New Economic Development Strategy
S75 Equality And Good Relations Screening Form
| General Information |
| Service/ Function ☐ |
Policy/ Procedure ☐ |
Project ☐ |
Strategy ☒ |
Plan ☐ |
Guidance ☐ |
| Is this an existing, revised or a new function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance? Existing ☐ Revised ☐ New ☒ |
| Operational Area | Prosperity and Place |
| Title | New Economic Development Strategy |
| Brief Summary This is a guiding document for the Prosperity and Place Unit, which looks after economic development and regeneration. The focus is on devising a series of themes for the next ten years, but also focusing on a recovery period for at least the next year. |
| What is it trying to achieve? (intended aims and outcomes) To deliver Recovery and Renewal activities within the borough |
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Who owns and who implements each element of the function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance? |
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Other policies etc. which have a bearing on this function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance? |
| Available Evidence Evidence to help inform the screening process may take many forms. Public authorities should ensure that their screening decision is informed by relevant data. What evidence/information (both qualitative and quantitative have you gathered to inform this function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance? Specify details for relevant Section 75 categories. |
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The strategy has gathered evidence from:
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| Section 75 Category | Details of Evidence/Information
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| Religious Beliefs |
The 2011 Census outlined:
In terms of religion or religion brought up in the 2011 Census indicates that our resident’s religious beliefs are comparable to those in Northern Ireland in that there are 2 predominant groupings ie Roman Catholic and Protestant. However we also have a number of individuals (5.64%) who do not practice a specific religion or who do not wish to be grouped into a specific religion. In addition we have a small number of individuals who practice other religions. No issues regarding religious beliefs were raised during consultation to date with current stakeholders who have various religious beliefs and multiple identities.
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| Political Opinion |
The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (2018) provides the following information on the political parties people in Northern Ireland feel closest to (this information is not available at Council area level) *:
This strategy does not relate to any political opinion and welcomes all individuals who meet the criteria for the project eg those who live in a particular area. The selection of areas for improvement relate to set criterion such as levels of deprivation etc and although individuals living in close proximity may have similar political opinions, they are not considerations for the actual projects or their selection. As projects are based on other factors they should not impact upon any political affiliation and therefore have a neutral impact on this Section 75 group.
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| Racial Group |
On Census Day 27th March 2011 the resident population was:
Documentation and communication materials will use plain English and relating pictorial formats. Communication materials may also be provided in other languages to support individual’s needs. Officers support by telephone or face-to-face for individuals who may find reading difficult for a variety of reasons. This strategy and relating projects should not impact adversely upon any racial group as any individual in business will be supported. To date there is no evidence to show a detriment or benefit to any group within this Section 75 category.
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| Age |
Age: (Mid Year 2018) (NISRA statistics)
Programmes are open to business owners regardless of age. In addition improvements to towns and villages provide spaces and opportunities to support social and community interaction between all ages. Certain projects are aimed at the younger individual’s in schools and further education eg Digital Schools. In conclusion, the project may have a positive impact on all ages.
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| Marital Status |
Marital Status:
The strategy and associated projects are open to all regardless of their marital status, again officers hold meetings at a range of times and in a range of locations and venues to support the needs of individuals from all groups within this Section 75 category. To date there is no evidence to show a detriment or benefit to any group within this Section 75 category. |
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| Sexual Orientation |
There are no specific figures available on how many people may be Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual or Trans-gender or Trans-sexual (LGBT) specific to the Council area.
In addition the NI Rainbow Project estimates between 6-10% of any given population could be considered as LGBT. The strategy and associated projects are open to all regardless of their sexual orientation. To date there is no evidence to show a detriment or benefit to any group within this Section 75 category.
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| Men and Women Generally |
Gender: (Mid Year 2018 Population Estimates)*
Within the strategy some projects are aimed at specific genders eg women in business. Also some supported sectors traditionally appeal to specific genders eg farming, hospitality and construction; therefore there may be a positive impact on this Section 75 grouping.
