impact and needs/requirements ... - east cambridgeshire · a recent survey of la and nhs financial...

East Cambridgeshire District Council

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Impact and Needs/Requirements Assessment (INRA)

Name of Policy, Strategy or Function: Reduction in funding to Third Sector Organisations

Lead Officer (responsible forassessment):

Daniel Schumann, Active Communities Officer

Department: Community Services

Others Involved in the Assessment (i.e.peer review, external challenge):

Darren Dixon, Head of Community ServicesNicole Pema, Principal HR Officer

Date INRA Completed: 10th December 2010

(a) What is the activity trying to achieve?

Given that the Council wishes to protect front line services, it is important that funding to externalbodies is rationalised so that it can be targeted where it is most needed.

The Council currently provides approximately £132,621 of grant aid (financial support) to a widerange of voluntary organisations across East Cambridgeshire.

The Council is proposing to reduce funding to third sector organisations by up to 11%.

(b) Who are its main beneficiaries? i.e. who will be affected by the policy and the way theservice is delivered?

Third Sector organisations including Ely and District Citizens Advice Bureau, Newmarket CitizensAdvice Bureau, Voluntary and Community Action East Cambridgeshire, CambridgeshireCommunity Foundation and the Council.

(c) Does this activity have the potential to cause an impact (positive, negative or neutral)on different groups in the community, on the grounds of:(please tick all that apply):

Ethnicity Age Gender Religion and BeliefDisability Sexuality

Please explain any impact identified:

Although a public sector squeeze has been anticipated for some time, many of the local authoritiesin Cambridgeshire have not pre-indicated substantive changes to the direct funding of localVoluntary and Community Sector (VCS) groups.

The election of the new Government in May 2010 has resulted in a new dynamic of immediate andprecipitous cuts. The emergency budget has impacted directly and indirectly on local authorities,most particularly with regard to reduced Government Grant to local authorities and governmentfunded programmes such as LPSA Reward Grant (Local Public Service Agreement) and


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ABG (Area Based Grant).

Further announcements about government exemplifications with respect to 25% to 40%departmental budget cuts were announced and were confirmed in the Comprehensive SpendingReview (CSR). This has led to local reassessment, with local authorities anticipating morefundamental re-organisations in business activity alongside further major cuts.

The Present Position in Cambridgeshire

Impacts of cuts on the voluntary sector have mostly been felt in Cambridgeshire from theemergency budget. The key announcements related to

East of England Development Agency (EEDA) - cuts and closure, affecting the future viabilityof MENTER (the regional Black and minority ethnic organisation), and The East of EnglandFaiths Council.

Office for Civil Society - announcing the ending of programmes for the Third Sector includingFuturebuilders and Grassroots Grants and reviewing V. and Capacitybuilders. InCambridgeshire CVSIC (the voluntary sector infrastructure consortium) is supported byCapacitybuilders, and V. provides funding to youth volunteering activity / Young Lives. Thenon-renewal of the Grassroots Grants Programme run in Cambridgeshire by theCambridgeshire Community Foundation will reduce the availability of grants to local groups aswell as endowment potential.

LPSA - the immediate suspension of payments to LPSA projects has had a difficult impact onsome of the 30 voluntary group projects. The County Council and all Districts (via LocalStrategic Partnerships, LSPs) had endorsed LPSA funding totalling approximately £9 million to92 statutory sector and VCS projects, 30 of these are VCS led projects, with East Cambshaving the highest number 10 (including 2 with South Cambridgeshire District Council).

Local authorities being forced to find minimum budget savings of 11%. At the County Council, major strategic consultations with regard to reductions in the Libraries’

budget and reductions in Youth Service/Connexions delivery, have taken place, alongsidecurrent cuts requirements some of which will or have directly affected voluntary sector groups(CREDS, Community Transport).

A recent survey of LA and NHS financial support to VCS groups in Cambridgeshire (CD /Funders Group 08/09 Survey) found that all authorities in Cambridgeshire were spendingapproximately £34.5million1 pounds with 725 VCS groups.

Around 83% of this was via the County Council to 325 of the groups, and whilst Districts co-funded 80 of these groups and NHS 25, the Districts spent £1.7million of this total separatelysupporting another 400 local groups.

The Present Position in East Cambridgeshire

ECDC have already written to our Third Sector grantees warning of 11% reductions based onprojected RSG savings in 2011/12.

ECDC received an actual RSG reduction of 17.8% - there is no proposal to reduce the thirdsector grants to this level.

ECDC have, prior to formal decision making process, reduced Third Sector small grantsschemes and terminated the Community Facilities Grants Scheme.


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The Small Parishes S106 grant scheme has been reviewed to provide parishes below 3,000population to mitigate the impact of the withdrawal of CFGS.

The Discretionary Rate Relief Programme in East Cambs is being reviewed and tightened inorder make savings.

This means that: cuts in District Council discretionary VCS grant budgets going forward could impact on local

grassroots community action in Cambridgeshire larger or key service providing Voluntary organisations could be impacted by similar cuts to

the County Council and NHS social care budgets up to 80 groups county wide that are providing their services from a combination of County

and District funds could be put at risk by the independent decision making processes of therespective authorities.

Impact on Different Groups in the Community

The proposed cuts to third sector grants will have an impact on different groups in the community,as set out below.

Disability

As at August 2008, 2480 people in East Cambridgeshire were claiming Disability Living Allowance,3% of the total population (based on mid-2008 population estimate of 82,300 from the Office forNational Statistics).

