillors to support the call off contract for this work.

Publication of results

A summary of the Equality Impact Assessment will be published on the Council website if the tender acceptance report is approved following the call-in period.

Monitoring and review

The actions incorporated as a consequence of this impact assessment are;

  • Treating only the “hardest to heat” homes of residents on qualifying benefits.
  • Introducing income tests for such residents of middle ranked homes
  • Establishing fee structures and Borough management procedures to help each Borough to apply the scheme so as to best address local needs.
  • Maximising leverage from funding streams that continue to be targeted at vulnerable clients; particularly the industry funded Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme.

To ensure these actions are effective current data collection on protected groups has been reviewed and additional beneficiary data will be collected. This will be reported to the same management groups that initiated this equality impact assessment and they will review the beneficiary data on a quarterly basis through their regular cycle of meeting to ensure it better targets limited resources. Those reviews will inform any revisions required to subsequent call-off contracts.

Borough Commissioning Officers are expected to monitor the impact of the changes at local level and manage the programme to maximise the impact of the changes in making best use of resources. They may also supplement sub-regionally managed funding of the scheme with local provided resources to safeguard the interests of residents with “protected characteristics”. The baseline data for Newham Officers in carrying out this role is set out in the table below.

Beneficiaries from DABD and Warm Zone services in 2009-10.

Number of households assisted / DABD / Warm Zone
Eligible vulnerable households / 45 / 277
Non vulnerable households* / 0 / 50
Total number of households assisted / 45 / 327

* Able to pay residents benefit from the insulation programme but receive no Council assistance with the work.

Number of vulnerable beneficiaries / DABD / Warm Zone
On benefit and children in household / 6 / 16
On benefit and older people in household / 21 / 154
On benefit with long term ill health or disability / 15 / 87
On benefit and none of the above / 3 / 92
Demographics of beneficiaries / DABD / Warm Zone*
Pregnant / 1
Religion / Christian / 23
Hindu / 18
Muslim / 50
Sikh / 4
None / 29
Not provided / 5

* Heating schemes only

Demographics of beneficiaries / DABD / Warm Zone
Total beneficiaries / Male / 19
Female / 26
Transgender / 0
Ethnic breakdown
White / British / 13 / 26
Irish / 2
Any Other White / 4
Total White / 13 / 32
Mixed / White & Black Caribbean / 1
White and Black African / 1
White & Asian
Any Other Mixed
Total Mixed / 0 / 2
Asian / Indian / 7 / 37
Pakistani / 1 / 33
Bangladeshi / 6
Any Other Asian / 4 / 1
Total Asian / 12 / 77
Black / Caribbean / 9 / 9
African / 3 / 3
Any Other Black / 3 / 4
Total Black / 15 / 16
Chinese or Other / Chinese
Any Other / 1
Not Provided / 4 / 1