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| Dependants |
The Census information in 2011 showed:
The strategy and associated projects are open to all whether they have or have no dependants, again officers hold meetings at a range of times and in a range of locations and venues to support the needs of individuals from all of these groupings. To date there is no evidence to show a detriment or benefit to any group within this Section 75 category. However some individuals with multiple identities may benefit.
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| Disability |
People with a Disability/People Without:
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1. ‘Communication difficulty’ means a difficulty with speaking or making yourself understood.
The strategy and associated projects are open to all ranges of ability. Again officers hold meetings at a range of times and in a range of locations and venues to support the needs of individuals from all groupings. Research has shown that individuals with a long term condition may either lack IT skills or be heavily reliant on technology. The provision of some projects such as improved internet or digital partnerships may create improvements for individuals within this Section 75 category.
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| Screening Questions 1. What is the likely impact on equality of opportunity for those affected by this function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance? |
| Section 75 Category | Positive impact |
Neutral | Negative impact |
Reason | |
| Gender | Women | ☒ | ☐ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
Provision of female entrepreneur programme through local enterprise agency. This is open to all individuals currently presenting as women. |
| Men | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
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| Transgender men/women | ☒ | ☐ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
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| Other please specify | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
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| Race (As used in the 2011 census) |
Asian | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
Impacts are determined to be neutral. All programmes are open to all, depending on the criteria applied to each. These criteria are based on business ownership (i.e., the applicant must be wishing to start a business or seek support to develop one.) |
| Black | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
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| Chinese | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
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| Mixed race White |
☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
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| Other please specify | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
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| Disability | Long term health impairment could include mental health problems, asthma, heart conditions, chronic fatigue etc. | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
No significant impact is determined at this point. All programmes are open to all, depending on the criteria applied to each. These criteria are based on business ownership (i.e., the applicant must be wishing to start a business or seek support to develop one.) |
| Sexual orientation | Heterosexual, lesbian, gay men, bisexual, others | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
Neutral impact on this section |
| Age | Older People | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
Programmes such as Earn to Learn and others targeted specifically at younger people
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| Younger people and children | ☒ | ☐ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
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| Political Opinion | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
Neutral impact on this section | |
| Religious Belief | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
Neutral impact on this section | |
| Marital Status | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
Neutral impact on this section | |
| Dependants | ☐ | ☒ | Major ☐ Minor ☐ |
Neutral impact on this section |
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| Screening Questions 2. Are there opportunities to better promote equality of opportunity for people within any of the Section 75 categories? |
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| Section 75 Category | If Yes, provide details | If No, provide details | ||
| Gender | Women | Welcome statements for under-represented groups where relevant. | ||
| Men | ||||
| Transgender men/women | ||||
| Other please specify | ||||
| Race As used in the 2011 census. |
Asian | Welcome statements in a variety of languages for under-represented groups where relevant. | ||
| Black | ||||
| Chinese | ||||
| Mixed race White | ||||
| Other please specify | ||||
| Disability | Long term health impairment could include mental health problems, asthma, heart conditions, chronic fatigue etc. | Welcome statements in a variety of accessible formats for under-represented groups where relevant. Adjustments made to delivery of training or courses, where possible. Venues are accessible to all. |
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| Sexual orientation | Heterosexual, lesbian, gay men, bisexual, others | Welcome statements for under-represented groups where relevant. | ||
| Age | Older People, Younger people and children |
Prosperity and Place programmes in the main are aimed at business owners regardless of age. Some provision is made for young people through 2 specific programmes. |
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| Political Opinion |
There is no significant impact on this indicator through any of our programmes
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| Religious Belief | There is no significant impact on this indicator through any of our programmes | |||
| Marital Status | There is no significant impact on this indicator through any of our programmes | |||
| Dependants | There is no significant impact on this indicator through any of our programmes | |||
| Screening Questions 3. To what extent is the policy likely to impact on good relations between people of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group? |
| Section 75 Category | Details of policy impact | Level of impact major/minor/none |
| Religious Belief |
No policy impact |
None |
| Political Opinion | No policy impact | None |
| Racial Group | No policy impact | None |
| Screening Questions 4. Are there opportunities to better promote good relations between people of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group? |
| Section 75 Category | If Yes, provide details | If No, provide details |
| Religious Belief | The nature of economic development programmes means it is unlikely to provide opportunities to improve these relations | |
| Political Opinion |
The nature of economic development programmes means it is unlikely to provide opportunities to improve these relations |
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| Racial Group | The nature of economic development programmes means it is unlikely to provide opportunities to improve these relations |
| Additional Considerations | |
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Generally speaking people can fall into more than one Section 75 category. Taking this into consideration, are there any potential impacts of the function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance on people with multiple identities? (For example: disabled minority ethnic people, disabled women, young Protestant men, young lesbians, gay and bisexual people.) |
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The consultation process supported input and feedback from individuals with multiple identities and no concerns were raised. The review process will aid the identification of considerations not already noted.
