The Consultation, Engagement and Equalities Manager submitted a report, the purpose of which, was to provide Members with an annual update on the Council’s requirement to undertake Equality Impact Assessments (EIA’s), an overview of the Council’s approach to EIA’s, and an outline of EIA’s undertaken in BCBC service areas in 2017/18.

The report gave some background information, following which it advised that an EIA was a tool to assess whether new (or changes to existing) policies/services/functions, or the removal of services, could impact on different sectors of society in different ways. An EIA also assisted the Council in making better decisions; identified how services could be more accessible or improved, and consider the 9 protected characteristics as well as the impact on the Welsh Language Scheme and associated Standards.

The Consultation, Engagement and Equalities Manager continued by confirming that the Welsh Language Standards required BCBC to consider:

·         Whether a policy-related decision could have a positive or negative impact on opportunities for people to use welsh;

·         Treating welsh and english equally;

·         Ways to demonstrate how positive effects could be increased, and

·         How any identified adverse effects could be decreased.

The EIA toolkit was revised and updated in February 2018, including the EIA screening and full assessment forms.

She added that the ongoing administration of the EIA processes would be reviewed later in 2018 by the Equalities team, in order to support service areas in their management of the process.

The next sections of the report alluded to EIA training for staff through an e-learning module, and the number of employees who were identified for training in this area, including the number (and percentage) of those who completed this.

Paragraph 4.9 of the report then outlined further and more in-depth training that had been looked at for development, to be delivered by external trainers ‘Red Shiny Apple’. There had been some take-up for this training during the months of February and March, with feedback from those who undertook this having been positive. The number of employees who had been trained had also increased from 17, which was the number who had attended at the time the report was written, to a current total of 46. This section of the report, also detailed the objectives that participants would secure as a result of the above training session.

The Consultation, Engagement and Equalities Manager then gave details of the number of full EIA’s that had been completed between February 2017 and January 2018, and these were listed in Appendix 1 to the report, and had previously accompanied Officers reports considered by Cabinet.

Appendix 2 then outlined the number of EIA screenings carried out for the same period, which totalled 42 in number.

The Consultation, Engagement and Equalities Manager concluded her report, by advising that the information contained therein, would positively assist in the delivery of the Council’s equality duties and aspirations. 

RESOLVED:                  That the Cabinet Equalities Committee noted the progress made in the Council during 2017/18, regarding the completion of Equality Impact assessments (EIA’s); the review of toolkit and forms, as well as progress made with training (ie through e-learning and the development of face to face training.