Disabled people are supported by several of the Council service areas that face either cuts to theirbudgets, a reduction/cessation of service or re-design of service, as set out below:Loss of CAB outreach services in rural locations will mean people with disabilities will find it

more difficult to access a CABLoss of funding to CAB to give benefits advice could impact particularly on disabled people in

terms of them being able to apply for and claim disability related benefitsLoss of funding to the volunteer centre could mean a decrease in volunteers to run support

groups and activities for disabled people.Loss of funding to Voluntary and Community Action East Cambridgeshire could result in a

reduction of the Social Car Scheme service they run which helps many disabled people toaccess services by providing free transport.

The Council will need to ensure that disabled people are not disproportionately disadvantaged asa result of these changes.

Ethnicity

Of the resident population in East Cambridgeshire, 97.7% are white and 2.3% are from minorityethnic groups (Annual Demographic and Socio-economic Information Report for EastCambridgeshire produced by Cambridgeshire County Council, 2008).

Travellers are one of the largest minority ethnic groups in the area. East Cambridgeshire’stravellers estimate was 1,060 in 2005, which equates to 1.4% of the 2005 district population.


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Since 2001, a minimum of 3,100 migrants have come to the district to work. Of these, 66% havecome from Eastern Europe and 13% from Western Europe. 220 Asian migrants have come to thedistrict at a fairly constant rate of around 50 per year. The highest number of Asian migrants arefrom India, the Philippines and China. Around 160 migrant workers have also come to the districtfrom the Americas, and 120 from Australia and New Zealand.

People of different ethnicity are supported by several of the Council service areas that face eithercuts to their budgets, a reduction/cessation of service or re-design of service, as set out below:

Loss of funding to CAB will mean less ability to provide specialist advice to the migrantcommunity such as advice on employment, housing and benefits.

The Council will need to ensure that people of different ethnic groups are not disproportionatelydisadvantaged as a result of these changes.

Age

The Annual Demographic and Socio-economic Information Report for East Cambridgeshire,indicates that East Cambridgeshire has an ageing population.

The chart below shows the current and predicted age profile for the district:

Age 2006 2011 2016Under 16 19.66% 19.1% 18.57%16 - 19 4.72% 4.22% 4.03%20 - 24 4.98% 5.33% 4.52%25 - 39 19.27% 17% 15.65%40 - 64 34.73% 36.23% 36.06%65 - 75 8.65% 9.55% 11.49%75 and over 7.99% 8.56% 9.66%

Analysis of the age structure of the population reveals that in future the percentage of children andyoung people is forecast to decrease whilst the percentage of population aged 65+ is forecast toincrease significantly.

People of different ages are supported by several of the Council service areas that face either cutsto their budgets, a reduction/cessation of service or re-design of service, as set out below:

Loss of CAB outreach services in rural locations will mean older people will find it moredifficult to access a CAB

Loss of funding to CAB to give benefits advice could impact particularly on older people interms of them being able to apply for and claim age related benefits

Loss of funding to the volunteer centre could mean a decrease in volunteers to run supportgroups and activities for older people.

Loss of funding to Voluntary and Community Action East Cambridgeshire could result in areduction of the Social Car Scheme service they run which helps many older people to accessservices by providing free transport.

The Council will need to ensure that people of different age groups are not disproportionatelydisadvantaged as a result of these changes.


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Cuts Management

ECDC have done the following in order to minimise the negative impact of the above cuts:

Active Communities Officer has met with all effected parties and offered information, adviceand guidance on finding and obtaining alternative funding sources.

Section 106 grant guidelines have been altered in order to replace the Community FacilitiesGrants Scheme.

£2000 of funding has been ring fenced within the Active Communities budget to use to helpThird Sector organisations to search for and obtain other funding.

(d) If you have identified an adverse impact, does it have thepotential to disadvantage or discriminate unfairly against any ofthe groups in a way that is unlawful? This is more likely to occur inservices that are customer facing, particularly where judgementsneed to be made by Council staff about access or entitlement toservices or opportunities.

NO

What information or background data is currently available to assist with making thejudgements above? Is the INRA informed by any data (quantitative or qualitative)? i.e.consultations, complaints, applications received, allocations/take-up, satisfaction rates,performance indicators, access audits, census data, benchmarking, workforce profile etc.

The proposal has been through a 12 week process of consultation with the relevant organisationimpacted by the change, in accordance with the Cambridgeshire Compact Agreement. This can besummarised below:-

1st December 2010 – Letter was sent to all organisations impacted by this proposal forcomment

Written responses received from Ely CAB and Voluntary and Community Action EastCambridgeshire

Two meetings to discuss the impact with each of the three organisations between boradmembers/Chief Executives of the organisation and the Active Communities Officer, wereheld prior to the Community Services Committee on 26th January 2011.

All five Neighbourhood Panels were informed of budgetary proposals for comment duringthe month of January 2011.

Budget Seminar for Council Members on 6th January to inform and seek comment. Community Services Committee received and responded to public questions from the Ely

and Newmarket Citizen Advice Bureaus on 26th January 2011.

In addition, the following evidence and data was used in developing the proposals.

Data on the demographics of East Cambridgeshire, obtained from the Council’s SingleEquality Scheme 2010-2012, and the Annual Demographic and Socio-economicInformation Report for East Cambridgeshire produced by Cambridgeshire County Council(2008).

Data on the number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance in East Cambridgeshirefrom the Office of National Statistics.


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Profile of service users provided by CAB Financial data on the third sector funding. Quarterly reposts from Voluntary and Community Action East Cambs and CABs Case studies from Voluntary and Community Action East Cambs and CABs

(e) What additional information is needed to provide a clear picture of how the activity isimpacting on different communities and how will you collect this information, i.e. expertgroups, further research, consultation* etc? Where there are major gaps in information thatcannot be addressed immediately, these should be highlighted in your recommendations andobjectives at the end of the INRA.

