EQIA: Policy 4 - Recipient Contribution Revision

In completing this EQIA you should be ensuring the needs of diverse groups of people are thought about when developing and implementing a new policy, procedure or service or a change to existing ones. Please consider the protected groups in line with the Equality Act 2010 and other diverse groups who may be impacted.

Name of Activity: Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) for Policy 4 - Recipient Contribution
Name of person completing EQIA: Linda Scott
Date EQIA completed: 1 July 2022

What type of activity are you planning?

Change to procedure: No
Event: No
New procedure: No
Office Plan/Budget: No
Policy: Yes
Project: No
Service: No
Other (free text):

1. Describe the main aim or purpose of what it is you are planning to do?

Wording revision.

2. Who is likely to be affected by this policy, service or change?

Recipients and ILF Scotland.

3. Do you have enough information to know what the potential impact might be on diverse groups and what that might look like?

The protected characteristics to consider are: Age, Disability, Sex, Race, Religion or Belief, Gender Reassignment, Sexual Orientation, Marriage and Civil Partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity. It will also be helpful to consider these groups more widely in relation to their socio-economic status that includes such factors as educational attainment, occupation, income, wealth and social deprivation.

Please mark as Yes or No. If yes use the Comments column to describe what the potential impact is. What are your sources of evidence?

(Try to think about both positive and negative impacts. There are lots of sources of data to help answer this question. Diversity Networks, the Diversity Report or Diversity & Inclusion team may offer some useful information. Previously completed EQIAs may also offer answers to questions you may have).

Age: Yes
Comments: Older people may have reduced income such as when they retire and receive their pension, or if in receipt of benefits these may reduce when someone reaches state pension age. Additionally, older people in particular maybe impacted by the increasing cost of living.
Sources: Poverty in Later Life Briefing - AgeUK (PDF)
Poverty and Income Inequality Statistics - Gov.Scot
Poverty in Scotland - Poverty & Inequality Commission

Disability: Yes
Comments: Many disabled people already live in poverty due to higher associated costs of living, and currently are impacted by the ongoing rise in the cost of living.
Sources: Poverty - Scotland's Wellbeing: national outcomes for disabled people - Gov.Scot
Disabled people's costs of living - Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Gender Reassignment: No
Comments:

Marriage and Civil Partnership: No
Comments:

Pregnancy and Maternity: No
Comments:

Race: No
Comments:

Religion or belief: No
Comments:

Sex: No
Comments:

Sexual Orientation:
Comments:

Is there evidence of any impact on other groups not covered by the protected characteristics? If yes use the Comments column to describe what the potential impact is, what you could do to remove/reduce any negative impact and what you could do to benefit from any positive impact.

(For example, carer status, single parent, economic exclusion. It is important not to limit your thinking just to the protected characteristics listed above. This question is broadening the EQIA out to be more inclusive. The impact might be a negative one (e.g. making that decision could decrease the opportunity for some people to participate) or it could be a positive one (e.g. by making that decision, more people are able to take part in the activity).)

Carers: Yes
Comments: Carers are identified as more likely to live in poverty and / or live on a reduced income. Equally they will be impacted by the ongoing increase in the cost of living.
Sources: A Manifesto for Unpaid Carers and Young Carers - National Carer Organisations (PDF)
Poverty in Scotland 2021 - Joseph Rowntree Foundation

4. Have you consulted with the relevant groups (these could be internal and/or external) or gathered evidence for you to know the potential impact on these different groups affected? What sources have you used to gather information?

If there are any gaps in information that make it difficult or impossible to form an opinion on how your policy, service or change might affect different groups of people, please take the time to gather information to help you make an informed answer (for example, review statistics, survey results, complaints analysis, consultation documents, customer feedback, existing briefings submissions or business reports, comparative policies from external sources and other Government Departments etc).

Representatives of Stakeholder and Advisory Groups

5. Having analysed the relevant sources of information, what does the evidence tell you? Is there any evidence that the proposed changes will have an adverse equality impact on any of these different groups of people?

Age: No
Disability: No
Gender Reassignment: No
Marriage and Civil Partnership: No
Pregnancy and Maternity: No
Race: No
Religion or belief: No
Sex: No
Sexual orientation: No

6. Please provide details of who the proposals affect, the adverse impacts and explain how you will minimise or remove the adverse impact.

No adverse impact on recipients.

7. Is there any evidence that the proposed changes will have a positive impact on any of these different groups of people and/or promote equality of opportunity? Please provide details of which group/ groups benefits from the positive impacts. and how this will be promoted/evaluated.

Age: Yes
Comments: Increase in personal income budget

Disability: Yes
Comments: Increase in personal income budget

Gender Reassignment: No

Marriage and Civil Partnership: No

Pregnancy and Maternity: No

Race: No

Religion or belief: No

Sex: No

Sexual orientation: No

8. Provide a final summary of the commitments/actions you will take as a result of completing this EQIA. Who will you consult with on your action plan and how will you do this to ensure the relevant stakeholders understand the equality impact?

No specific actions planned but will monitor the impact of the revised wording on the number of applications for waivers under the policy.

9. Have you a plan in place to review your actions? Please provide a summary. Will plan require sign off and from where.

Annual policy review. This plan will be signed off by Linda Scott, Director of Policy.