Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee
CELG(4)-28-13 Paper 3
Date: 24 October 2013
Evidence paper to the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee by the Minister for Finance.
Purpose
To provide further information to the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee to support scrutiny of the Draft Budget 2014-15.
Background
Strategic Context
Programme for Government- The Programme for Government sets out the commitment of this Government to develop a fairer society in which every person is able to make the most of their abilities and contribute to the community in which they live. The Welsh Government actively works to incorporate equality of opportunity and good relations into its spending plans and budget processes through conducting an Equality Impact Assessment of its budget. Working effectively across both ministerial portfolios and the wider public sector to deliver the outcomes we want to see for Wales are crucial in the current economic climate.
Strategic Equality Plan- The Welsh Government published its Strategic Equality Plan in April 2012, following extensive public engagement. The plan and the eight outcome focused Equality Objectives within it, identify areas of deep inequality and sets out how we propose to tackle these to achieve better outcomes for the people of Wales. We have focused our spending plans not only the impact on people with protected characteristics in Wales, but also how they can contribute to meeting our equality objectives. This has been reflected throughout the EIA and in Annex 1 of the EIA, which considered the potential impact of our spending plans on those with protected characteristics.
Legal Context
· The Equality Act 2010 places a General Equality Duty on Welsh public authorities to have 'due regard' to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, as well as to advance equality of opportunity and to foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. The Specific Duties, as set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011 are designed to assist authorities comply with their General Duty, and includes the requirement to assess potential impacts on equality in our decision making. The Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Budget allows the Welsh Government to demonstrate that it has had 'due regard' of the aims of the General Equality Duty.
· Further underpinning the Welsh Government's commitment to equality is the duty under Section 77 of the Government of Wales Act 2006, to have arrangements to ensure that its functions are exercised with due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people.
Equality Impact Assessments and the Budget
· The Welsh Government was the first UK Government to assess the impact of its spending proposals and, over the Spending Review period, has continued to look at how it can improve its approach to equality impact assessments.
· At the outset of the Spending Review in 2010, the Welsh Government published a comprehensive equality impact assessment of its spending plans alongside the Final Budget 2011-12. Much of this work has continued to be relevant over the Spending Review period. In view of this, the Welsh Government has not repeated the detailed assessment year on year but has sought to supplement this work by assessing the impact in those areas where changes have been made to our spending plans.
· For the Draft Budget 2013-14, the Welsh Government took further steps to improve the equality considerations of its spending plans by:
Draft Budget 2014-15
· The Equality Impact Assessment of the Draft Budget 2014-15 was published on 8 October as a standalone document. This is the Welsh Government’s fourth Equality Impact Assessment of its Draft Budget and we have built on the steps taking in the Draft Budget 2013-14.
· The Draft Budget 2014-15 has been shaped around the three budget themes of Growth and Jobs; Educational Attainment; and Supporting Children, Families and Deprived Communities. This thematic approach is a direct response to the recommendation in the EHRC Appreciative Inquiry report that the Welsh Government should focus its assessments on the strategic decisions taken.
· We have also worked to embed equality considerations at an early stage in order to ensure that our spending decisions are informed and influenced by equality considerations from the outset. The EIA of the budget sets out in further detail how we have embedded equality considerations into the development of our budget proposals but key examples include our decision to:
o continue to support our universal benefits, which is an investment in the social fabric of society and are key interventions in terms of supporting vulnerable people. Whilst this form of spending is not focused on assisting specific groups within society, it is aimed at assisting all who are facing financial hardship and pressures in Wales, which we recognise is increasing within the current economic climate.
o protect funding for our Five for a Fairer Future Commitments, including Jobs Growth Wales, which is helping reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training and Community Support Officers, where we are maintaining our commitment to put 500 community support officers on the beat and keep them there.
o provide additional funding of £4.9m to support the implementation of the homelessness element of the Housing Bill. This will help to ensure that people across Wales have access to decent, affordable homes and that people at risk of becoming homeless receive the help and support they need, having beneficial impacts for those in lower-socio economic groups which will include a proportionally higher number of particular protected characteristics
· This approach means that equality considerations are built into the development of our spending plans rather than considered at the end of the process.
