Equality impact assessment

Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) is a process designed to ensure that a policy, project or scheme does not discriminate against any disadvantaged or vulnerable people.

Definition

The EqIA process aims to prevent discrimination against people who are categorised as being disadvantaged or vulnerable within society. These categories are called Equality Target Groups (ETGs) and are currently designated by the Greater London Authority as:

• Women;
• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people;
• Young people and children;
• Older people;
• Disabled people;
• Lesbian people, gay people, bisexual people and transexual people
• and people from different faith groups.

However previous EqIA’s have included other categories of people such as people on low incomes and Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

Within the UK, EqIA has been more popular in Greater London and Northern Ireland. However the process of Sustainability Appraisal has the scope to encompass EqIA and it is likely that EqIA will become more widely implemented across the UK in future years.

Examples of EqIA in the UK

TRL has produced some of the highest quality and detailed EqIAs in the UK including the London Low Emission Zone EqIA and the Proposed London CO2 Charge EqIA (Chapter 5).

References

Bainard, J., Jones, A., Bateman, I., Lovett, A. & Fallon, P. (2001) Modelling environmental equity: access to air quality in Birmingham, England Environment and Planning A 2002, volume 34, pages 695 – 716

Burningham, K. & Thrush, D. (2001) Local environmental concerns in disadvantaged neighbourhoods [1]

Capacity Global (2004) BME Communities Tackling Environmental and Social Inequalities [2]

Davies, A. and Binsted, A. (2007) Environmental Equity and Equality Impact Assessment in the United Kingdom (07-1568) - TRB Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM, TRB 86th Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., January 2007 [3]

Friends of the Earth (2000) Pollution injustice [4]

Friends of the Earth (2001) Pollution and Poverty – Breaking the Link [5]

Gay, R., Jeffery, B., and Saunders, P. (2005) Burden of disease: environmental inequalities [6]

Greater London Authority (2003) Equality Impact Assessments - How to do them [7]

Transport for London (2004) Equality Impact Assessments - How to do them [8]

Walker, G. Fairburn, J. Smith, G. and Mitchell, G. (2003) Environmental Quality and Social Deprivation [9]

See also

• Social Impact Assessment

• Environmental Impact Assessment

• Health Impact Assessment

• Sustainability Appraisal

• Equality Act 2006

• Environmental Justice

• Equality Bill

• Equal Opportunity

External links

• UK Equality Act 2006

• UK Equality Bill 2009

• IDEA EqIA guidance

• TfL EqIA guidance

• TRL EqIA