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| Provide details of data on the impact of the function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance on people with multiple identities. Specify the relevant Section 75 categories concerned. | |
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Women with dependants are supported to start businesses and work from home. This facilitates their caring responsibilities and their ability to continue to work. Young people with disabilities are encouraged to become more digitally skilled and therefore more confident to communicate and start a business.
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| Disability Considerations Is there an opportunity to better promote positive attitudes towards disabled people by altering this function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance? ☐ Yes ☒ No |
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| If yes, please give further information and examples: N/A |
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| Is there an opportunity to encourage participation by disabled people in public life by altering this function, service, policy, procedure, project, strategy, plan or guidance? ☐ Yes ☒ No |
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| Please give further information and examples: N/A |
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Screening Decision
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If the decision is not to conduct an equality impact assessment (i.e. likely impact = None), please provide details of the reasons for this: The nature of the various initiatives and business programmes which we run means that there is generally no negative impact on the groups involved. Where there is a perceived issue, Prosperity and Place work with providers to try and ensure that access to programmes can be improved to ensure that no one is left out. In terms of some our programmes, they are age or gender specific, and moving forward, we will include welcome statements where it is felt relevant. In addition, in terms of women, we have deliberately included minority groups, women, younger and older people in visuals or by way of example successes.
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| Mitigation | |
| When the Council concludes that the likely impact is ‘Minor’ and an equality impact assessment is not to be conducted, the Council may consider mitigation to lessen the severity of any equality impact, or the introduction of an alternative policy to better promote equality of opportunity or good relations. Can the policy/decision be amended or changed or an alternative policy introduced to better promote equality of opportunity and/or good relations? ☐ Yes ☒ No |
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If YES, give the reasons to support your decision, together with the proposed changes/amendments or alternative policy: |
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| Timetabling And Prioritising | |
| If the policy/decision has been ‘screened in’ for equality impact assessment, then please answer the following questions to determine its priority for timetabling the equality impact assessment. On a scale of 1 to 3, with 1 being the lowest priority and 3 the highest, assess the policy in terms of its priority for equality impact assessment. |
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| Priority Criterion | Rating (1 to 3) |
| Effect on equality of opportunity and good relations | N/A |
| Social Need | N/A |
| Effect on people’s daily lives | N/A |
| Relevance to the Council’s functions | N/A |
| Monitoring | |
| Please outline proposals for future monitoring of the policy/decision: The programmes will be reviewed bi-annually or following the end project if this timeframe is shorter. Any additional considerations will be noted and applied to future projects. |
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| Approval And Authorisation | |
| Screened and Approved By Position/Job Title Date | Date |
| Head of Economic Development | 11 January 2021 |
*Sources:
Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT), Queen’s University Belfast and the Ulster University www.ark.ac.uk/nilt
5 https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/nlgccg.htm
Northern Ireland Statistics website: www.nisra.gov.uk
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