EIA 01/07
Policy: Pilot 4th Bankruptcy Chambers Clerk, Bankruptcy and Companies Court, RCJ
The policy for a pilot fourth clerk was screened for its impact on equalities in December 2006. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts, and it was decided that a full equality impact assessment was not required. Feedback from the pilot will be used for evaluation and assessing ongoing impact.
EIA 02/07
Policy: City of Westminster Court Project
The construction and occupation of the new City of Westminster Magistrates courthouse was screened for its impact on equalities in January 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts on equalities, and it was decided that a full equality impact assessment was not required. Two review points in the project will be used to check for adverse impact.
EIA 03/07
Policy: Closure of Marylebone Magistrates' Court
The proposed closure of the Marylebone Magistrates' Court was screened for its impact on equalities in January 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. A review point will be used to check for any adverse impact.
EIA 04/07
Policy: Centralisation of Administration HMCS North London
The centralising of administration functions was screened for its impact on equalities in January 2007. The screening identified no identified adverse equality impacts, and it was decided that a full equality impact assessment was not required. The Courts' Managers will review individual needs in March/April 2007 to ensure they have been met.
EIA 05/07
Policy: Co-location of Aberdare, Barry and Llwynypia Courts
The viability of reducing the current court structure in light of the expected reduction in workload was screened for its impact on equalities in October 2006. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. Management will monitor the policy continuously for adverse impact.
EIA 06/07
Policy: Flexible Working Agreement Wales and Cheshire Region
The aim of the flexible working hours agreement is to accommodate employees domestic and other responsibilities. The Agreement was screened for its impact on equalities in April 2006. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. Management will monitor the policy continuously for adverse impact.
EIA 07/07
Policy: Area Business Plan Wales and Cheshire Region
The Area Business Plan was screened for its impact on equalities in July 2006. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts, and it was decided that a full equality impact assessment was not required.
EIA 08/07
Policy: Dress Code Wales and Cheshire Region
The aim of the dress code is to inform new and existing employees of the standard expected. The Code was screened for its impact on equalities in April 2006. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts, and it was decided that a full equality impact assessment was not required.
EIA 09/07
Policy: Separation of North Wales and Cheshire Project
The aim of the Project is to ensure that all transitional issues generated by the transfer of Cheshire Area to the North West Region are dealt with. The Project was screened for its impact on equalities in September 2006. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required.
EIA 10/07
Policy: Project to relocate staff to Rose Court
The aim of the Project is to relocate staff to Rose Court. The Project was screened for its impact on equalities in February 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. A review date of three to six months following the relocation was recommended to assess for any adverse impact.
EIA 11/07
Policy: Centralising and Co-locating Family Work at Leicester County Court
The aim of the Project is to unify Family Court jurisdictions and create a single Family Court, in line with government objectives. The Project was screened for its impact on equalities in April 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. The Office Manager will monitor on a monthly basis the effects of centralisation and adverse impact, as well as monitoring feedback from customers.
EIA 12/07
Policy: Thames Valley Business Improvement Scheme
The aim of the policy is to put in place appropriate structures and procedures for better sharing of best practice and ideas. The policy was screened for its impact on equalities in February 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. The policy will be monitored on quarterly and annual basis to assess for adverse impact.
EIA 13/07
Policy: Revising Listing Schedule at Brent LJA
The aim of the policy is to take advantage of, for example, flexibility and efficiency gains. The policy was screened for its impact on equalities in May 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. The policy will be continuously under review to assess for adverse impact.
EIA 14/07
Policy: Reviewing Facilities Available in Court Rooms for Hearing Impaired Users
The aim of the policy is to make the courtrooms more accessible to different groups, in particular disabled people. The policy was screened for its impact on equalities in March 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required.
EIA 15/07
Policy: Outsourcing Ancillary Staff in HMCS
The aim of the policy is to outsource ancillary staff directly employed by HMCS to a third party supplier. The policy was screened for its impact on equalities in May 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. The policy will be under review to assess for adverse impact.
