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.

Title of Project/Service/Policy	Council Plan 2026/27-2028/29
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 ambitions and what we plan to achieve by 2029 for 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 2026/27. 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). We consider equality, diversity and inclusion impacts throughout all aspects of our business planning processes. This ensures that we understand local needs and diversity when planning our priorities. We work to identify and respond to opportunities to remove barriers and maximise positive outcomes. We monitor the outcomes for people sharing different characteristics so that we understand our impact. 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. 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 potential 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 are implementing a new outcomes-based model to achieving social value through procurement, based on the national social value methodology. The new model is linked to our priority outcomes and provides greater flexibility in the ways in which contractors can deliver social value, which will help to maximise the social value which is delivered.
To attract new and diverse talent, the council is delivering inclusive recruitment training to our managers and providing guidance on making reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates.
We will work with our partners to promote and secure participation in post-16 education and training. This includes support for vulnerable groups, and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
We will continue to provide targeted 1-to-1 support for vulnerable groups via the Youth Employability Service. We will implement robust tracking and data analysis.

· We will work to improve the transition for children to post-16 education and to develop the range of provision on offer at post-16 including supported employment opportunities

We are investing in earlier intervention and support to families, further investment in recruitment and retaining our foster carers, and our ability to secure the right care for the right child for the right length of time, through an approach called Valuing Care.
We will continue to ensure adults can receive timely Care Act assessments and reviews to support them to live as independently as possible, and stay informed and safe while they wait.
We will continue to deliver the Safeguarding Adults Board strategic plan and safeguarding Improvement Plan to keep adults safe from abuse and neglect.
We will work with partners to continue to implement Integrated Community Teams, establishing multi-disciplinary neighbourhood teams to provide proactive care for those with complex needs.
We will continue to pursue a range of projects and initiatives aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of East Sussex residents. We are committed to supporting people in crisis, including those at risk of suicide.
We will continue to work in a cross-county partnership to ensure all migrants and the communities they settle in can achieve independence and wellbeing.
We will further develop our early help offer, working in partnership with schools, health and VCSE sector to deliver even earlier support to children, young people and families and reduce demand on statutory services.
We will continue to implement the Connected Families service to enable more children and young people to live safely within their families.
We will work with the South East Regional Commissioning Co-operative to improve our ability to access the right homes for our looked after children, and develop integrated commissioning with health partners for children with more complex needs.
We work in partnership to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse and help victims to stay safe from harm.
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 communicate our enhanced mental health and emotional wellbeing (MHEW) information, advice and guidance offer, working in partnership with the wider Sussex MHEW system to ensure consistency in signposting young people, families and professionals for MHEW support

· We will continue to work with partners to identify carers in the community and help them access the support they need, through our Carers Partnership Plan.

· We will help people to maintain their independence by providing rehabilitation support services and intermediate care.

· We will deliver road safety training for the most vulnerable road users in the county through Bikeability training and Wheels for All sessions.

The council has also set a specific equality objective to define our focus for 2026-27:

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.

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.

· 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.

As a result of national factors beyond local control the Council has seen a significant increase in the demand for, and cost of providing, vital services for our residents, particularly for the most vulnerable.

· 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. As above, decisions will continue to be assessed for their impact on equality and inclusion.

The population of East Sussex is changing and people’s needs and assets change.

· 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.

The legacy impact of COVID19 has impacted some people and communities sharing protected characteristics worse.

· We continue to work to address the inequalities that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes continuing to review services and available support with statutory and VCSE partners for those affected, within available resources. Portfolio Plans and service plans identify tailored responses to identified needs.

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.

· 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 the county and to incorporate our equality objectives.

The planned work set out in the Council Plan will be taken forward through specific programmes of activity within individual departments. 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 2026.