The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) replaces the previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act

Equality Considerations

Assessing equality impacts enables us to make services and public policy better for all service-users and

staff and supports value for money by getting council services right first time.

This assessment is used as an alternative to the Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) template in specific circumstances, when impacts are limited or only apply to one or two characteristics[ii]. This helps the Council to make good decisions for its service-users, staff and residents and to provide evidence that those decisions conform with the Council’s obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

Title of Project/Service/Policy	Council Plan 2024/25-2026/27
Team/Department	Performance, Research and Intelligence
Directorate	Governance Services
Description of your Project (Service/Policy, etc.) including its Purpose and Scope	The Council Plan sets out our organisational priorities for the next three years. These are based on what we need to do to help deliver our four overarching priority outcomes; Driving sustainable economic growth, Keeping vulnerable people safe, Helping people help themselves and Making best use of resources for now and the future. It outlines the focus of our work with communities, businesses and partners. Performance measures and targets are set for the next three years that help us assess our progress against our aims and priorities. The plan includes a summary of our revenue budget and capital programme for 2024/25. The Council Plan is at the centre of our business planning processes. The activities outlined in the Council Plan feed through into the Portfolio Plans for each directorate. These activities are delivered across multiple services and programmes, often in collaboration with partners. There are designated leads for activities who are responsible for overseeing delivery and performance. We will continue to monitor our impact on outcomes for the people of East Sussex, including differences between outcomes for people sharing different protected characteristics. We will use this information to inform future business planning activities as part of our annual State of the County exercise. We will report quarterly on progress against the activities in the Council Plan, including any issues, as part of our Council Monitoring reports. Collectively this evidence gathering, prioritising, implementing and monitoring is called Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR). All aspects of the RPPR process have consideration of equality, diversity and inclusion impacts embedded within them, to ensure that planned priorities are based on a good understanding of diversity and local needs, identify and respond to opportunities to remove barriers and maximise positive outcomes, and that outcomes for people sharing different characteristics are monitored. The planned work set out in the Council Plan is intended to have a positive impact on all our residents, communities, businesses and visitors to the County. The priority outcomes and the corresponding activities, and measures have been identified based on evidence of need, taking into account any legislation, legislative change or service review outcomes which are relevant to that service area, and available resources. One of the delivery outcomes within the Council Plan is to ensure that we deliver through strong and sustained partnership working across the public, voluntary community and private sectors to ensure that all available resources are used to deliver maximum benefits to local people. We consider as part of our business planning processes the collective impact of any proposed work.

Assessment of overall impacts and any further recommendations
For clarity all disproportionate impacts on specific groups are highlighted in the single section below. Overall impacts and notes: There are no disproportionate negative impacts on people sharing any specific characteristics. The Council Plan as a whole is designed to support our objectives to promote equality and to address known inequalities. Many services or programmes will have benefits for all people in the county, across all legally protected characteristics. The council’s approach is to integrate consideration of equality impacts into planning, implementation and monitoring of all activities, so specific needs, assets, barriers and opportunities are assessed individually to maximise positive impacts and avoid or minimise negative impacts. In addition, there are several activities or programmes of work outlined in the Council Plan that specifically seek to improve outcomes for people sharing one or more of the legally protected characteristics, where evidence indicates greater need or inequality – see all of the Portfolio Plans for full details of actions across all departments: We will ensure that tackling health inequalities is a principle applied throughout all aspects of our business planning processes and service delivery We will continue to place a strong focus on our most disadvantaged pupils to ensure that they achieve consistently high outcomes. We will also work closely with every school, setting and college to secure a strong Special Educational Needs and Disability offer which makes education accessible to all children in their local community school We will continue to provide targeted 1 to 1 support for vulnerable groups via the Youth Employability Service. We will continue to help prevent vulnerable people from becoming a victim of mass marketing fraud and intervene if people have already become a victim We will continue to protect people from the increased risks associated with food fraud, illicit tobacco and counterfeit alcohol through the risk based investigations undertaken by Trading Standards We will support people who have been a victim of sexual violence and domestic abuse through the specialist domestic abuse and sexual violence servicesWe want to ensure that local people receive the right services, in the right place, at the right time. This may mean they access and use services differently. We aim to empower them with the knowledge of how to best use available health and social care services, and how to best get the support they need We work to ensure that people’s homes are safe, providing access to care services, and personal budgets so that people can choose the care and support they need We will continue to provide support for frail adults to help manage risks and maintain their independence at home. The council has also set two equality objectives to define our focus for 2024/25: o We will lead by example, delivering services that are informed by the views, strengths and needs of our communities and providing an inclusive and supportive working environment for our staff. To help achieve this we will take practical actions on equality, diversity and inclusion as set out in the Corporate Equality Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. o We will implement the new service and associated workplace adjustment pathway agreed following the Workplace Adjustments review.
Potential issues	Mitigating actions
Identification of potential disproportionate impacts or issues relating to people sharing specific characteristics that have not been identified at this stage. Our resources do not reflect the demand for services, which may mean we will have to adjust our services to match the funds we have. The population of East Sussex is changing and people’s needs and assets change. COVID-19 continues to have greater ongoing impacts on some people and communities sharing protected characteristics. The effects of the national rise in the cost of living are being disproportionately felt by some people more than others, linked to their characteristics.	· The planned work set out in the Council Plan will be taken forward through specific programmes of activity within individual directorates. Robust equality analysis will be undertaken on each planned activity, to ensure that these are designed and implemented in a way that maximises opportunities to promote equality, whilst minimising any adverse impacts. · Priorities will continue to be defined based on local evidence of need and what works and makes a difference locally. We will continue to be democratic, open and honest in determining the best level and quality of services we can provide, within available resources, and in communicating priorities. · We will work closely with partners, including the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, to make the most of opportunities, resources and links with diverse communities available locally. We recognise that VCSE organisations are often the first to recognise and respond to the needs of diverse communities and that they provide safe, accessible, and inclusive spaces for individuals, groups and the wider community, that support inclusion and belonging. · We continue to work to understand the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on people sharing specific characteristics and to address the inequalities that have been revealed and/or worsened. · Work across the council and with statutory and VCSE sector partners is co-ordinating support and identifying ways to maximise access for vulnerable residents to the advice and support available. Portfolio Plans and service plans identify tailored responses to identified needs.
Actions planned
Our Council Plan priorities and delivery outcomes are designed to help address identified inequalities in outcomes for different groups in our local community and incorporate our equality objectives. The planned work set out in the Council Plan will be taken forward through specific programmes of activity within individual directorates. Robust equality analysis will be undertaken on each planned activity, to ensure that these are designed and implemented in a way that maximises opportunities to promote equality, whilst minimising any adverse impacts. The impacts of activities carried forward from the previous plan will be kept under review, which will include considering whether existing mitigating actions remain sufficient, or if any further measures are required. We will continue to monitor our impact on outcomes for the people of East Sussex, including differences between outcomes for people sharing different protected characteristics. We will use this information to inform future business planning activities as part of our annual State of the County exercise. We will report quarterly on progress against the activities in the Council Plan, including any issues, as part of our Council Monitoring reports. We will also report on our progress in delivering the actions in this Council Plan that will advance equality as part of our Annual Report, which will be published in Autumn 2024.