Equality Impact Assessment

Summary for Publication

Name of EIA

'Empowering Tameside' - Tameside Strategic Partnership Engagement Strategy

Service area

Policy, Partnerships and Scrutiny

Directorate

Performance and Change

Background

‘Empowering Tameside’ is Tameside Strategic Partnership’s first engagement strategy. The purpose of the strategy is to ensure a co-ordinated and strategic approach to consultation and engagement is undertaken on a TSP wide basis. It contains a framework of common principles enabling partners to bring together their community engagement work and plans. The strategy is supported by a comprehensive activity audit highlighting expertise and resources across the Partnership. It is also accompanied by a toolkit providing clear, easy to follow steps to assist TSP members in planning high quality engagement with residents.

Impact on different customer groups

‘Empowering Tameside’ will have a positive effect on all customer groups including those defined by age, ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation and religion/belief.

Tameside Strategic Partnership is committed to ensuring that all residents are provided with real opportunity to influence local decision-making. The principles contained within ‘Empowering Tameside’ are conducive to making this happen.

Scope of the Equality Impact Assessment

The main focus of the EIA is to asses the impact ‘Empowering Tameside’ will have on customers from different equality groups within the borough. The main points identified via the EIA are:

• As the first Tameside Strategic Partnership wide engagement strategy, ‘Empowering Tameside’ aims to ensure a co-ordinated and strategic approach to consultation and engagement is undertaken on a TSP wide basis.
• Due to the nature of ‘Empowering Tameside’, all equality groups within the borough will be able to benefit from its development. The principles set out within the strategy focus on reducing inequality, improving accountability and increasing satisfaction for all residents.
• The activity audit supporting the strategy can be used as a tool to help facilitate co-ordination of engagement activity for a particular customer group. The audit will also help to highlight any existing gaps in engagement.
• The development of ‘Empowering Tameside’ will aid members of Tameside Strategic Partnership to ensure the requirements of the ‘Duty to Involve’ (Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007) are met. This duty sets out that ‘authorities must consider, as a matter of course, the possibilities for the provision of information to, consultation with and involvement of representatives of local persons across all authority functions’.

Existing data sources / evidence used

The following data sources/evidence have been used to inform the development of ‘Empowering Tameside’:

• Tameside Consultation Strategy 2006-2009
• Tameside Consultation Toolkit 2006-2009
• Tameside Sustainable Community Strategy 2009-19
• Tameside LAA Agreement 2008-2011
• Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
• Citizens’ Panel data
• Ipsos MORI data
• Developing Your Comprehensive Community Engagement Strategy - IDeA and NAVCA

Conclusions drawn from evidence

The main findings drawn from the evidence used to inform the development of ‘Empowering Tameside’ are:

• The introduction of the Duty to Inform, Consult & Involve as part of the Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 has encouraged the development of a Local Strategic Partnership wide engagement strategy.
• The existing Tameside MBC Consultation & Engagement Strategy can be used as a basis for this but must be reviewed, adapted and expanded to be relevant for all TSP organisations. A key objective of the strategy will be to reduce inequality where it exists. The strategy will also explicitly state engagement should be inclusive.
• A revised engagement toolkit must be developed which is suitable for all partner organisations to implement and use. The toolkit will include steps on how to ensure engagement is inclusive of different equality groups.
• As a partnership document, it is the responsibility of each organisation to ensure that adequate monitoring tools are in place. The Consultation & Engagement Group (CEG) will also ensure any existing good practice in customer monitoring is disseminated across the partnership.

Consultation carried out

An extensive consultation process was undertaken during the development of ‘Empowering Tameside’. This began in August 2008 with the activity mapping exercise and ended in October 2009 when the final version of the strategy was agreed.

Tameside Strategic Partnership members were consulted on the draft strategy, audit and toolkit. Details of the strategy and accompanying documents were presented at all Thematic Partnership meetings as well as other relevant groups e.g. Link Officers, Participation Network. TSP members were asked for their input into the development of the strategy and to put forward suggestions for further improvement.

Local residents were also consulted on the draft strategy. TSP members were actively encouraged to share and disseminate details of the strategy to their customer groups for comment. The strategy was made available on the TSP website, Tameside MBC website and T3SC website for resident comment. Articles in TSP Newsline, One Tameside and The Citizen were published on the development of the strategy for residents who wished to submit comments/find out more.

The main points arising from the consultation were as follows:

• A vast range of engagement opportunities currently exist across all equality groups in Tameside. It is necessary however to look at these in a more co-ordinated way. Bringing together all the ways in which residents can get involved will help to identify where any gaps exist.
• TSP members were keen to get involved in the development of the engagement strategy. It is important that as the strategy and toolkit are developed they remain as relevant as possible to all of the different partnership members.

Assessment of impact arising from evidence

‘Empowering Tameside’ was not found to have negative consequences for any equality group.

Taking Action

Monitoring progress

As ‘Empowering Tameside’ is a partnership document the Consultation & Engagement Group will monitor and manage any ensuing actions. Emma Thompson, Head of Policy, Partnerships and Scrutiny will be responsible for monitoring the EIA and action plan at manager level.

Contact officer/s

Jody Stewart, Senior Policy Officer - 0161 342 3527

Signature of Service Unit Manager
Emma Cohen

Date: April 2010

Signature of Assistant Executive Director / Assistant Chief Executive
Megan Nurse

Date: April 2010