Several meetings have taken place with the Active Communities Officer and the Service Managersof the organisations effected. The Active Communities Officer has also attended board meetingsand consulted with trustees of the organisations effected.

* The Consultation Register is available to assist staff in consulting with the Council’s stakeholders. If you are consultingon a new or revised policy or strategy contact the Senior HR Officer, alternatively if you are consulting on changes toservices or functions contact the Head of Policy and Performance.

(f) Do you envisage any problems with these methods of information collection? i.e. notaccessible to all, timescale not long enough to obtain all of the necessary information,translation facilities not available, insufficient resources etc.

No

(g) If it has been possible to collect this additional information, summarise the findings ofyour research and/or consultation (please use a separate sheet if necessary).

(h) What are the risks associated with the policy, strategy or function in relation todifferential impact and unmet needs/requirements? i.e. reputation, financial, breach oflegislation, service exclusion, lack of resources, lack of cooperation, insufficient budget etc.


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The risks associated with the reduction in funding to third sector organisations will be:

Financial May lead to closure of services in the district.Service Exclusion People will find it harder to access services.Reputation Negative customer feedback and media reports.Health and Wellbeing Increased risk of accidents for the elderly and disabled.Breach of Legislation Potential non-compliance with equality legislation.

(i) Use the information gathered in the earlier stages of your INRA to consider whetherthere is the potential for the policy, strategy or function to result in unlawfuldiscrimination or a less favourable impact on any group in the community, defined bythe following: ethnicity, gender, disability, age, religion and belief, sexuality. If you haveidentified the potential for unequal impact, in what circumstances is this most likely to occur?Can less favourable impact be justified?

A reduction in grant funding to third sector organisations in East Cambridgeshire will undoubtedlyhave an adverse impact on older people, young people, people from ethnic minorities and peoplewith disabilities who are accessing the services. However, this does not amount to unlawfuldiscrimination because the Council will continue to provide funding to third sector organisations (ata reduced level). Please note that the grant funding is a discretionary activity and there is nostatutory requirement for the Council to provide this.

Whilst an adverse impact has been identified, with major reductions in public spending, theCouncil is having to make difficult financial decisions. The equality duties do not prevent theCouncil from making difficult decisions such as service reductions which may affect one groupmore than another.

This proposal is part of a package of savings proposals developed to respond to the severefinancial challenges facing the Council.

(j) Where you have identified the potential for unequal impact, what action can be taken toremove or mitigate against the potential for the policy, strategy or function to unlawfullydiscriminate or impact less favourably on one or more communities in a way thatcannot be justified? Include key activities that are likely to have the greatest impact (max. 6).Identified actions should be specified in detail for the first year but there may be further longerterm actions which need to be considered. To ensure that your actions are more than just a listof good intentions, include for each: the person responsible for its completion, a timescale forcompletion, any cost implications and how these will be addressed. It is essential that youincorporate these actions into your service plans.


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The Council has done the following in order to minimise the negative impact of the above cuts:

Active Communities Officer has met with all effected parties and offered information, adviceand guidance on finding and obtaining alternative funding sources.

Section 106 grant guidelines have been altered in order to replace the Community FacilitiesGrants Scheme.

£2000 of funding has been ring fenced within the Active Communities budget to use to helpThird Sector organisations to search for and obtain other funding.

A Funding and Organisational Development toolkit has been created and published by theCouncil to help third sector organisations seek, apply for and obtain funding.

There are some opportunities for some organisations to increase charges and make somesavings. The Active Communities Officer has attended meetings with the trustees of thesethird sector organisations in order to assist in finding savings and planning to increasecharges.

This completed INRA will need to be countersigned by your Head of Service/Executive Director.Please forward completed and signed forms to Nicole Pema, Principal HR Officer.

All completed INRAs will need to scrutinised and verified by the Council’s Equal OpportunitiesWorking Group (EOWG) and published on the Council’s Intranet to demonstrate to local peoplethat the Council is actively engaged in tackling potential discrimination and improving its practicesin relation to equalities.

Please be aware that you will be asked to attend a half-an-hour session to summarise the findingsof the INRA to the EOWG Verification panel.

Signatures:

Completing Officer: Daniel Schumann Date: 10/12/10

Head of Service: Darren Dixon Date: 10/12/10


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Name of Policy, Strategy or Function: Reduction in grant funding to Care and Repair EastCambridgeshire

Lead Officer (responsible for assessment): Liz Knox, Head of Environmental Services and JohnTanswell, Principal Environmental Health Officer(Domestic)

Department: Environmental Services


Nicole Pema, Principal HR Officer

Date INRA Completed: November 2010

(a) What is the policy, strategy or function trying to achieve? i.e. what are its aims and objectives?Is it affected by external drivers for change?

Care and Repair England is a charity set up in 1986 to improve the housing and living conditions ofolder people and disabled people, and aims to develop, promote and support housing related policiesand practical initiatives which enable older and disabled people to live independently in their ownhomes for as long as they wish.

Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire is the local ‘home improvement agency’ (HIA) to help older anddisabled people with the following: Small home adaptations;Disabled facilities grants;Housing Repairs and Maintenance;Handyperson for repairs;Hospital discharge; Energy efficiency; Security; andHousing options.

The HIA provides advice on funding, including the availability of grants from statutory bodies, releasingequity and accessing loans, and accessing charitable funding. They assist residents of EastCambridgeshire with grant/loan applications, making the process of applying for a grant/loan availableto people who are more vulnerable/less able and ensures that the necessary works required to theirhomes to enable them to remain there is undertaken.

