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Corporate Plan Accessibility EIA Template colour blindness
SYFR Template for Equality Impact Assessments
You may find it helpful to read Equality Impact Assessments: Guidance for Conducting
Assessments. Examples of assessments and other useful information can be found in the Equality
&amp; Diversity section of the intranet.
Remember that the outcome of any equality impact assessment (EIA) should be service
improvement. At the conclusion of the assessment these improvements should be documented in
the action plan and added to your business plan.
This document is a standard template designed to make you consider the needs of all kinds of
NB: Please highlight and overtype all italic writing ONLY in the following boxes.
Title of EIA – CORPORATE PLAN – ACCESSIBILITY OF DOCUMENT (A separate EIA
has been completed for the content of the Corporate Plan)
Part 1 – What are the aims of the service/policy you are assessing?
1.1 What is being assessed? Is it new or is it an existing service/policy?
What is the main aim or purpose of the service/policy
The Corporate Plan is produced annually. It is intended to be a working document for all employees in the
Service, but is also for public consumption. It sets out the Service’s aims and objectives over the next three
years and the challenges we face as we work towards meeting the needs of our communities. It also contains
our Integrated Risk Management Plan (An EIA has already been carried out on the IRMP).
The Corporate Plan is an A4 ‘portrait’ document of around 70 pages with many links to other documents. It is
in full colour and the font is Arial 11. It contains photographs, diagrams, tables, maps and pie charts. The
Corporate Plan is an electronic document and is published on the SYFR’s Intranet and website.
It is likely that during the EIA on the Corporate Plan a need to carry out EIAs may be identified, for some of
the documents linked to the Corporate Plan.
1.2 Who is responsible for the service/policy? Who are the members of the assessment
team? Who is responsible for the assessment?
The Policy, Performance and Programmes Department is responsible for driving the Corporate Plan Process,
the production of the Corporate Plan and for ensuring it is accessible to employees and public alike. Each
department section needs to approve and have a relevant input into Corporate Plan.
Carolyn Winter – Performance and Governance Manager - Responsible for the assessment and head of the
Alison Payne – Performance Review Officer – Team Member (Produced the plan for a number of years and
wishes to gain experience of the EIA process)
Michelle Haddow – Performance Systems Administrator – Team Member (Wishes to gain experience of the
EIA process)
1.3 Who implements the service/policy? Is the service/policy provided solely by the
team/service/directorate or in conjunction with another team/service/directorate, agency or
contractor? If external agencies are involved, what actions are going to be put in place to
ensure that they comply with the Authority’s Equality and Diversity policies?
The Corporate Plan should be used as a source of information and a working document for all employees in
the Service. The Corporate Plan has input from a number of different sections in the department, for example,
IRMU, Performance Management and Review. Information is also asked from other Directorates. The only
outside agency that was involved was the design company who produced the document in a suitable format
to go on the Internet.
1.4 To what extent does the service/policy have an impact on people? Who is affected by the
service/policy and how?
The Corporate Plan can be read by anyone within the Service and by members of the public. It is therefore
important that it is accessible to all.
All seven strands of diversity have to be taken into account when writing and producing the plan.
1.5 How has the service/ policy been promoted or explained to these groups of people?
What analysis has been done to identify if the service/policy is meeting the needs of ALL
these groups of people?
The Corporate Plan is an electronic document and is published on our intranet and internet sites. When it was
published in June there were a series of publicity events to bring it to the attention of the public and members
of staff, for example, media launch to raise awareness of the Service’s work and priorities, email to staff, entry
in Weekly Bulletin, email to officer key contacts with a PDF copy of the plan, letters to MPs and SY
Councillors, SYFR briefing events. Further information regarding this can be found in the Communications
Plan (attached).
For the 2008 to 2011 Corporate Plan, we contacted the Sheffield City Council to find out what the ethnic make
up is of the Sheffield area, so that we could update the list of alternative languages in the front of the plan. As
a result of this exercise we now have an additional five languages listed.
The Corporate Plan is quite slow to download and view on the intranet/internet. Therefore the Corporate Plan
is also stored in the ‘everyone’ folder on the ‘u’ drive to make it easier for all SYFR employees to access.
Part 2 – What data and research do you need to consider?
You need to assess whether certain groups of people may be experiencing a barrier to accessing
your service and /or be disadvantaged by your policy. This section should help you identify the sort
of information that will help you to do this.
2.1 What data, information or results of consultation exercises are available to you to use in
It may be necessary to conduct a consultation exercise for internal readers of the plan, perhaps in the format
of a questionnaire. The consultation exercise would also need to undergo an EIA.
