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Equality Scheme for the
Eastern Health and Social Services Council
13 Monitoring the effect
of our policies and publishing negative effects
| a |
We will put in place a system to
ensure that every year we will monitor the effect
our policies have on the people section 75 applies
to. We will publicise the results of our monitoring
and assessments by sending out press releases. The
results will also be widely circulated via our annual
report and the yearly report we give to the Equality
Commission. The published information will include:
- the aims of the policy - details of measures to
mitigate any adverse impact - consideration of alternative
policies
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| b |
We recognise that the
baseline data we collect is currently not accurate enough
to begin the process of monitoring. We will take steps
to ensure that this data is more robust and consult
with relevant groups to assist us in this process. |
| c |
We will tell all the organisations
listed in appendix 10 what information we have available.
All our information will be available to the public
free of charge. Members of the public can ask for information
by contacting our offices at: Eastern Health and Social
Services Council 19 Bedford Street Belfast BT9 7EJ.
Phone: 028 9032 1230 E mail: ecouncil@ehssc.n-i.nhs.uk
Minicom: 028 9032 1285 Website: www.ehssb.n-i.nhs.uk
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| d |
If our monitoring and
assessment shows that one of our policies or services
has a greater negative effect on any particular group,
or if we could do more to promote equal opportunities,
we will make sure that the policy is revised immediately.
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| e |
In some cases an equality
impact assessment may identify an anticipated differential
adverse impact on particular groups within the Section75
categories. Assuming that no alternative policy is feasible,
steps will be taken, wherever possible, to mitigate
such anticipated adverse impact. The Council may in
these circumstances commission special monitoring and
analysis to confirm the extent of the adverse impact
and/or the success of any mitigating measures. Information
collected in this special monitoring would be taken
into account in any future review of the policy. |
| f |
The Council will make
publicly available the outcome of any equality impact
assessment and any monitoring undertaken in relation
to adverse impacts. The material will be accessible
on the Council's website and will also be available
in printed form and accessible formats in accordance
with the Equality Commission's guidelines. |
| g |
We will also inform the
general public about the availability of this material
through press releases and press publications. We will
also place information in specialist publications associated
with Section 75 categories. In particular we will take
steps to ensure that young people and people with learning
disabilities are adequately informed |
14 Training
| a |
The Council has an existing
training and development policy which recognises equality
of opportunity for all staff. |
| b |
The Council will allocate
the necessary resources (in terms of people, time and
money) to ensure that the statutory duties are complied
with and that its Equality Scheme is drawn up and implemented
effectively, and on time. A programme has already been
initiated to communicate to, and train staff and members
about the requirements of the statutory obligations
and how the equality agenda can be actively promoted.
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| c |
The Council will draw up a detailed training plan
for all its staff and members over the five year period
to which this Scheme refers, which will aim to achieve
the following objectives:
- to raise awareness of current anti- discrimination
legislation, including the provisions of Section
75, Schedule 9 and Section 76 of the Northern Ireland
Act 1998. This will include an explanation of the
duties and their implications for all employees;
- to provide those employees involved in the screening
of policies with the necessary skills and knowledge
to do this work effectively;
- to provide those employees involved in the equality
impact assessment of policies with the necessary
skills and knowledge to do this work effectively;
- to provide those employee who deal with complaints
in relation to the implementation of the Council's
Scheme with the necessary skills and knowledge to
investigate and monitor complaints effectively;
- to provide those employees involved in the consultation
processes with the necessary skills and knowledge
to do this work effectively;
- to provide employees involved in the implementation
and monitoring if the effective implementation of
the Council's Equality Scheme to do this work effectively;
- to evaluate the extent to which all participants
in this training programme have acquired the necessary
skills and knowledge to achieve each of the above
objectives.
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| d |
Within one year of the
approval of this Scheme, all staff and members will
be trained. All new staff and members will be trained
on the requirements of Section 75 and this Equality
Scheme at induction stage. |
| e |
The Councils will also
assess the need for specialised training in communicating
with, and understanding the needs of traditionally marginalised
groups. Such training would include input from appropriate
external specialists. |
| f |
The Council will develop
its training plan in consultation with representative
of the Section 75 groups and will include input from
appropriate external specialists. |
| g |
Copies of this scheme
will be available to all our staff and members. |
15 Public access to
information and services
| a |
We are committed to communicating
with the public in a timely, clear and effective way.
We realise that sections of the population do not have
equal access to information we provide. For this reason
we will publish information in other languages, large
print and on audiotape. We will monitor access to information
to ensure equality of opportunity. |
| b |
Information will be made
available in consultation with the affected groups,
to ensure the highest level of inclusivity in any policy
decision making. The accessibility of the language and
the format of the information will be considered to
ensure that there are no barriers to the consultation
process. |
| c |
The Council will assess
its arrangement for providing information and will report
on proposed changes before they are introduced. The
Council will consult with representative groups as it
carries out this assessment and will consult on the
findings and recommendation of the assessment prior
to implementation. |
| d |
The Council has given
consideration to how best to communicate information
to young people and those with learning disabilities
and will use methods that are appropriate. |
| e |
The Council considers
it particularly important that sufficient timely and
appropriate information is provided to enable all affected
groups and individuals consider the full implications
of proposals, and it will take steps to ensure this.
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| f |
When we give information
to the local and regional press we will make sure that
all our press statements, articles and advertisements
continue to be made available to all newspapers and
journals. We will also target specific publications
for the people section 75 applies to. In disseminating
information through the local press, the Council will
ensure that public advertisements are carried by all
three Belfast daily newspapers. |
| g |
Our offices are open to
the public each day from 8.45 am to 5.00 pm Monday to
Thursday, and from 8.45 am to 4.30 pm on Fridays. We
keep to all relevant parts of the Disability Discrimination
Act 1995. (See paragraph 3e for access details.) |
16 Publishing
our equality scheme
| a |
We will make sure that
our equality scheme is widely publicised in a way which
will give everyone access to it. The final scheme document
will be written in plain English and we hope it will
gain Plain English Campaign's Crystal Mark for clarity.
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| b |
The final scheme will
include the list of suggestions sent by organisations.
This will provide a mechanism for ensuring that all
suggestions have been included. c |
| c |
The equality scheme will
be made available to any group, organisation or person
free of charge. We will provide different formats including
the following: " on audio tape; " by E mail; " in large
print; " in other languages (for example, Irish, Chinese,
Urdu); " on disk; and " in Braille. |
| d |
Specific consideration
and assistance from groups, who have the required expertise,
will be obtained to ensure that we communicate with
children and people with a learning disability. |
| e |
We will advertise the
availability of the scheme in local newspapers, make
it available on our website and distribute it to the
groups representing the categories in section 75. It
will also be made available to Council staff and members
and all those listed in Appendix 10. |
J Graham
May 2001
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