Response to specific questions asked by the Communities, Equalities and Local Government Committee
Communities, Equalities and Local Government Committee Review
· In October 2012, the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee undertook an inquiry into the equality considerations within the Welsh Government’s Budget. The Committee recognised the improvements that had previously been made to the Welsh Government’s Equality Impact Assessment of the Budget, and identified some further recommendations. The findings and recommendations of the Committee have informed and improved the development of our Draft Budget 2014-15 EIA.
· Consideration has been given to these recommendations, the outcome of which is set out in Annex A.
Programme for Government Commitments
Welfare Reform
· In tackling the challenge of managing a budget that is reducing in real terms, we must also take account of the challenge of decisions taken in non-devolved areas. Of most significance is the UK Government’s Welfare Reform agenda, where the UK Government is intending to make reductions of approximately £21bn in 2014-15.
· The Equality Impact Assessment of the 2012-13 Budget provided an assessment of the proposed changes to the tax and benefit system by the UK Government. The analysis noted that as the tax and benefit system is non-devolved the Welsh Government is constrained by the decisions made by the UK Government.
· The Welsh Government’s Ministerial Task and Finish Group for Welfare Reform commissioned a three-stage programme of research to assess the impact of the UK Government’s welfare reforms in Wales. All three stages of this research have been published, with the final (third) stage being published in July 2013. This research formed part of the evidence considered by Ministers when considering the EIAs of their spending plans.
· Due to a higher dependency on benefits, Wales will be harder hit than the UK as a whole by these welfare reforms. Evidence shows that the changes to welfare benefits will negatively impact on many disabled people in Wales. Given the high proportion of disabled benefit claimants in Wales, the impact of welfare reform is likely to be felt disproportionately. The impact of welfare reform in Wales for disabled people remains outside of the Welsh Government’s control, and we are limited in our ability to reduce any substantial impacts.
· Nevertheless, consideration of the equality impacts of these reforms has been given for citizens in Wales. The Welsh Government launched its Framework for Action on Independent Living last month with a focus on working collaboratively to deliver high quality services for disabled people, enabling them to exercise choice and control in their daily lives.
Budget Advisory Group for Equalities
· In the Draft Budget 2013-14 EIA, the Welsh Government committed to establish a Welsh Government Budget Advisory Group on Equality (BAGE). This has now been established and is made up of a number of representatives from voluntary sector equality organisations, the Welsh Government and an academic adviser appointed by Welsh Ministers. The BAGE is led by both the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, demonstrating a shared commitment to equality.
· The role of this group is to provide advice and to share expertise and best practice on equality issues which in turn will support the continual improvement of the EIA undertaken of the Welsh Government Budget. A key focus of the group’s discussions and work to date has been to provide an understanding of the Welsh Government Budget process itself, the current economic environment, and the limitations these put on our equality considerations. This has generated a strong focus on the importance of building a solid and robust evidence base, and to ensure engagement with people with protected characteristics across Wales, so that the nature of the underlying equality issues can be identified and understood. The approach of the group is broad and its considerations go wider than the Equality Act 2010; it also aims to ensure alignment of decisions and equality considerations with the Welsh Government’s Tackling Poverty Action Plan.
· The BAGE has now met three times, and whilst still at an early stage, it has already generated some progressive ideas and suggestions regarding the assessment process and provides a forum for engagement of the equality considerations of the Budget at a strategic level.
· The group has also recognised its role in both scrutinising the current impact assessment undertaken, and in informing strategic long term improvements to the equality considerations of our spending decisions over future years. The Welsh Government will continue to strive to improve the EIA of the Draft Budget year on year with the support of the BAGE.
Equality and Human Rights Commission - Appreciative Inquiry
· Last year the Welsh Government made a commitment to work with the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Wales (EHRC) to conduct an Appreciative Inquiry of the Welsh Government’s approach to the Equality Impact Assessment of the Draft Budget (EIA).
· The Appreciative Inquiry Report was published in November 2012. It highlighted the Welsh Government’s commitment to improving the EIA of its Budget and made positive comments in relation to the progress already made. The findings of the Appreciative Inquiry included a series of recommendations to improve the EIA process further.
