Equality impact assessments

An equality impact assessment is a process to help ensure that the Department’s services are free from discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.  Procedures are built into the Department’s policy development and change management activities and consist of two stages.

Stage 1 – initial assessment

The initial assessment looks at the scale and significance of the function, policy or service and if there is likely to be a need to carry out a full equality impact assessment.

Stage 2 – full equality impact assessment

A full equality impact assessment questions all aspects of the proposal and forecasts the likely effects on different groups. There are four elements to stage 2:

• collect information and data (including consultation and involvement)
• review the information and assess the impact
• draw a conclusion
• document the decisions.

Equality impact assessment	Date
Automated Benefit Deduction Project (53KB)	11/11/09
Changes to the way DWP deal with payments to 'Service Users' (43KB)	03/11/09
DWP Customer Charter (59KB)	29/10/09
Pension Credit and Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit – Increase to the capital thresholds - equality impact assessment (90KB)	23/10/09
Housing Benefit subsidy reform for customers living in temporary accommodation (83KB)	30/09/09
Changes to the amount of Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2009/10 (41KB)	30/09/09
Ethnic Minority Working Party (15KB)	14/09/09
Young Person's Guarantee and Future Jobs Fund (62KB)	26/08/09
State Pension Reform (199KB)	25/08/09
Local Housing Allowance Removal of £15 cap – equality impact assessment (64KB)	22/06/09
The Social Security (Equalisation of State Pension age) Regulations 2009 (111KB)	18/06/09
Change of Jobcentres for Greenwich SE28 postcodes (37KB)	18/05/09
DWP Switchboard Project (51KB)	18/05/09
London City Strategy ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) pilot (31KB)	07/04/09
The 6 month offer of additional support for the longer term unemployed (59KB)	07/04/09
The Partners’ Outreach for Ethnic Minorities Programme of Pilots (91KB)	07/04/09
Support to the newly unemployed (47KB)	07/04/09
The Social Security (Additional Class 3 National Insurance Contributions) Amendment Regulations 2009 (S.I 2009/659) (25KB)	07/04/09
Equality Schemes Customer Reference Group – equality impact assessment (54KB)	18/02/09
Support for Mortgage Interest Changes – Equality Impact Assessment (173KB)	15/01/09
Local Housing Allowance – Larger Properties (90KB)	05/01/09
Christmas Bonus – equality impact assessment (45KB)	16/12/08
The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (amendment) Regulations 2008 SI 2008/2299 (58KB)	16/09/08
Changes to the amount of Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2008/09 (282KB)	14/08/08
Pension Credit Automated review at end of Assessed Income Period (Rapid Review) (181KB)	14/08/08
Continuous Measurement of Incapacity Benefit (29KB)	30/05/08
Out of Hours Service Equality Impact Assessment (47KB)	27/05/08
Social Security (National Insurance Numbers) Amendment Regulations 2008 ? Equality Impact Assessment (21KB)	07/05/08
Time limits and backdating rules for Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit ? equality impact assessment	02/04/08
Employment and Support Allowance Equality Impact Assessment (115KB)	02/04/08
Independent Living Strategy Consultation – Equality Impact Assessment (this links to the Office for Disability Issues website)	03/03/08
DWP Commissioning Strategy – Equality Impact Assessment (61KB)	28/02/08
The “In work, better off” Impact Assessment includes an Equality impact assessment (page 18). In work, better off: next steps to full employment – Impact Assessment (695KB)	18/07/07