Budget Screening EIA Template

Budget Equality Impact Assessment Template 2023/24 – Service-Users

Note: for guidance see the end notes in this document or the accompanying document

For further help please contact Emma McDermott, Head of Communities, Equality and Third Sector (E: emma.mcdermott@brighton-hove.gov.uk)

1. Service Area[i]	EEC/CLT/Sport & Leisure/Seafront			2. Proposal No. 22 a
3. Head of Service[ii]	Mark Fisher
4. Budget Proposal[iii]	What is the proposal? Use the savings proposal wording and more detail if needed
	Reduce lifeguard stations from 7 + 3 (in the summer holidays) to 4 + 3 - a 30% reduction in operation – Saving £0.100m (as shown on page 94) The Beach Lifeguard Service covers 13km of seafront from Hove Lagoon to Saltdean and currently operates 7 stations/beaches from end May – early September. During the school summer holidays a further 3 stations/beaches are lifeguarded. Brighton & Hove welcomes 12.37 million visitors a year and most of these will visit the seafront. The Beach Lifeguard Service currently employs 27 FT staff on 16-week seasonal contracts.
5. Summary of impacts[iv]	Highlight the most significant disproportionate impacts on groups
	If the service is reduced the impact will be: · Increased risk to public safety. increased stress on lifeguard team caused by reduced staffing · Increased risk of loss of life affecting all seafront users · Reduced response to minor and major incidents and byelaw enforcement – first aid, lost children, drowning, water-based incidents, medical emergencies, mental health incidents, cyclists, dogs and BBQ’s · Increased pressure on remaining Beach Lifeguards and Seafront Officers. · Negative reputational impact to the council · Potential negative impact to the Tourism Economy from perception beaches are no longer safe · Increased media scrutiny with every incident · Potential for concerns raised by Coroner · Residents are more likely to be impacted than visitors due to the frequency of visits to the beach · Residents are more likely to be impacted than visitors as the quieter more residential lifeguarded beaches will close to focus cover on the busier central/tourist beaches · Number of seasonal job opportunities reduced
6. Assess level of impact[v]	5 = significant impacts on large numbers of people
7. Key actions to reduce negative impacts[vi]	What actions are planned to reduce/avoid negative impacts and increase positive impacts?
	Install more safety signage on beaches where there is no lifeguard cover Increase targeted media releases in the summer around water safety and where to swim
8. Identify disproportionate impacts[vii]
Different Groups to be included in assessment	Possible disproportionate impact on group/s? YES/NO	Describe potential impact (positive effects and negative impacts or potential barriers)	Action/s (including details of a full EIA to be completed if required/relevant) Note: Actions should directly relate to the potential impacts identified.
Age (people of all ages)	Yes	Reduced response to lost children = younger children may be at greater risk of drowning were they to get into trouble on beaches with no lifeguards	Signage and media releases to advise and educate parents and children where to swim safely
Disability (a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities)	No

Ethnicity/Race (ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality, including refugees & migrants; and Gypsies & Travellers)	No
Gender (men and women, girls and boys)	No
Gender reassignment (a person who proposes to, starts or has completed a process to change gender.)	No
Religion or Belief (any religion or philosophical belief with a clear structure and belief system, or lack of religion or belief.)	No
Sexual Orientation (bisexual, gay, heterosexual and lesbian people)	No
Child Poverty (Children and young people in families living on less than 60% of national median income before housing costs. In B&H around 22% of all children.)	No
Other groups relevant to this proposal (Specific and relevant to the service, including but not only: carers, people experiencing domestic or sexual violence, looked after children, homeless people…)	Yes – people experiencing Mental Health crisis	Fewer beaches covered by a lifeguard – Lifeguards often identify, intercept and respond to incidents where someone may be attempting suicide or deliberate self-harm.	This cannot be mitigated if there are fewer lifeguards to monitor the water and beaches.

9. Full EIA?[viii]	Not required
10. Monitoring and Evaluation	How will you monitor the impact of this proposal and the success of your mitigating actions on these groups over the coming year (or more)?
10. Monitoring and Evaluation	Continue to monitor incident statistics including: - first-aid, - lost children, - major and minor incidents, - rescues, - lives saved, and - fatalities Statistics will be reviewed annually and will inform service priorities.
11. Cumulative impacts[ix] (proposed changes elsewhere which might worsen impacts identified above)	Might related proposals from other service areas (or other changes) worsen or mitigate impacts from your proposal? Please explain these impacts.
	Not known

The Budget EIA process is a legal duty supporting good financial decision-making. It assesses how proposals may impact on specific groups differently (and whether/how negative impacts can be reduced or avoided) so that these consequences are explicitly considered. Decisions must be informed by accurate, well-informed assessment of likely impacts so that they are fair, transparent and accountable. Budget EIAs provide a record of this assessment and consideration.

[i] Service Area – Give the Directorate and Division/Team/Service

[ii] Head of Service – Name of the senior officer responsible for the service.

[iii] Budget Proposal – Use the savings proposal wording. Add more detail so that a member of the public can understand it. You might summarise proposed budget changes (‘a 10% reduction’), a change in venue (‘from X building to Y’), or a change in the way that a service is delivered (’instead of X universal sessions a week, we propose to offer Y’).

[iv] Summary of impacts – Fill in this section after you have completed all parts of section 7 and 8. Explain the most significant impacts (largest numbers or biggest impacts) and barriers identified during the EIA, including which group(s) they will affect specifically.

[v] Assess level of impact - consider the impacts overall and on specific groups and rate these between 1 and 5: 1 = minimal impacts on small

numbers of people – 5 = significant impacts on large numbers of people or on very vulnerable people

[vi] Key actions to reduce negative impacts – Fill in this section after you have completed all parts of section 7 and 8. The actions should directly respond to the negative impacts identified and be possible and realistic. Also highlight positive opportunities to increase benefits for groups and say if no mitigation is possible. Details of actions will be defined after Budget decisions.

[vii] Identify disproportionate impacts - In the first column indicate whether or not there is likely to be a disproportionate impact. If so, complete the other two columns.

· Potential impact: how will the proposed change affect people in the group identified? Also consider differences within groups (eg: different impacts on different ethnic groups); and multiple identities (eg: women of different ages may be impacted differently).

· Actions: what do you propose to do to remove, avoid or reduce the negative impact? The actions should relate directly to the identified impact. If unlawful discrimination is identified then that must be removed or the proposal withdrawn.

If there will not be an impact for a group, briefly explain why. Absence of data does not mean there will not be an impact. Briefly state where data is from (with a link to it, if appropriate) and what it tells you (eg: ‘Service-user monitoring shows that XX% are…’ or ‘BME groups said…’) Highlight gaps in engagement so you can gather views before final EIAs are due (in January). Focus on what is proportionate: big impacts on small numbers of people and/or impacts on a large number of people are important.

[viii] Full EIA – Given the proposal and its likely effects on service-users, please note whether a full EIA will be completed in addition to this work, whether one is planned or whether further assessment is not needed.

[ix] Cumulative impacts - Describe the impacts of other proposals in your service area and, where known, of proposals elsewhere which might worsen impacts identified in section 7. Explain what joint actions are needed to remove, reduce or minimise negative impacts.