The services provided by Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire are available for everybody to use whois entitled to a grant/loan for work to adapt the house for a disabled person or to carry outimprovements to bring the house back up to a satisfactory level of repair. For those residents who find itdifficult to understand the paper work and the process who might be put off applying for therepair/improvement work to be undertaken. The agency ensures that the work is properly identified andbuilders contacted and the grant applied for. They then oversee the completion of the work. Thisenables residents to both return home from hospital and continue to live in their own homes or providesthe necessary repair works to enable residents to stay and live in their home safely and morecomfortably.


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The Council has been providing funding to Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire since its conception.This funding is a contribution to operating costs enabling Care and Repair to operate a reasonable levelof service to the residents of the district. This grant funding of Care and Repair is a discretionaryactivity and there is no statutory requirement for the Council to provide funding, however, the provisionof funding for Disabled Facilities Grants is a mandatory duty of the Council. The Council also providesdiscretionary funding for repair works.

In 2010/11, Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire will receive a total of £52,000 grant funding from theCouncil and approximately £60,000 in fees.

With major reductions in public spending, the Council is having to make difficult financial decisions, andas part of the 2011/12 budget process the Council is considering the reduction of grant funding to Careand Repair services in the District by £15,000 and reducing the Capital budget by £40,000 and thusreducing the fee income which will be payable to Care and Repair.

It has been identified that the Council’s Revenue Support Grant will be cut by 28% over the next twoyears. As a consequence the Council has reviewed all areas of expenditure. The proposal to reducegrant funding is part of a package of savings proposals developed to respond to the financialchallenges facing the Council.

(b) Who are its main beneficiaries? i.e. who will be affected by the policy, service or function?

Primarily, disabled people, the elderly and vulnerable residents who need help to apply for grants/loansfor works to their homes. Client groups include owner/occupiers, private sector tenants, housingassociation tenants and people on lower income.

(c) Does this activity have the potential to cause an impact (positive, negative or neutral) ondifferent groups in the community, on the grounds of (please tick all that apply):

Ethnicity Age Gender Religion and Belief Disability Sexuality

Please explain any impact identified: i.e. What do you already know about equality impact or need?Is there any evidence that there is a higher or lower take-up by particular groups? Have there been anydemographic changes or trends locally? Are there any barriers to accessing the policy or service?

Age Equality

The dramatic increase in life expectancy has changed the shape of British society.

In 1856 average life expectancy was 40 years. Today it is 84.4 years for women and 81.6 years for menand there are now more people over retirement age than children under sixteen.

The Annual Demographic and Socio-economic Information Report for East Cambridgeshire producedby Cambridgeshire County Council (2008), indicates that East Cambridgeshire has an ageingpopulation.


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According to a report by Care and Repair(England), Time to Adapt (2009), 90% of older people live ingeneral housing. A third of all homes are lived in by older people. Thus the suitability, condition andadaptation of all types of housing are critical in an ageing society.

Older people's health and well-being are bound inextricably to the conditions of their homes. There is agrowing body of evidence demonstrating that an accessible, adapted home can make a significantcontribution to improving older and disabled people’s quality of life. Adaptations can enableindependence, help to prevent accidents, particularly falls, and reduce hospital and care homeadmission rates.

The desire of the majority of older people is to live independently in their own homes for as long aspossible. If there is a reduction in the level of Care and Repair service as a consequence of thereduction of Council grant funding then this will have an adverse impact on the ability of some elderlypeople to access grants and loans for adaptations and repairs to enable them to do that.

Disability Equality

According to the Time to Adapt report by Care and Repair, there has been a 60% increase over the last5 years in the number of people over 85 who have reported that they have a serious disability ormedical condition. The report also estimates that the number of older, disabled people in England willdouble from 2.3m in 2002 to 4.6m by 2041.

As at August 2008, 2480 people in East Cambridgeshire were claiming Disability Living Allowance, 3%of the total population (based on mid-2008 population estimate of 82,300 from the Office for NationalStatistics). Of these 2480 people, 56% were over the age of 50, 51% were women and 49% men.

As above, the health and well-being of disabled people is bound inextricably to the conditions of theirhomes. There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that an accessible, adapted home canmake a significant contribution to improving their quality of life. Adaptations can enable independence,help to prevent accidents, particularly falls, and reduce hospital admission rates.

If there is a reduction in the level of Care and Repair service as a consequence of the reduction ofCouncil grant funding then this will have an adverse impact on the ability of some disabled people toaccess grants and loans for adaptations and repairs to their homes.


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Other Equality Areas

The services provided by Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire makes housing, services andadaptations more inclusive and accessible to everybody who is entitled to a grant/loan for work toadapt the house for a disabled person, or to carry out improvements to bring the house back up to asatisfactory level of repair. For those residents who find it difficult to understand the paper work andwho might be put off applying for the repair/improvement work to be undertaken, the agency ensuresthat the work is properly identified and builders contacted and the grant applied for. They thenoversee the completion of the work. This enables residents to, either return home from hospital andcontinue to live in their own homes or provides the necessary repair works to enable residents to stayand live in their home safely and more comfortably.

If there is a reduction in the level of Care and Repair service as a consequence of the reduction ofCouncil grant funding then this will have an adverse impact on the ability of people to access grants andloans for adaptations and repairs to their homes.

(d) If you have identified an adverse impact, does it have the potentialto disadvantage or discriminate unfairly against any of the groupsin a way that is unlawful? This is more likely to occur in services thatare customer facing, particularly where judgements need to be made byCouncil staff about access or entitlement to services or opportunities.

