Budget number/ Name
11-002-07b Income generation
through fees and charging and
minor service review - Registration
Service area responsible
Public Heath and Wellbeing
Name of completing officer
Approved by Director / Assistant
Director
Cabinet meeting date
10/02/15
Mike Wilson
Date EqIA created
11/11/14 and reviewed
06/02/15
Janet Doran
Date of approval
06/02/15
The Equality Act 2010 places a ‘General Duty’ on all public bodies to have ‘Due regard’ to:
- Eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation
- Advancing equality of opportunity
- Fostering good relations
As a local authority Northamptonshire County Council also has a ‘Specific Duty’ to publish information about people affected by our policies and
practices.
All assessments must be published on the NCC equalities web pages. All Cabinet papers MUST include a link to the web page where
this assessment will be published.
This Equality Impact Assessment provides evidence for meeting the responsibilities outlined above, for more information about the Councils
commitment to equality, please visit the County Council Equalities webpage.
Description of proposal
Registration Service review of discretionary fees and changes
The aim is to review our discretionary fees and charges to deliver a fair and equitable funding framework for services.
Statutory fees are set by the Registrar General’s Office and are not affected by this review.
The increase in fees for the majority of our customers have been kept below or close to the annual percentage inflation figure (CPI) where possible and
in line with corporate guidelines. We are also taking the opportunity to equalise the fees for a ceremony at an Approved Venue and at a Registration
Service venue. At present, the fee for a ceremony on a Saturday in a Registration Service venue is £240, and £420 at an approved venue even though
the full cost of service delivery is similar for either.
Whilst this results in a single ceremony fee structure it should be noted that for the majority of our ceremony customers, the fee increase is limited to, or
close to, the inflation rate. The proposed changes to fees would come into effect where the booking is made on or after 1st April 2015.
This proposal does not directly impact on any protected characteristic groups as we provide universal services to all citizens in
Northamptonshire.
Generic data used in this Equality Impact Assessment
Data Source (include link where published)
Northamptonshire Analysis
Service data used in this Equality Impact Assessment
Data Source (include link where published)
The Registration Service benchmarked the proposed fee increase against
comparable services delivered by the surrounding counties’ Registration
Services. The Registration Service operates on commercial principles for the
benefit of NCC and Northamptonshire citizens as a whole, and applies fees
equally to all customers consuming discretionary services.
What does this data include?
Demographic breakdown of the population of the County by Protected
Characteristic.
What does this data include?
The benchmarked ceremony fee information is a comparison of similar
products delivered by Registration Services surrounding and
neighbouring Northamptonshire.
Anecdotal evidence based on the knowledge and experience of
Registration Service staff is also taken into account.
Whilst we have introduced feedback questionnaires and surveys that
contain equality monitoring, the volume of responses is not sufficient to
generate a customer equality profile and therefore, aside from anecdotal
evidence, we do not have an equality profile of our customer base, but
due to the nature of our universal service delivery, our customer base is a
reflection of the demography of Northamptonshire.
Tick the relevant box for each
line by using a capital ‘P’ to make
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Sex
Gender Reassignment
Age
Disability
Race & Ethnicity
Sexual Orientation
Religion or Belief (or No Belief)
Pregnancy & Maternity
Human Rights (Please see
articles in toolkit)
Other Groups (rural isolation
etc...)
Based on the above information, what impact will this proposal have on the following groups?
Positive
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Negative
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Neutral
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Unsure
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Initial Impact analysis
Actions to mitigate, advance equality or fill gaps in information
Changes to fees for the majority of our customers have been limited to
or close to CPI. However we have an obligation to provide marriages
and civil partnerships to all citizens including those that could be
economically challenged and to this end we are aligning the statutory
marriages and civil partnership service delivery to the larger offices in
the parts of the County where economic deprivation is high.
To make sure that we meet our obligation to provide marriages and
civil partnerships to all citizens including those who may find a fee
increase unaffordable, the statutory marriage or civil partnership
registration service will be available in our larger offices which can be
found in areas of relatively higher deprivation (see embedded map),
specifically at Northampton. Wellingborough and Kettering
Source: Northamptonshire Analysis
Consultation and follow up data from actions set above
Data Source (include link where published)
A consultation will be conducted to review the availability by location of
statutory marriages and civil partnership across Northamptonshire to
focus delivery in parts of the County that are economically challenged.
What does this data include?
Final impact analysis
As we deliver universal services to all customers we do not believe there will be a particularly disproportionate impact on any protected characteristic
groups and the cost increase can be mitigated by continuing to offer statutory marriages and civil partnerships at a minimal cost to residents.
No equalities feedback was received during the consultation and no further information came to light to suggest there could be any negative
impacts on groups with protected characteristics, therefore the final impact analysis is neutral impact. If required, an EqIA will also be carried out
alongside the consultation to inform us of any issues that are raised around the availability of statutory marriages and civil partnerships.
Equality Impact Assessment Review Log
Review approved by Director / Assistant Director
Date of review
Review approved by Director / Assistant Director
Date of review
Review approved by Director / Assistant Director
Date of review