It may also be necessary to ask for feed back at focus group meetings, LAA meetings etc. to gain external
Available data/information is as follows:
 IRMP consultation
 Population statistics regarding race, age, disability
 Statistics regarding age, race, disability, dyslexia for employees
Other things that may need investigating if the data is available are as follows:
 Computer ownership/skills/internet access amongst the elderly
 The number of people who cannot read or do not have computer skills
The data and information available for us to determine what strands may be affected by the accessibility and
layout of the Corporate Plan can be obtained from internal workforce Statistics, South Yorkshire and UK
Statistics. This can be obtained from SYFR’s HR Dept, Office for National Statistics through the NOMIS
website and various other websites.
2.2 What does the information tell you about the value of the service/policy to those intended
to benefit from it? What complaints have been made about the service/policy and have they
been from minority groups of staff/customers?
The plan is intended to be of benefit to all SYFR employees.
 How useful is the plan to the public?
 How well was the plan received when it was launched?
 Could the photographs in the plan be discriminatory in any way or cause offence to some
To the best of our knowledge there have been no complaints about the plan and the Head of Corporate
Communications has confirmed that there have been no negative comments about the format of the plan. A
range of consultation exercises for the new Corporate Plan (review to start January 2010) should capture any
gaps or concerns that internal/external readers have about accessibility.
When we have determined the make up of the workforce and South Yorkshire, we can establish which
strands may be directly affected by the way the Plan can be accessed and how it can be read. After gaining
an insight as to which strands make up the proportion of the Plans audience, we can focus on how this
information can benefit our customers.
2.3 Does the information suggest that this service/policy could have a differential impact on
There could be a differential impact on people in the following groups:
 People who do not have access to the internet
 The elderly who may not have IT skills (this may also apply to some younger people) People with
dyslexia or another specific disability
 People who do not have English as their first language
 People who may be offended by certain photo’s or symbols
 People who are illiterate
 Who has requested the plan? We may need to log these details in future.
 Should we publicise the fact that people without access to a computer, can access the plan in
 The Plain English Society recommend a font size of 12 pts (but can go down to 10 if pushed for size).
The RNIB recommend a minimum type size of 14 pts for readers who are likely to have visual
impairment and say that the larger the minimum type size, the more people you will reach. The Plain
English Society also recommend that text should be ranged left for smoother and easier reading.
 The Office for National Statistics released some figures about internet usage in August 2008. Relevant
        Educated people are more likely to have access to the internet in their home. Almost all adults
(93 per cent) aged under 70 who have a degree or equivalent qualification are estimated to have
access to the internet in their home.
        Individuals who have no formal qualifications are the least likely (56 per cent) to have an
internet connection in their home.
        Almost 16.5 million households in the UK had internet access in 2008. This represents nearly
two thirds of the total households in the UK, and a rise of more than 1.2 million since 2007.
        Of adults living in households with no internet access, there has been a significant increase in
the proportion who stated that they did not want the internet in their homes. This increased from 3 per
cent in 2006 to 24 per cent in 2008.
        The proportion of adults who were recent internet users who accessed the internet every day
or almost every day was 69 per cent. This represented 23.5 million adults in the UK. The 16 – 24 age
group used it most, with 77 per cent of those using it in the last three months, accessing every day or
almost every day. This was the first year in which the majority of adults aged 65-plus who used the
internet in the last three months, did so every day or almost every day, at 54 per cent.
       Of those who were recent internet users, three quarters of men used the internet every day or
almost every day compared with two thirds of women.
Part 3 – Assessment of impact
Testing of differential (adverse, neutral or positive) impact of service/policy on groups of
This section asks you to assess the impact of the service/policy in relation to people across the six
strands of diversity covered by the Equality Standard for Local Government and SYFR Equality and
Diversity Scheme, along with any impacts on other groups which may be relevant to our services.
3.1 Using the information available, identify the effects on this service/policy on the following
Note: that you may be able to justify a positive differential impact on grounds of promoting equal
outcomes for under represented or disadvantaged groups within the law
See glossary of terms in guidance to assist you.
Adverse Neutral Positive Explain your answer
Impact  Impact impact
Possible language difficulties. We have never been
asked for a translation.
                      Migrants who have only been here a short time may
Possible offence caused by photographs.
Should be a neutral impact. However, we will need
GENDER                                             to check that men and women are equally
(Men, women,                                      represented in the photographs in the plan and that
transsexual people)                                there is no stereotyping.
Possible difficulties for partially sighted/blind people.
We would need to put something in place to ensure
that the plan could be read and explained to
someone, or we would need to supply an audio
DISABLED PEOPLE                                   version. May need a policy for this.
Disabled people may be living in poverty and be
People with dyslexia or colour blindness may have
difficulty reading the plan in its current format.
There is a possibility that some older (or any age)
AGE                                                people may not have the IT skills necessary to view
(Across the whole age                             the plan or will not have access to a computer,
spectrum)                                          possibly due to living in poverty.
To the best of our knowledge, this strand should not
SEXUAL                                             be impacted.