NO

A reduction in grant funding to Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire will undoubtedly have an adverseimpact on people accessing grants and loans for adaptations and repairs to their homes, particularly theelderly and disabled. However, this does not amount to unlawful discrimination.The Council will continue to provide funding to Care and Repair (at a reduced level) to provide support.Please note that there is a statutory requirement for the Council to provide funding for Disabled FacilityGrants but some grant funding is a discretionary activity

(e) What information or background data is currently available to assist with making thejudgements above? Is the INRA informed by any data (quantitative or qualitative)? i.e.consultations, complaints, applications received, allocations/take-up, satisfaction rates, performanceindicators, access audits, census data, benchmarking, workforce profile etc.

Number of people who access the support from Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire. Satisfaction survey information collected by Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire and forwarded

to the Council. Details of all works undertaken by Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire to improve living

conditions. Consultation with Care and Repair to consider the impact of the proposals on their service users. Diversity monitoring data for grant/loan applicants. Time to Adapt Report by Care and Repair (2009). Out in the Cold by Peter Archer, Chair of Care and Repair England, Environmental Health News,

Issue 01, 14 January 2011. Data on the demographics of East Cambridgeshire, obtained from the Council’s Single Equality

Scheme 2010-2012, and the Annual Demographic and Socio-economic Information Report for EastCambridgeshire produced by Cambridgeshire County Council (2008).

Data on the number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance in East Cambridgeshire from theOffice of National Statistics.

Financial data on the Care and Repair service funding. Terms and conditions for Care and Repair East Cambridgeshire.


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(f) What additional information is needed to provide a clear picture of how the activity isimpacting on different communities and how will you collect this information, i.e. expertgroups, further research, consultation* etc? Where there are major gaps in information thatcannot be addressed immediately, these should be highlighted in your recommendations andobjectives at the end of the INRA.

None

* The Consultation Register is available to assist staff in consulting with the Council’s stakeholders. If you are consulting on anew or revised policy or strategy contact the Senior HR Officer, alternatively if you are consulting on changes to services orfunctions contact the Head of Policy and Performance.

(g) Do you envisage any problems with these methods of information collection? i.e. notaccessible to all, timescale not long enough to obtain all of the necessary information, translationfacilities not available, insufficient resources etc.

N/a

(h) If it has been possible to collect this additional information, summarise the findings of yourresearch and/or consultation (please use a separate sheet if necessary).

Generally, Care and Repair undertake regular satisfaction surveys of service users every three months.The latest results for 2010 indicate a high level of satisfaction with the service and highlights thatwithout Care and Repair support many people would not have had the work undertaken. All users whoresponded would use the service again and recommend it to others. The survey also poses thequestion as to whether the help provided has reduced the likelihood of them having a fall or anaccident, in over 75% of cases the user has responded positively to this question.

With regard to the proposed reduction in funding, it was necessary to consult with Care and Repair toconsider the impact on their service users: Care and Repair were notified on 14 December by letter. Response was received from Care and Repair on 16 December. Meeting was held with the Manager and Chair of Care and Repair on 7 January 2011 to discuss the

consequences of the funding cuts. The Council’s proposed budget was tabled at Neighbourhood Panels throughout the district in

January 2011. The proposed budget cuts were taken through the committee round in January 2011, Care and

Repair were present at the Strategic Development committee meeting and took the opportunity tospeak at the meeting.

Consultation with the other funding agencies has also taken place to consider the overall level offunding that would be available to Care and Repair for 2011/12.


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(i) What are the risks associated with the policy, strategy or function in relation to differentialimpact and unmet needs/requirements? i.e. reputation, financial, breach of legislation, serviceexclusion, lack of resources, lack of cooperation, insufficient budget etc.

Reduction of funding to the Care and Repair service may have the following risks:

Financial The reduction of Council grant funding may lead to closure of Careand Repair East Cambridgeshire.

Service Exclusion Elderly and disabled people will find it harder to apply for grantsand loans for adaptations and repairs to their homes.

Reputation A reduction in the level of Care and Repair service currentlyprovided may lead to negative customer feedback and mediareports.

Health andWellbeing

Increased risk of accidents, particularly falls, and increasedhospital and care home admission rates for the elderly anddisabled.

(j) Use the information gathered in the earlier stages of your INRA to consider whether there isthe potential for the policy, strategy or function to result in unlawful discrimination or a lessfavourable impact on any group in the community, defined by the following: ethnicity,gender, disability, age, religion and belief, sexuality. If you have identified the potential forunequal impact, in what circumstances is this most likely to occur? Can less favourable impact bejustified?

NO - a reduction in capital funding and reduction in grant funding to Care and Repair EastCambridgeshire will undoubtedly have an adverse impact on people accessing grants and loans foradaptations and repairs to their homes, particularly the elderly and disabled. However, this does notamount to unlawful discrimination. The Council will continue to provide funding to Care and Repair (at areduced level) to provide this support. Please note that the grant to Care and Repair is discretionaryfunding and there is no statutory requirement for the Council to provide this.

(k) Where you have identified the potential for unequal impact, what action can be taken toremove or mitigate against the potential for the policy, strategy or function to unlawfullydiscriminate or impact less favourably on one or more communities in a way that cannot bejustified? Include key activities that are likely to have the greatest impact (max. 6). Identifiedactions should be specified in detail for the first year but there may be further longer-term actions,which need to be considered. To ensure that your actions are more than just a list of goodintentions, include for each: the person responsible for its completion, a timescale for completion,any cost implications and how these will be addressed. It is essential that you incorporate theseactions into your service plans.

The Council is encouraging Care and Repair to seek additional funding from other sources includingagencies within the County and to investigate the possibility of targeted central Government grants asand when they are available.

The Council’s grant to Care and Repair is only one of a number of sources of their funding. Otherfunding is provided by other agencies but their decision on the level of funding to be provided in thefuture is not known therefore the precise impact on the level of services is not known. There are optionsopen to Care and Repair to seek other sources of funding, increase charges or use reserves. Theseoptions might be able to mitigate the impact on services.