· The way in which we have responded to these recommendations is provided at Annex 3 of the Draft Budget EIA. Several of the recommendations were of an operational nature, and these have been taken forward and will feed into the on-going improvement of the EIA of the Draft Budget over future years.
Preventative Spend
· We know that there are interventions we can make now which will avoid pressures on other public services in the future. In a time of reducing budgets, this is more important than ever. That is why a commitment to preventative spend underpins the Draft Budget 2014-15. This also reflects the Welsh Government’s commitment to embed the principle of Sustainable Development into our policy and decision making.
· Promoting social justice and equality of opportunity are key elements in achieving a better quality of life for our own and future generations. Examples of how we have considered preventative spend include our decision to:
o protect and increase funding for the NHS - we are allocating additional funding of £420m over the next two years for the NHS in Wales. Health spending is vital to the longer term health and wellbeing of the people of Wales. In line with the principles of sustainable development and preventative spending, we recognise that it is better to keep people fit and healthy than to use resources to repair avoidable problems.
o increase funding for the Domestic Abuse Services Grant to £4m in 2014-15, which supports projects to make the victims of domestic abuse and their children safer, and feel safer; for example by funding an all-Wales Helpline and providing resources to improve the safety of their homes. Through it we are committed both to supporting victims of and reducing rates of domestic abuse and violence against women and break the cycle of abuse within families.
o continue to invest in Youth Justice Services with a focus on early intervention and prevention. The Youth Justice budget increased by 8% in 2013-2014 to bring the budget to £5.2m, and was allocated to the Youth Crime Prevention Fund and two initiatives with the Youth Justice Board Cymru to pilot resettlement projects in North and South Wales and a case management project. For 2014-15, the budget will be maintained at this level. This fund concentrates on alternatives to custody and ways to prevent children entering the youth justice system in the first place. The aim is to reduce the number of first time entrants into the youth justice custody system through an innovative restorative justice approach as an alternative to police charging, and provides opportunities for those directly affected by an offence to communicate and agree how to deal with the offence and its consequences.
· We have supplemented this year’s EIA of the Draft Budget with an overview of the potential cumulative impacts that our spending plans may have for each of the protected characteristics in Wales to support a focus on preventing problems arising. Evidence around some particular characteristics is very limited which makes it difficult to assess accurately the potential impact of our spending decisions on these protected groups. Our on-going assessment of each of our policies and strategies and our engagement with these protected groups will help to improve the evidence base, strengthening our future assessments and informing our future spending decisions.
·
To
reduce inequalities between groups of people the Welsh
Government’s Strategic Equality Plan sets out eight outcome
focused Equality Objectives. These equality objectives
are supported by actions from across all Ministerial portfolios and
have been developed following extensive engagement. In
assessing the impact of our spending plans we have taken account of
how they will assist in meeting our Equality Objectives, both
helping to tackle current inequalities and to prevent future
inequalities. This is a 4 year plan, progress on which is
monitored and reported against annually.
ANNEX A
Committee Recommendations relating to the Welsh Government’s budget Equality Impact Assessment
Publishing
It is recommended that the Welsh Government publishes the EIA of the draft budget alongside the draft budget to underline the importance of the document as a tool for financial scrutiny.
· The Draft Budget 2014-15 EIA was published on 8 October alongside the Budget.
Systematic Approach to EIAs
It is recommended that the Welsh Government takes a more systematic approach to assessing equality impacts, rather than providing a narrative about how equality impacts were assessed, providing: a reason for change; a clear identification of an impact; evidence of engagement with the groups who may be affected; plans to alleviate negative impacts; plans to monitor the actual impact of the change; and, the data sources and expertise used to assess potential impacts.
· The Welsh Government accepts that the equality assessments undertaken when considering the Draft Budget should be systematic in their approach. For the Draft Budget 2014-15, spending plans have been presented under the three key budget themes of growth and jobs; educational attainment; and, supporting children, people, and deprived communities to provide a clear account of how the Welsh Government is working across portfolios to deliver the outcomes it wants to see for Wales.
· This approach has been mirrored in the Equality Impact Assessment and the potential impacts that have been identified, have been supported with available evidence and engagement with protected groups. Where negative impacts have been identified, action that could mitigate these impacts has been included. Plans for on-going engagement with protected groups are outlined. This will enable us to evaluate the actual impact following the Draft Budget. The Budget Advisory Group for Equality (BAGE) will assist with this monitoring process, as reflected in a recent amendment to the group's terms of reference.