(Heterosexual,                        
Lesbians, Gay men)
Possible offence caused by photographs or symbols
RELIGION/BELIEF                       
(and Faith)
People living in poverty may not have easy access
OTHER                                                   to a computer.
(Additional groups that                                     People who are uneducated and may not be able to
may experience                                              read.
Part 4 – Identifying the changes &amp; improvements you need to make
For any area of adverse impact you will need to consider making changes. If sufficiently
adverse to amount to illegal discrimination you will need to consider the option of
abandoning the policy/service approach causing the adverse impact.
4.1 In Section 3, did you identify any adverse impact? Could it be illegal?
Although adverse impacts have been identified, we believe these are not sufficient to amount to illegal
discrimination. Please see Part 4.2 for further information.
4.2 How can the barriers be removed or disadvantage minimised? How can you make sure
that this situation is avoided in the future?
The options that need to be considered and the final actions are as follows:
   The font, size of font, colour (including the background), layout of the plan needs considering
   Investigate our position for providing the plan in alternative languages and audio. What
contingencies are in place? Audio can also be provided to people who are functionally illiterate.
   Check that there is nothing in the plan that is offensive to some members of the community
   Carry out consultation with internal staff about the accessibility of the plan and ease of
reading/navigating it
   Ensure that there is nothing in the contents of the Plan that is inadvertently offensive
   Ways of ensuring that the Plan is quicker to download need investigating
4.3       What equality monitoring, evaluation, review systems will be set up to carry out regular
checks on the effects of the policy/service?
The equality impact assessment will be reviewed when the plan is refreshed between January and March
2009. Thereafter, it will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.
Date                                    Signed by (Manager
8 January                                      Carolyn Winter
completed                               conducting the EIA)
Part 5 – Equality impact assessment action plan
Please use this section to develop an Action Plan to implement the key recommendations of the equality
Please note that this Action Plan should address any concerns or issues related to equality and diversity that
have been identified in the equality impact assessment
This plan should be integrated into your Service/Business Plan.
Recommendations Actions                  Timeframe      Resources      Lead Officer Relevant
Required                                required /     Responsible Outcome/Performance
Costs                       Indicator
Collect E&amp;D          Collect all         By 09.01.09    The only    Michelle       Accurate E&amp;D statistics
statistics of        available                          costs will  Haddow         readily available
internal audience    statistics                         be in time.
necessary to                       The amount
Workforce and South
carry out the                      of time
Yorkshire Statistics-
EIA                                necessary
Consider the         The font, size of   Will be        The only       Alison      The plan will be easy to
format of the plan   font, colour        transferred    costs will     Payne       read, and if necessary
(including the      to EIA on      be in time.                (will depend on the
background),        New Plan                                  numbers involved), will be
layout of the       prior to                                  made easier to read for
plan needs          2011                                      people with sight/dyslexia
considering.                                                  problems
Research needs                                                See SYFR policy on
to be carried out                                             Dyslexia &amp; Dyspraxia
http://command-
apps3/documents/Person
nel/Dyslexia-
Dyspraxia%20Policy.doc
Consider providing   Investigate our     By 31.01.09    There will     Alison      A clear policy will be
the plan in          position for                       be the cost    Payne       available
alternative          providing the                      of the time
(Spoke to Hibou Drusden
languages and        plan in                            taken to
- They are looking to
accessible formats   alternative                        undertake
further discuss the issue
if required          languages and                      this
of providing documents in
audio. What                        research.
alternative languages and
contingencies                      The actual
accessible formats. This
are in place?                      translation
What would the                     costs, if
translation costs                  they were
be?                                ever
form part of a corporate
policy. For the moment, if
the need arises, we are to
contact E&amp;D and they will
guide as who to contact
to able to facilitate this)
Check the            Check that there    By 31.01.09    Very little    Michelle    There will be clarity as to
contents of the      is nothing in the                  time will be   Haddow      what should not be
plan to ensure       plan that is                       needed to                  included in the plan
there is nothing     offensive to                       do this.
will be                                   (Spoke to Hibou Drusden
that is              some members
carried out                               - There are no clear
inadvertently       of the             as per the                           guidelines on what could
offensive           community.         next action                          be deemed offensive in
Advice to be                                            photos or layouts,
taken from E&amp;D.                                         however, the disabled
group has expressed that
some documents are
harder to access or read
than others. Approved
consulting the Dyslexia
policy and suggested
groups direct)
Carry out           Carry out          Will be       Depends      Carolyn   Feedback received from
consultation        consultation       transferred   on the       Winter    at least 35% of the
with internal      to EIA on     results of             consultees
staff about the    New Plan      the
accessibility of   prior to      statistics
the plan and       2011          gathering
ease of reading/
Look into ways of   Consultation       31.01.09      Depending Michelle     If we are to have the
downloading the     with IT,                         on the       Haddow    Corporate Plan
Corporate Plan      research into                    results of             accessible mostly via the
quicker             producing                        research               internet, it is worth
documents that                   and                    looking into formats which
load quickly                     consultation           download quickly &amp; easily
(IT advises that they have
internet. Plain
done as much as they
can with the size of the
document and it has
screens should
uploaded. If we encounter
complaints or experience
72 dpi to make
corporate plan, we can
format the plan in Plain
Text which will be easier
Part 6 – Equality impact assessment summary report
The results of equality impact assessments must be presented to the Fire &amp; Rescue Authority &amp;
published on SYFR website. Please complete this summary, which will be used to report the EIA to
the Fire and Rescue Authority. Please return the completed Equality Impact Assessment to the
Equality &amp; Diversity Manager.
