PowerPlusWaterMarkObject3 Initial Equalities Impact Assessment ES35 & 36 Department

powerpluswatermarkobject3 initial equalities impact assessment es3.5 & 3.6 department: environment and sport completed by

PowerPlusWaterMarkObject3

Initial Equalities Impact Assessment ES3.5 & 3.6
Department:
Environment and Sport
Completed by (lead):
Steve Hartley
Date of initial assessment:
3 November 2011
Revision Dates:
28th January 2013
5th February 2013
Area to be assessed: (i.e. name of policy, function, procedure,
practice or a financial decision)
ES3.5, 3.6 Street Cleaning – Reduction of spending on street cleaning.
The proposal is to reduce the number of hours of street cleaning
currently delivered.
Is this existing or new function/policy, procedure, practice or
decision?
Reduction to existing function
What evidence has been used to inform the assessment and policy?
(please list only)
- Financial data
- Trend data from the Observatory website
- Service performance data
1. Describe the aims, objectives or purpose of the function/policy,
practice, procedure or decision and who is intended to benefit.
The proposed funding reduction is in response to the need for the
Council to have a balanced budget in line with reduced resources from
central government
What will the reduction mean?
Reduced levels of staffing and reduced hours of the street cleaning
service. This will impact on both Ward teams and District wide
mechanical cleaning in City Centre, Town Centres and District’s
neighbourhoods.
The main way the saving will be achieved will be by removing one of
four shifts that currently operate the mechanical sweepers. This would
mean that normal working would be reduced from a 7 day a week service
to a 5 days a week service.
Who benefits from service - All people within the District benefit
from this service.
There will be an impact in terms of reduced street cleaning and this
is likely to mean an increase of litter, detritus etc. However it is
not simple to predict who is likely to experience the greatest impact,
as this will be determined by the priorities of Area Committees who
through devolution will be able to influence what work is prioritised
by the service.
Consultation Feedback and equalities issues identified:
Respondents thought that the service providers and deprived
communities are considered before cuts are made to this service; the
employees who provide the cleansing service (and may rely on the
overtime payments) and those in need (e.g. troubled families).
Perceived as potentially having a bigger impact on people who live in
deprived areas & low wage/income households. This might impact upon
community cohesion and general sense of wellbeing. In mitigation the
suggestion was not to make cuts proportionally across the District but
target based on need and on understanding of geographic differences in
the District.
Service Response:
Area Committees will give due regard any potential equality impacts of
any proposed changes to street cleansing at the Area level.
The Equality Act 2010 requires public bodies to have “due regard” to
the need to:-
(1) eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
(2) advance equality of opportunity between different groups; and
(3) foster good relations between different groups
2. What is the level of impact on each group/ protected
characteristics in terms of the three aims of the duty?
Please indicate high (H) medium (M), low (L), no effect (N) for each.
3. Identify the risk or positive effect that could result for each of
the group/protected characteristics?
4. If there is a disproportionately negative impact what mitigating
factors have you considered?
Protected characteristics
Age
L May lead to more mobility issues
See response to Q6 below
Disability
L May lead to more mobility issues
(2) In extreme cases there could be a mobility impact
See response to Q6 below
Gender reassignment
N
Race
N
Religion/Belief
N
Pregnancy and maternity
N
Sexual Orientation
N
Sex
N
Any other Area
M Some areas of the District have more street cleaning issues than
others. A lack of clean streets can create negative feelings about an
area
See response to Q6 below
5. Has there been any consultation/engagement with the appropriate
protected characteristics?
Yes - proposal and potential equalities issues have been consulted
upon as part of the budget engagement programme running from August
2012 to February 2013.
6. What action(s) will you take to reduce any disproportionately
negative impact, if any?
The Street Cleansing Service is a devolved service. Officers will be
able to advise Area Committees on possible impacts on protected
characteristics and on areas during service priority setting.
7. Based on the information in sections 2 to 6, should this
function/policy/procedure/practice or a decision proceed to Full
Impact Assessment? (recommended if one or more H under section 2)
NO
Assessor signature:
Mick Charlton
Approved by: Steve Hartley

Date approved: 28th Jan 2013
Date revisions approved:
28th January 2013
5th February 2013
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