The hard work has only just begun

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The hard work has only just begun

• The Duty to Promote Disability Equality

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Contents

• The Disability Equality Duty why is this
  relevant to EqIA?
• Disability Equality Duty guidance on impact
  assessment
• The Transport context

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Duty to Promote Disability Equality

• When carrying out their functions, public
  authorities must have due regard to the need to
• Eliminate unlawful discrimination
• Promote equal opportunities
• Eliminate disability related harassment
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled
  people
• Encourage participation by disabled people in
  public life.

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Underlying Principle

• The need to take steps to take account of
  disabled persons disabilities, even where that
  involves treating disabled persons more
  favourably than other persons.

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Disability Equality Scheme

• Involvement of disabled people
• Information gathering on the effect of polices
  and practices on disabled people
• Arrangements for impact assessing policies and
  practices
• Action plan
• Arrangements for reviewing the effectiveness of
  the action plan

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Impact Assessments are

• A tool for delivering on the Disability Equality
  Duty or other equality duty
• A key way of ensuring your authority gives due
  regard to equality
• Part of good policy and service delivery
  arrangements
• A positive activity which should identify policy
  improvements

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Impact Assessments are not

• Rocket science
• Exact science
• Scary
• Separate/ different from mainstream
  decision-making
• Something which should take months
• Just a checklist or templates
• An end in itself their purpose is to achieve
  improvements

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What to assess

• Policies and practices
• New policies practices as they are
  developed and considered
• Existing ones (the back catalogue) prioritised
  and scheduled into DES

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Not just the big policies

• All major policies should be considered
• All minor policies which could have a significant
  impact on disabled people an other equality
  groups should be considered
• Dont forget day-to-day decisions, some way of
  identifying impact and improvements is helpful

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Part of the day job

• Should become embedded in policy development, and
  decision-making at all levels, be a way of
  thinking
• Not a bolt-on, not an after the event
  rationalisation/justification
• Need to be Part of the day job
• The important thing is ensuring they happen and
  lead to improvements rather than a standardised
  rigid system.

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What we have found so far.

• Some good examples of utilising equality impact
  assessments and making practical improvements
• Large focus on HR policies
• Public bodies who have not set out their
  arrangements, particularly lack of criteria,
  practical arrangements for staff and dealing with
  the back catalogue

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Transport Context

• Public transport is about the public or
  customers
• EqIAs will identify issues which will affect
  many customers
• Save time and effort of making sure that services
  and policies meet everyones needs and not just a
  few

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Transport context

• Some areas which get overlooked
• Marketing / promotional campaigns
• Customer service policies and practices
• IT systems or other internal initiatives
  (paperless offices)
• Impact assessments also show where positive
  impact is being made.