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This completed INRA will need to be countersigned by your Head of Service/Executive Director. Pleaseforward completed and signed forms to Nicole Pema, Principal HR Officer.

All completed INRAs will need to scrutinised and verified by the Council’s Equal Opportunities WorkingGroup (EOWG) and published on the Council’s Intranet to demonstrate to local people that the Council isactively engaged in tackling potential discrimination and improving its practices in relation to equalities.Please be aware that you will be asked to attend a half-an-hour session to summarise the findings of theINRA to the EOWG Verification panel.

Signatures:

Completing Officer: John Tanswell Date: 11.11.10

Head of Service: Liz Knox Date: 13.11.10


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Name of Policy, Strategy or Function: The withdrawal of grant funding to the community Dial-a-Ride service

Lead Officer (responsible for assessment): Giles Hughes, Head of Planning & SustainableDevelopment

Department: Development Services


Nicole Pema, Principal HR Officer

Date INRA Completed:February 2010 (as revised)

(a) What is the policy, strategy or function trying to achieve? i.e. what are its aims and objectives?Is it affected by external drivers for change?

The Dial-a-Ride service provides affordable travel around East Cambridgeshire for people who cannotuse public transport. It enables people to maintain independent living, giving customers an improvedquality of life with easy access to health care, shopping and social events. This in turn has a positiveimpact on the mental health and well being of customers, helping to ensure they have a healthy andsustainable lifestyle long into their old age; whilst guaranteeing social inclusion.

With major reductions in public spending, the Council is having to make difficult financial decisions, andas part of the 2011/12 budget process the Council is considering the withdrawal of grant funding to diala ride services in the District.

In 2010/11 ECDC provided revenue support grants to the three dial a ride schemes that operate in thedistrict. This support was broken down as follows:

Ely Soham Dial-a-Ride (ESDAR): £16,830.00The Voluntary Network (Newmarket Area Dial-a-Ride): £8,160.00

Cambridge Dial-a-Ride: £500.00Total: £25,490.00

The Council has been providing grants to dial a ride services since the 1990s. The grants are acontribution to operating costs enabling the dial a ride schemes to operate a reasonable level of serviceto the district. The grant funding is a discretionary activity and there is no statutory requirement for theCouncil to provide funding.

The reason for providing support for the schemes was to help residents who are unable to use the mainbus service due to disability, frailty or rural isolation. Although the membership is predominantly elderlyit is open to the whole community who meet the criteria for not being able to use the main bus service.

It has been identified that the Council’s Revenue Support Grant will be cut by 28% over the next twoyears. As a consequence the Council has reviewed all areas of expenditure. The proposal to withdrawgrant funding is part of a package of savings proposals developed to respond to the financialchallenges facing the Council.


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Another consideration behind this proposal is the transfer of the concessionary fares function to theCounty Council from April 2011. This transfer by itself is estimated to result in a £200,000 funding gapfor the Council in 2011/12.

East Cambridgeshire District Council has no statutory responsibility for passenger transport.Cambridgeshire County Council is the Local Transport Authority and should therefore be responsiblefor considering dial a ride grant funding alongside the funding for other forms of passenger transport.

(b) Who are its main beneficiaries? i.e. who will be affected by the policy, service or function?

The three dial a ride schemes received £25,490 of grant funding in total in 2010/11.

The dial a ride schemes help scheme members who are unable to use the main bus service due todisability, frailty or rural isolation. To use a scheme residents need to be members of that scheme. Thefollowing is an extract from the ESDAR conditions:

“Membership is open to residents of East Cambridgeshire who do not have accessto a car during the day and who can say YES to at least one of the following: There is no public transport available; Although public transport is available, it does not run at times suitable for you; or You have difficulty using public transport due to disability or frailty”

In the 12 months ending 30 September 2010, ESDAR carried a total of 11,434 passengers on the dial-a-ride services. In addition to the Dial-a-Ride and excursion services, ESDAR also provide a well -usedgroup hire service to charities and social groups. Under contract to Cambridgeshire County Councilthey operate 3 local bus services, 4 education contracts and 3 social care contracts. They are alsorunning Thursday market day services with financial support from Isleham and Burwell parish councils.They operate 10 minibuses and carry 60,000 people a year of which 19% are on their Dial-a-Rideservice. The scheme currently recovers approximately 90% of its operating costs from its ownresources. Cambridgeshire County Council gave ESDAR a grant of £11,210 for 2010/11.

The Voluntary Network carried 15,494 dial-a-ride passengers, roughly a third of whom are EastCambridgeshire residents. The Voluntary Network also operates a social car scheme and variouscontract work for Suffolk County Council including the Brecks Bus. They currently operate fouraccessible vehicles, and hold two contracts with Mildenhall Resource Centre and Newmarket ResourceCentre. The scheme recovers 27% of its operating costs from its own resources. In 2010/11 thescheme also received grants from Cambridgeshire County Council (£12,464). Suffolk County Council(£18,500), and Forest Heath District Council (£14,000).

The Cambridge Dial-a-Ride is largely funded by Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge CityCouncil, South Cambridgeshire District Council and the NHS.

All three schemes fund raise and all claim Bus Service Operators’ Grant (BSOG) from the Departmentfor Transport, but this will be reduced by 20% from April 2011.

To this end, Cambridgeshire County Council has organised a workshop ‘Delivering Transport andAccessibility in the New Era’ in February 2011. This summit and the work streams that follow willexamine transport issues in an integrated way including all elements of passenger transport such asconventional buses, home to school, and dial a ride services in the context of budget cuts.