· A narrative about how equality impact assessments were undertaken will continue to be provided to ensure the process is transparent.
Report on Cumulative Impacts
It is recommended that the Welsh Government provides an assessment of the cumulative impact of multiple changes across departments, so assessments are not segregated
· The Welsh Government accepts that cumulative impacts on people with protected characteristics must be recognised and given consideration, in order to assess the full breadth of potential impact that the Draft Budget holds. The EIA of the Draft Budget 2014-15, has a separate annex that considers each protected characteristic and the potential impact that the collective financial decisions of the Welsh Government may have.
Focus on Gender Issues
It is recommended that the EIA of the Draft Budget should include more of a focus on gender.
· The Welsh Government has sought to promote gender equality through its budgetary decisions. A key theme of the Welsh Government Budget in 2014-15 is the need to protect and enhance growth and jobs. As part of this, the Welsh Government has a commitment to widening the opportunities and accessibility of employment to women in Wales. We are also very conscious that a major barrier to women accessing employment and training is the lack of affordable, high quality and accessible childcare. We have recently launched ‘Building a Brighter Future: The Early Years and Childcare Plan’ and sought to strengthen/prioritise childcare through Flying Start expansion which will create additional free childcare places for 2-3 year olds in our most disadvantaged communities. A further example is our 21st Century Schools investment programme which promotes co-location of community services, including childcare.
· It is also clear that women will be disproportionately hit by the UK Government’s decisions on Welfare Reform, and may be disproportionately negatively affected by the tightening financial environment and reducing public services. There is evidence that some of the welfare reforms will disproportionately impact on women. There are a number of proposed Welsh Government Budget decisions which may negatively impact on women.
· The Welsh Government currently provides funding to gender specific organisations in Wales, including annual funding of £30,000 for an all Wales Women’s Network (WEN Wales). The network is working to increase its membership of women’s organisations and women all across Wales so that it can bring issues facing women to the attention of the Welsh Government. WENWales have worked with many women across Wales to understand the issues and barriers many women face on a daily basis. This includes the barriers facing them in returning to work and work with other expert groups on understanding the barriers to public life.
Proactive EIA rather than Reactive
It is recommended that we give an indication of how equality has been considered throughout the financial process, with the EIA acting as a demonstration of this, rather than being a reactive document that assesses the potential impacts after the decisions have already been made.
· EIAs are undertaken at the start of the decision-making process, ensuring the financial decisions made are fully informed by relevant equality considerations. As such, the financial decisions made and described within the Draft Budget EIA, detail the potential impacts that have informed them.
Include a copy of the EIA Template
It is recommended that the WG should include a copy of the EIA template used to identify equality impacts, and copies of (or links to) the actual EIAs (which are referenced in the EIA document).
· The Welsh Government provides a suggested template for the completion of an EIA, and this template is available on the Welsh Government internet page at:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/equality/inclusivepolicy/impactassessments/?lang=en
· Departments are encouraged to use this template to ensure a consistent and systematic approach. However there is flexibility if a department has an alternative and effective manner of demonstrating equality impacts in relation to a particular decision.
Summary of Changes
It is recommended that the Welsh Government includes a summary of changes that have been made as a result of the EIA process.
· In developing our spending plans, equality considerations have featured from an early stage, ensuring that the impact of the decisions taken in the Draft Budget 2014-15 have been informed and influenced by equality from the outset. As a consequence, no changes have been made on the basis of equality considerations.
Clearer alignment with the Strategic Equality Plan (SEP) and Programme for Government (PfG)
It is recommended that the Welsh Government provides a clearer alignment between the Strategic Equality Plan and Programme for Government equality commitments (and their respective annual report indicators) and the budget actions that reflect them.
· The Welsh Government accepts that the EIA of the Draft Budget needs to be clearly aligned with both the Strategic Equality Plan and the Programme for Government. Throughout the EIA of the Draft Budget 2014-15, clear links have been made to illustrate where our spending plans support the objectives of the Strategic Equality Plan and the commitments of the Programme for Government.