Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) are public documents. EIAs accompanying reports going to County Councillors for decisions are published with the committee papers on our website and are available in hard copy at the relevant meeting. To help people to find completed EIAs we also publish them in the Equality and Diversity section of our website. This will help people to see for themselves how we have paid due regard in order to meet statutory requirements.
| Name of Directorate and Service Area | Central Services, Strategic Resources – Property Service |
|---|---|
| Lead Officer and contact details | Jon Holden, Head of Property Service 01609 534076 |
| Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the EIA |
Karen Adamson, Accommodation Service Manager 01609 535288 Katherine Edge, Project Manager 01609 534917 |
| How will you pay due regard? For example, working group, individual officer | Via stakeholder consultation meetings, as required (which have included HR representation when relevant), Rationalisation meetings, Modern Council Focus Groups and staff engagement sessions |
| When did the due regard process start? | During 2016 – ongoing - as plans are developed for future years around Property Rationalisation interlinked with the Modern Council Programme |
Section 1. Please describe briefly what this EIA is about. (for example, are you starting a new service, changing how you do something, stopping doing something?)
Rationalisation of the Property Portfolio to include:
- Disposal of a council property asset
- Non-renewal of existing leased in property (from an external provider)
- Transfer of a council property asset to an external concern (for example, community service)
- Implementation Modern Council Principles (New Ways of Working)
The programme has no impact on frontline service delivery or our Directorate structures.
Section 2. Why is this being proposed? What are the aims? What does the authority hope to achieve by it? (for example, to save money, meet increased demand, do things in a better way.)
The rationalisation will result in the transformation of the County Council’s property portfolio to achieve an annual reduction of £1.5 million in respect of revenue expenditure and to optimise the use of the property portfolio.
- This will be achieved through:
- a reduction in the total floor area for the delivery and management of front line services
- the delivery of the 2020 Modern Council Programme
The overarching objectives of the 2020 Property Programme, are to achieve:
- The implementation of more efficient working practices within all of the County Council’s property
- A reduction in the total floor area occupied by the County Council, resulting in a reduction in revenue expenditure
A number of buildings have either already closed / leases have not been renewed during 2017/18 and 2018/19, this will continue into future years with buildings closed / leases not renewed.
The closure of the properties have had no impact / will not impact on the delivery of front line services or staffing structures in relation to the properties. Services located within the buildings have already moved, are planned to be moved, will be planned to be moved to other locations within the Property estate, enabling savings to be made in respect of Property revenue expenditure.
Section 3. What will change? What will be different for customers and/or staff?
Modern Council New Ways of Working (NWOW) principles deliver the opportunity for greater flexibility in the workplace and the opportunity to work from the most appropriate place.
Staff may need to travel to a new base, in a small number of cases this may result in a greater distance and time to travel, however this has been considered and discussed through the consultation meetings.
Communication will occur with any customers that visit the services to ensure that they are aware of their new location and where to visit them in the future. The new locations should offer more flexibility as they have easy access to transportation links.
Individual equality impact assessments will be carried out for individual building closures where this is relevant and proportionate.
Section 4. Involvement and consultation (What involvement and consultation has been done regarding the proposal and what are the results? What consultation will be needed and how will it be done?)
There is a Modern Council process which includes engagement with all levels of staff affected by the programme.
Communication has / will occur with any customers of the services to ensure that they are aware of their new location and where to visit them in the future as required.
Section 5. What impact will this proposal have on council budgets? Will it be cost neutral, have increased cost or reduce costs? Please explain briefly why this will be the result.
The ending of the leases / closing of buildings contributes towards a reduction in Property’s revenue budget and the total floor space within the Corporate Accommodation Property portfolio, contributing towards Property’s overarching saving target.
