Row over equality assessment

WARRINGTON Borough Council has clashed with union bosses and Labour MP Helen Jones over equality assessments which should be undertaken by the authority before any restructuring of services takes place.
The Warrington North MP (pictured) has written to council chief executive Diana Terris asking to see Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) which should have been undertaken by the authority before any restructuring of services takes place.
She claims union leaders have asked for the documents on two separate occasions and have so far not receive them.
But the council has refuted her claims.
EIAs aim to ensure that no groups are disadvantaged on equality grounds by an authority’s decisions and activities.
They should indicate where public authorities can promote equality of opportunity.
Where they identify negative impact or a missed opportunity to promote equal opportunities, the specific duties say the public authority must have due regard to the need to modify the policy or practice.
EIAs all require good information and consultation with staff, service users and trade unions.
Ms Jones said Unison made a request for several EIAs on February 16 but have not received them.
She said: “This is causing a major concern that Warrington Borough Council have implemented changes and may not have carried out impact assessment’s on the proposals. It is too late to carry them out once the proposals have been implemented.
“I am concerned the council may have undertaken restructuring without properly conducting impact assessments. These assessments should reflect both the impact on staff as well as the public and service users.
“It would be outrageous if any restructuring of services, for example those impacting on the disabled or the closure of libraries and day centres, have been not been undertaken properly. It is simply wrong to undertake such assessments after proposals have been implemented.”
Unison joint branch secretary Jason Horan said: “This is a classic example of the express train that Warrington Borough Council are moving with in implementing change without considering the human impact on both their staff and the residents of Warrington.
“Equality Impact Assessments are about looking at available data and other information, consulting with people directly affected, and asking hard questions about the impact of a change.
“It will be interesting to note if service users have or will be included in the EIA’s and if the council has engaged fully with the people who will be directly affected.
“The council is bound by the public sector equality duties and if they fail to conduct EIA’s on proposals or choose to ignore their obligation to carry them out then this can be reportable to the Equality and Human Rights Commission who could issue an enforcement notice for failing to comply with its statutory equality duties.”
A spokesman for Warrington Borough Council, said: “We have a clear and robust process in place for assessing the potential impact on equality and diversity of any planned changes to the organisation’s structure. This process takes full account of our statutory duties as well as ensuring that we consider in detail the impact on the public, on users of our services and on our own employees.
“We have undertaken detailed EIAs for all major restructures planned and underway within the council, in addition to carrying out extensive consultation with staff and recognised trade unions. For those restructures which affect service users, such as proposed closures or changes to how services are delivered, we also engage fully with affected individuals as part of the consultation process.
“We will continue to work positively with the unions to ensure they receive any outstanding assessments as we prepare for the next phase of restructures. We have not yet received Ms Jones’ request for copies of the EIAs but we would be happy to provide her with this information. We publish our EIAs, together with other useful information about the council’s commitment to equality and diversity, on our website.”