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(c) Does this activity have the potential to cause an impact (positive, negative or neutral) ondifferent groups in the community, on the grounds of (please tick all that apply):

Ethnicity Age Gender Religion and BeliefDisability Sexuality

Please explain any impact identified: i.e. What do you already know about equality impact or need?Is there any evidence that there is a higher or lower take-up by particular groups? Have there been anydemographic changes or trends locally? Are there any barriers to accessing the policy or service?

The service provided by Cambridge Dial-a-Ride is peripheral to East Cambridgeshire and the loss of£500 in grant is not expected to create any adverse impact on that scheme.

The withdrawal of Council grant funding for the ESDAR and the Voluntary network schemes will reducethe revenue of these two schemes unless that revenue can be replaced in other ways. The Council isencouraging dial a ride schemes to seek funding from Cambridgeshire County Council and investigatethe possibility of targeted central Government grants. The County Council is investigating increasedfunding for dial a ride schemes in order to compensate for its proposal to withdraw funding support forsubsidised bus routes. If the revenue of the dial a ride schemes does fall, the potential impact will bethat the schemes may not be able to operate at their current levels thereby reducing the level of serviceto disabled, frail and rural residents. The precise service impact is not known at this stage, given theuncertainty over other sources of funding and the options open to the schemes to increase charges oruse reserves, but it appears unlikely that the withdrawal of Council grant funding by itself will lead to thetotal loss of the dial a ride services.

Disability Equality

As at August 2008, 2480 people in East Cambridgeshire were claiming Disability Living Allowance, 3%of the total population (based on mid-2008 population estimate of 82,300 from the Office for NationalStatistics). Of these 2480 people, 56% were over the age of 50, 51% were women and 49% men.

If there is a reduction in the level of dial a ride service as a consequence of the withdrawal of Councilgrant funding then this might impact on the ability of some frail and disabled people to access localservices. The precise impact cannot be quantified at this stage given the uncertainty over othersources of funding. East Cambridgeshire is a rural area with a limited conventional bus network outsideof the main towns. Residents of a number of villages without access to cars are reliant on the dial-a-ride service to allow them to access local services.

Independence will be affected for the most vulnerable and/or disabled people who attend groups orclubs. If there is a reduction or loss of service this might affect well being and the quality of life for thosewho use dial a ride services to meet others at community centres or social activities. This will alsoreduce attendance of people and may result in the clubs unable to continue due to diminishingcustomers.

Deterioration in health may occur if clients cannot attend clinics or appointments which help them toremain fit and healthy.

Dial a ride schemes may also choose to respond to the loss of Council grant funding by increasing usercharges to mitigate the impact on services.


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Age Equality

The Annual Demographic and Socio-economic Information Report for East Cambridgeshire producedby Cambridgeshire County Council (2008), indicates that East Cambridgeshire has an ageingpopulation.




If there is a reduction in the level of dial a ride service as a consequence of the withdrawal of Councilgrant funding then this might impact on the ability of some elderly people to access local services.

As above, social independence will be affected for the elderly who attend groups or clubs, and thismight affect their well being and quality of life. Deterioration in health may occur if elderly people cannotattend clinics or appointments.

Gender Equality

The 2008 ONS mid-year population data shows that in East Cambridgeshire: 51% of the total population are female and 49% male. 48% of the working population are female and 52% male. 54% of the over 65 age group are female and 46% male.

It is likely that female users of the dial a ride service feel safer having a door to door service, where thedriver will get off the vehicle and help them with their shopping and seeing them to their door. Given theslightly higher proportion of women in older age groups it appears that there will be a marginallydifferential impact on women from any reduction in the level of dial a ride services.

If the dial a ride service is reduced/withdrawn then it is possible that lone passengers (male or female)will not have the funds or the confidence to get out and will become socially isolated.

(d) If you have identified an adverse impact, does it have the potentialto disadvantage or discriminate unfairly against any of the groupsin a way that is unlawful? This is more likely to occur in services thatare customer facing, particularly where judgements need to be made byCouncil staff about access or entitlement to services or opportunities.

NO


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(e) What information or background data is currently available to assist with making thejudgements above? Is the INRA informed by any data (quantitative or qualitative)? i.e.consultations, complaints, applications received, allocations/take-up, satisfaction rates, performanceindicators, access audits, census data, benchmarking, workforce profile etc.

Data on the demographics of East Cambridgeshire, obtained from the Council’s Single EqualityScheme 2010-2012, and the Annual Demographic and Socio-economic Information Report for EastCambridgeshire produced by Cambridgeshire County Council (2008).

Data on the number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance in East Cambridgeshire from theOffice of National Statistics.

User profile and passenger usage. Financial data on the Dial-a-Ride service funding. Terms and conditions for the Dial-a-Ride service. Accessibility considerations.Responses from the Dial-a-Ride Schemes to the consultation letters sent from the Council Leader

in November regarding the proposal to cut grant funding. January series of Neighbourhood Panels presentation and discussion on Council’s budget

proposals.Comments made by Fred Langford & David Deacon regarding the proposed cut in Dial-a-Ride grant

funding in the public question time at the January Environment & Transport Committee.

(f) What additional information is needed to provide a clear picture of how the activity isimpacting on different communities and how will you collect this information, i.e. expertgroups, further research, consultation* etc? Where there are major gaps in information thatcannot be addressed immediately, these should be highlighted in your recommendations andobjectives at the end of the INRA.

The precise service impact is not known at this stage given the uncertainty over other sources offunding. The Council is encouraging dial a ride schemes to seek funding from Cambridgeshire CountyCouncil and investigate the possibility of targeted central Government grants.