Section 6. How will this proposal affect people with protected characteristics?
| Section 6. How will this proposal affect people with protected characteristics? | No impact | Make things better | Make things worse | Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | X | Staff: It is not anticipated that there will be an impact as a result of the changes. We will be compliant with the legislation to ensure that staff are not disadvantaged because of their age. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. | ||
| Disability | X | No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. As an organisation, NYCC must continue to meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, which obligates us to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled individuals as employees, service users or customers in any location. | ||
| Sex (Gender) | X | Staff : The change to staffs location does not introduce any change in terms of the current profile. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. | ||
| Race | X | Staff: No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. | ||
| Gender reassignment | X | Staff: No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. | ||
| Sexual orientation | X | Staff: No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. | ||
| Religion or belief | X | Staff: No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. | ||
| Pregnancy or maternity | X | Staff: No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. | ||
| Marriage or civil partnership | X | Staff: No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. |
Section 7. How will this proposal affect people?
| Section 7. How will this proposal affect people who… | No impact | Make things better | Make things worse | Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ..live in a rural area? | X |
Staff: There might be proposed changes in the work location for the staff located within the buildings closed / proposed to close, but the impact of this will be minimised due to discussions occurring as part of the consultation. Customer: No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes, with this offset by communicating with customers of the services so that they are aware of the change of location as this situations occur. |
||
| …have a low income? | X | Staff: No impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. Customer: No adverse impact is anticipated as a result of the changes. |
Section 8. Will the proposal affect anyone more because of a combination of protected characteristics? (for example, older women or young gay men) State what you think the effect may be and why, providing evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc.
There is no anticipated impact on a combination of any protected characteristics but it will be monitored through the process and this document will be updated if anything is raised which needs to be included.
Section 9. Next steps to address the anticipated impact. Select one of the following options and explain why this has been chosen. (Remember: we have an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people can access services and work for us)
| Section 9. Next steps to address the anticipated impact. Select one of the following options and explain why this has been chosen. (Remember: we have an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people can access services and work for us) | Tick option chosen |
|---|---|
| 1. No adverse impact - no major change needed to the proposal. There is no potential for discrimination or adverse impact identified. | X |
| 2. Adverse impact - adjust the proposal - The EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. We will change our proposal to reduce or remove these adverse impacts, or we will achieve our aim in another way which will not make things worse for people. | |
| 3. Adverse impact - continue the proposal - The EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. We cannot change our proposal to reduce or remove these adverse impacts, nor can we achieve our aim in another way which will not make things worse for people. (There must be compelling reasons for continuing with proposals which will have the most adverse impacts. Get advice from Legal Services) | |
| 4. Actual or potential unlawful discrimination - stop and remove the proposal – The EIA identifies actual or potential unlawful discrimination. It must be stopped. | |
| Explanation of why option has been chosen. (Include any advice given by Legal Services.) These are office building closures / end of leases – resulting in no requirement to consult with the community, however in situations where the location of service delivery has changed communication has / will occur with any customers of the services to ensure that they are aware of their new location and where to visit them in the future as required. For staff affected consultation will occur with the services that are located within the buildings, as they will have to re-locate to other locations within the NYCC Property estate. This will include HR representation and Unions within the process when this is required. | |
Section 10. If the proposal is to be implemented how will you find out how it is really affecting people? (How will you monitor and review the changes?)
Consultation will occur with members of the services that will be re-located following relocation to talk through any issues and concerns and monitor how things have gone etc.
Section 11. Action plan. List any actions you need to take which have been identified in this EIA, including post implementation review to find out how the outcomes have been achieved in practice and what impacts there have actually been on people with protected characteristics.
| Section 11. Action plan. List any actions you need to take which have been identified in this EIA, including post implementation review to find out how the outcomes have been achieved in practice and what impacts there have actually been on people with protected characteristics. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action | Lead | By when | Progress | Monitoring arrangements |
| Post move review meetings with services | Property | Will occur following all building closures | Ongoing | Property with links to Modern Council Programme (where relevant) |
Section 12. Summary Summarise the findings of your EIA, including impacts, recommendation in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.
There is no anticipated impact on people with protected characteristics as a result of the proposals. As Property Rationalisation continues consultation will continue to occur with members of services to talk through changes in location of office and delivery spaces. The area will be monitored through the process and this document updated if there are specific proposals that will have an effect to people with protected characteristics.
Section 13. Sign off section
This full EIA was completed by:
Name: Katherine Edge
Job title: Project Manager
Directorate: Central Services
Signature:
Completion date: 11/02/2019
This is an updated version of v0.3 of the EIA which was agreed by the relevant Assistant Director on the 18/01/2018
Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature):
Howard Emmett
Date: 26/07/2019