Equality Impact Assessment FormReference -4PH5a

Department / Public Health / Version no / 3.0
Assessed by / Ruksana Sardar-Akram / Date created / 03/11/16
Approved by / Liz Barry/Shirley Brierley / Date approved / 25/11/16
Updated and Final Approval by / Liz Barry/Shirley Brierley / Date updated / 13/02/17

TheEquality Act 2010 requires the Council to have due regard to the need to

  • eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
  • advance equality of opportunity between different groups; and
  • foster good relations between different groups

Section 1: What is being assessed?

1.1Name of proposal to be assessed.

Homestart

1.2Describe the proposal under assessment and what change it would result in if implemented.

Homestart is included in a range of services commissioned for children, young people and their families with a focus on accident prevention, and support for vulnerable parents and children age 0-5 years. The proposal is to phase out the services with a view to some activities being mainstreamed into the wider transformation plan for children and young people and families in the District.

Homestart is a national charity with independent schemes in local communities which recruit and train volunteers to help families with young children by visiting them in their homes. The proposed plan is to end the current grant agreement with Homestart in 2016/17. The service would therefore cease resulting in an annual saving of £155,000.

Section 2: Whatthe impact of the proposal islikely to be

2.1Will this proposal advance equality of opportunity for people who share a protected characteristic and/or foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those that do not? If yes, please explain further.

No, reducing and stopping a community based service targeted at most vulnerable groups, namely mothers and children under the age of 5 will impact on some protected groups more than others as this service is focussed primarily on mothers and children up to the age of 5 living in some of the most deprived areas.

2.2Will this proposal have a positive impact and help to eliminate discrimination and harassment against, or the victimisation of people who share a protected characteristic? If yes, please explain further.

No, as above

2.3Will this proposal potentially have a negative or disproportionate impact on people who share a protected characteristic? If yes, please explain further.

Yes, Homestart is a nationally recognised initiative which targets some of the most deprived and vulnerable communities where there are issues of access and relies on trained volunteers to provide one to one support to mothers who are most vulnerable and at risk. The majority of referrals come from other services such as children centres, health visiting teams and Families First, and these families are signposted to various services accordingly. Homestart prioritises clients from the most deprived wards in the District and supports the delivery of key public health outcomes.

This proposed budget change is likely to impact on various equality groups and outcomes relating to the following:

  • Low income families
  • Support for children to achieve a good level of development at end of reception and school readiness
  • Encourage utilisation of outdoor space for exercise/health reasons
  • Reduce social isolation
  • Target excess weight in adults
  • Reduce proportion of physically inactive adults
  • Number of increased emotional wellbeing of children and families and/or improved mental health

This proposal is likely to have a knock on effect on other services as Homestart deals with vulnerable clients who are referred from many other services who require intense support, sometimes over a couple of years.There is likely to be an impact on joint working as the outcomes relate to key public health outcomes such as infant mortality, oral health, obesity, physical activity and on those women who require support to manage mental health issues.

2.4Please indicate the level of negative impact on each of the protected characteristics?

(Please indicate high (H), medium (M), low (L), no effect (N) for each)

  • The negative impact is more likely to affect certain protected groups as the service is commissioned to prioritise areas of greatest need based on deprivation.
  • The service is also likely to impact on maternity and children age 0-5 as the service is specifically targeted at women and families within these protected groups.
  • The service will also affect those women who are socially isolated and are unable to access services.

Protected Characteristics: / Impact
(H,M, L, N)
Age / H
Disability / M
Gender reassignment / L
Race / H
Religion/Belief / L
Pregnancy and maternity / H
Sexual Orientation / L
Sex / H
Marriage and civil partnership / N
Additional Consideration:
Low income/low wage / H

2.5 How could the disproportionate negative impacts be mitigated or eliminated?

(Note: Legislation and best practice require mitigations to be considered, but need only be put in place ifit is possible.)

Allowing the service to have reduced funding in Year 1 will allow for an exit strategy and areas to consider with the Provider so some activities may be mainstreamed into the wider children and young people’s agenda. However, there will be some that will not be mitigated but will need to be considered as the wider transformation plan for children, young people and families in the District.

In order to manage any negative affects we will use a phased approach so that we can identify any potential risks in the first year.

Some risk maybe mitigated as the Provider has already been successful in gaining funding from other areas within the District through Better Start and Big lottery in Keighley so the negative consequences are not as high as would be expected if the service was completely decommissioned.

Section 3: Dependencies from other proposals

3.1Please consider which other services would need to know about your proposal and the impacts you have identified. Identify below which services you have consulted, and any consequent additional equality impacts that have been identified.

The reduction and ending of the Homestart project is likely to impact on other services as some of the most vulnerable families are actually signposted from within other health and social care services.

These services will need to know about this proposal so that the negative impacts can be managed within other services such as Early Years, Health Visiting and Social care Service.

Section 4: What evidence you have used?

4.1What evidence do you hold to back up this assessment?

The service agreement was reviewed in 2015 but there has not been a full review of service.

4.2Do you need further evidence?

This will depend on the outcome of the budget proposal decision which will need to be monitored closely and communicated with the provider so the impacts of change can be managed as they become clearer.

Section 5: Consultation Feedback

5.1Results from any previous consultations prior to the proposal development.

There have not been any consultations regarding this service.

5.2The departmental feedback you provided on the previous consultation (as at 5.1).

N/A

5.3Feedback from current consultation following the proposal development (e.g. following approval by Executive for budget consultation).

Concern was expressed regarding the cessation of funding to Homestart as the programme supports vulnerable children and adults, encourages self-care and support to access other health and wellbeing services. This includes training volunteers who may then progress into paid work and/or education. This helps families and children to reach their full potential; fosters and promotes community relationships and for those on low incomes helps people maintain their homes; access support if necessary

5.4Your departmental response to thefeedback on the current consultation (as at 5.3) – include any changes made to the proposal as a result of the feedback.

The service reductions will be managed in a phased way including close monitoring in the first 12 mths to manage any adverse impacts. Where services can be streamed into existing pathways and services such as existing employment & volunteering programmes; Better Start Bradford and the Big Lottery in Keighley, every effort will be made to support this approach.

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