The February workshop ‘Delivering Transport and Accessibility in the New Era’ and the follow on workstreams will help the Council to examine the transport issues in an integrated way including allelements of passenger transport such as conventional buses, home to school, and dial a ride services.It is hoped that this workshop process will identify more cost effective strategy to deliver passengertransport in the County. The workshop process will involve a wide range of key stakeholders in theCounty. The Council will encourage the County Council to engage passenger transport users as part ofthis process.

The Council will also work with the County Council and other stakeholders to investigate the potentialfor Community Transport funding from the recently announced Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

* The Consultation Register is available to assist staff in consulting with the Council’s stakeholders. If you are consulting on anew or revised policy or strategy contact the Senior HR Officer, alternatively if you are consulting on changes to services orfunctions contact the Head of Policy and Performance.

(g) Do you envisage any problems with these methods of information collection? i.e. notaccessible to all, timescale not long enough to obtain all of the necessary information, translationfacilities not available, insufficient resources etc.


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Partners will need to ensure that future consultation on passenger transport is accessible and targetedto service users across the County, to ensure that all those who are disabled, frail or subject to ruralisolation are involved and engaged.

(h) If it has been possible to collect this additional information, summarise the findings of yourresearch and/or consultation (please use a separate sheet if necessary).

N/a

(i) What are the risks associated with the policy, strategy or function in relation to differentialimpact and unmet needs/requirements? i.e. reputation, financial, breach of legislation, serviceexclusion, lack of resources, lack of cooperation, insufficient budget etc.

The risks associated with the loss of the Dial a Ride Service will be:

Financial The withdrawal of Council grant funding will reduce servicerevenue unless this can be found from other sources. It appearsunlikely that the loss of Council grant income will cause the totalloss of dial a ride services by itself.

Service Exclusion Elderly and disabled users of the dial a ride service might find itharder to access local services, and so they may become sociallyisolated, and their health and well being may also be adverselyaffected.

Reputation A reduction in the level or loss of the dial a ride servicecurrently provided, may lead to negative customer feedbackand media reports.

District Councils are not under any statutory obligation to support dial a ride schemes.

(j) Use the information gathered in the earlier stages of your INRA to consider whether there isthe potential for the policy, strategy or function to result in unlawful discrimination or a lessfavourable impact on any group in the community, defined by the following: ethnicity,gender, disability, age, religion and belief, sexuality. If you have identified the potential forunequal impact, in what circumstances is this most likely to occur? Can less favourable impact bejustified?


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If there is a reduction in the level of dial a ride service as a consequence of the withdrawal of Councilgrant funding then this might have an adverse impact on the ability of some frail and disabled people toaccess local services. The precise impact cannot be quantified at this stage given the uncertainty overother sources of funding. East Cambridgeshire is a rural area with a limited conventional bus networkoutside of the main towns. Residents of a number of villages without access to cars are reliant on thedial-a-ride service to allow them to access local services.

An adverse impact is most likely to occur if replacement funding cannot be found to replace the fundinglost.

Whilst a potential adverse impact has been identified, the Council is having to make difficult financialdecisions, and there is no statutory requirement for the Council to financially support dial a rideservices.

The proposal is part of a package of savings proposals developed to respond to the severe financialchallenges facing the Council. This includes a cut in Revenue Support Grant of 28% over the next twoyears, and the transfer of the concessionary fares function to Cambridgeshire County Council resultingin a £200,000 funding gap. In this context the Council is forced to consider all of its expenditure whilstensuring that it continues to meet its statutory responsibilities.

The decision of the Government to front load Revenue Support Grant cuts also means that the Councilis not able to implement savings over a longer time period. Nearly £1 million needs to be cut from theCouncil’s budget for 2011/12, and this is on top of the savings of £1.6 million delivered in 2010/11.

With major reductions in public spending, the Council is having to make difficult financial decisions. Theequality duties do not prevent the Council from making difficult decisions such as service reductionswhich may affect one group more than another.

(k) Where you have identified the potential for unequal impact, what action can be taken toremove or mitigate against the potential for the policy, strategy or function to unlawfullydiscriminate or impact less favourably on one or more communities in a way that cannot bejustified? Include key activities that are likely to have the greatest impact (max. 6). Identifiedactions should be specified in detail for the first year but there may be further longer term actionswhich need to be considered. To ensure that your actions are more than just a list of goodintentions, include for each: the person responsible for its completion, a timescale for completion,any cost implications and how these will be addressed. It is essential that you incorporate theseactions into your service plans.


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The Council is encouraging dial a ride schemes to seek funding from Cambridgeshire County Counciland investigate the possibility of targeted central Government grants.

The February workshop ‘Delivering Transport and Accessibility in the New Era’ will examine thetransport issues in an integrated way and it is hoped that this workshop will identify more cost effectivestrategy to deliver passenger transport in the County. The Council will also work with the CountyCouncil and other stakeholders to investigate the potential for Community Transport funding from therecently announced Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

Because the Council’s grants have been only one of a number of sources of funding for the dial a rideschemes the precise impact on the level of services is not known. There are options open to theschemes to seek other sources of funding, increase charges or use reserves. These options might beable to mitigate the impact on services.

This completed INRA will need to be countersigned by your Head of Service/Executive Director. Pleaseforward completed and signed forms to Nicole Pema, Principal HR Officer.

All completed INRAs will need to scrutinised and verified by the Council’s Equal Opportunities WorkingGroup (EOWG) and published on the Council’s Intranet to demonstrate to local people that the Council isactively engaged in tackling potential discrimination and improving its practices in relation to equalities.

Please be aware that you will be asked to attend a half-an-hour session to summarise the findings of theINRA to the EOWG Verification panel.

Signatures:

Completing Officer: Date:

Head of Service: Date:

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