Council and Democracy

Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) are a useful tool to enable Bradford Council to assess the implications of our decisions on our communities. Good equality analysis helps us to tackle inequality and target resources efficiently.

What is an Equality Impact Assessment?

Equality Impact Assessments have been developed as a tool for ensuring that equality issues can be considered when drawing up policies or proposals which affect the delivery of services, the carrying out of the Council’s functions and the employment practice of the authority.

They help to:

• Determine how Bradford Council’s policies and practice, or new proposals, will impact or affect different communities, especially those groups or communities who experience inequality, discrimination, social exclusion or disadvantage
• Measure whether policies or proposals will have a negative, neutral, or positive effect on different communities
• Make decisions about current and future services and practice in fuller knowledge and understanding of the possible outcomes for different communities or customer groups
• Develop ways of monitoring and reviewing the effects of new or changing policies or proposals if they are introduced

Why do Equality Impact Assessments?

Under the Equality Duty public bodies are required to have “due regard”:

• To eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act
• To advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who don’t
• To foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who don’t (which involves tackling prejudice and promoting understanding)

The following are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and pregnancy and maternity.

EIAs are a useful tool to help us have due regard and:

• They help eliminate institutional discrimination
• They are helpful in identifying improvements to services
• They help avoid continuing or adopting harmful policies or procedures
• They help to make better decisions
• They will help to identify how you can make services more accessible and appropriate
• They will help the Council to become a better employer
• They help the Council to check whether there is anything it can do to support work on community cohesion and social inclusion

How does the Council use EIAs?

The Council has used the EIA process to help it make difficult decisions in terms of the Budget. On this site you will find the links to the Budget EIAs for 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14.

In addition there are a number of General EIAs that will begin to appear on this site over the coming year. These are used to inform key decisions on services and policies.

For more information about Equality Impact Assessments please visit the Local Government Improvement and Development website