assessment           8 January 2009
Manager’s name                                Role
Carolyn Winter                      Performance and Governance Manager
Service/ policy that was
impact assessed                 Corporate Plan – Accessibility of the Plan
Summary of findings             The Corporate Plan is produced annually. It is intended to be a working
recommendations and key         document for all employees in the Service, but is also for public
points of action plan           consumption. It sets out the Service’s aims and objectives over the next
three years and the challenges we face as we work towards meeting the
There have been no complaints about the way in which the Plan is
presented, but completing the EIA has raised our awareness about what
we should consider regarding accessibility, when refreshing and producing
future Corporate Plans. A number of areas for further investigation arose
from the EIA which are listed below under ‘Action Plan – key points’.
 Collect E&amp;D statistics of internal audience
 Consider the format of the plan
 Consider providing the plan in alternative languages and accessible
formats if required
 Check the contents of the plan to ensure there is nothing that is
 Carry out consultation
 Look into ways of downloading the Corporate Plan quicker
Information for EIA on Corporate Plan Layout &amp; Accessibility
Population            Area                     Information                                             Conclusion                                                    Proposed Outcome
Workforce             Population               1,178
We cannot assume that this percentage of the workforce        Plan can be accessed by internal folder, make
Older People (Aged 55
Workforce                                      48 - 4.1% Workforce                                     are not computer literate as they have access to intranet     sure everyone is aware of where it is and how it
- 66+)
and training                                                  is accessed
No further data on what disabilities and some people may      Provide opportunity for Corporate Plan to be
Workforce             Working Age Disability   18 - 1.5% Workforce
not consider themselves disabled                              presented in different, friendly formats
Layout/photos may be deemed offensive depending on            Remove any photos/ colours/ symbols/ layouts
Workforce             BME                      27 - 2.3% Workforce
race.                                                         that may be deemed offensive.
809 - 69% Workforce are not religious or not stated     Layout/photos/ colours/ symbols/ layouts that may be          Remove any photos/ colours/ symbols/ layouts
Workforce             Religion
a religion. 31% stated that they practiced a religion   deemed offensive in certain faiths, beliefs.                  that may be deemed offensive.
South Yorkshire       Population               1,292,900
Below UK average for NVQ4+ (UK 57.1%, SY
44.7%) and above average for NQV1 (UK 27.2%,
SY 34.5%) &amp; No Qual (UK 26.7%, 32.3%). About
May be difficult for people to access Corporate Plan on the   Provide clear indications that the Plan can be
South Yorkshire/UK    Skills                   average for the rest.
Internet                                                      accessed other than using internet
In the UK 3.5m people go to work everyday who
can’t read. (MARK HAYSOM SPEECH TO BCC
Below UK average for NVQ4+ (UK 27.3%, SY
Older People &amp; Skills                                                            May be difficult for people to access Corporate Plan on the   Provide clear indications that the Plan can be
South Yorkshire                                23.9%) and above average for No Qual (UK 21.0%,
(Aged 50-64)                                                                     Internet                                                      accessed other than using internet
SY 24.5%)
Above UK average (UK 18.3%, SY 22.5%). Between                                                                        Can the Plan be accessed in Braille/ Audio? Is it
May be difficult for people to access Corporate Plan
South Yorkshire/UK    Working Age Disability   10-14% of UK population has Dyslexia (BBC                                                                             Dyslexic/Colour blind friendly? Can the Plan be
depending on their disability
Website)                                                                                                              accessed other than using the internet?
Above Nat average for Pakistani (Eng 18.3%, SY
22.5%), below Nat average for in general for BME
Remove any photos/ colours/ symbols/ layouts
(Eng 11.3%, SY 6.9%). Sheffield is above or in line     Layout/photos may be deemed offensive depending on
South Yorkshire/UK    BME                                                                                                                                            that may be deemed offensive. Provide Plan in
with Nat average for quite a few BME. 2.26% of UK       race, language. English may not be their first language.
differing languages depending on BME make-up.
population (1,500,000) do not have English as a
First Language (Wikipedia Website)
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