EIA 16/07
Policy: CHaSe - Correspondence Handling System
The aim of the policy is to replace the existing IT system used by Private Office Directorate (POD) with CHaSe. The policy was screened for its impact on equalities in January 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. The policy will be fully impact assessed at the post-implementation stage by POD for adverse impact.
EIA 17/07
Policy: Closure of the Ipswich Magistrates' Court Payments Counter
The aim of the policy is to close the counter but still offer alternative payment methods. The policy was screened for its impact on equalities in April 2007. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required. The policy will be reviewed at the end of September through the feedback log for adverse impact.
EIA 18-07
Policy: Improving transparency and privacy in family courts
The main aim of the policy is getting the right balance between more and better information to the public and protecting the best interests of the child. In particular, we are working towards four guiding objectives:
- To protect the welfare and best interests of the child
- To promote a culture of openness in the family justice system
- To encourage better scrutiny of the family justice system
- To enable better understanding of the family courts by the general public and by families involved in proceedings.
The policy was screened for its impact on equalities in 2006. The screening identified no adverse equality impacts. A full equality impact assessment was not required.
EIA 19-07
Policy: Workshops and quick learning guides for performance management systems
The equality impact assessment assesses the workshops and quick learning guides designed as aids to improve managers understanding of the new performance management system. Widespread consultation was used to inform the design of the guides and workshops. The EIA identified that call up letters should invite staff with particular needs to declare them to enable adjustments to be made to venues, times of courses or format of the materials to meet those needs. The EIA identified no impacts on any group of people.
EIA 20-07
Policy: Updates to recruitment and selection interviewing skills course
The EIA assesses recent updates to the recruitment and selection interviewing skills training course. The EIA identified no particular impacts on any group of people but it did highlight that there were no formal systems to monitor the ethnicity, gender or disability of attendees. New online systems have been put in place to collect this data.
EIA 21/07
Policy: Consulting on fixed recoverable success fees in publication proceedings
This EIA assesses the impact of proposals to consult on the Civil Justice Council recommendation of fixed recoverable success fees in publication proceedings funded by conditional fee agreements. The policy aims to bring effective cost control to publication proceedings, ensuring that costs are proportionate and reasonable. The EIA identified no adverse impacts on any group of people.
EIA 22/07
Policy: Operation of the statutory scheme for compensation for wrongful conviction - section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
This EIA covers the operation of policy in regard to compensation for miscarriages of justice. We have concluded that while these arrangements will have an impact on equality target groups generally the effect is likely to be minimal. We will continue to collect data on the target groups applying for compensation.
EIA 23/07
Policy: Collocating Buxton County Court with Buxton Magistrates' Court
The collocating of Buxton county court with Buxton Magistrates' Court was screened for its impacts on equalities in January 2007. Monitoring will be via customer service survey, court user group meetings and the complaints/compliments log.
EIA 24/07
Policy: Debt Claims Process
Proposed consultation paper - The debt claim process: helping people in debt to engage with the problem . This will affect the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR): Pre-Action Protocols Practice Direction paragraphs 4.1-4.9
The policy builds upon current requirements in the CPR by clarifying what must be sent to debtors. However, the CPR does not specify how communications should be drafted /written. This proposal does not change that.
EIA 25/07 Policy: Co-location of Wolverhampton Family Admin Unit within Wolverhampton County Court
The co-locating of Wolverhampton Family Admin Unit within Wolverhampton County Court was screened for its impacts on equalities in July 2007. A full impact assessment was not required as all issues were dealt with at the initial screening stage. The EIA will run alongside the project plan and a review will take place at the six-month and 12 month stage following implementation.
EIA 26/07 Policy: Wider Markets Strategy - HMCS
The HMCS Wider Markets Strategy 07/08 - 09/10 sets a platform to advance wider markets initiative across HMCS. The strategy outlines the projects that will be advanced during its lifetime. The EIA outlined no adverse impacts, although these will be monitored on an annual basis using data collected from customer groups.
EIA 27/07
Policy: London Regional Magistrate's Court Clustering Project
This EIA relates to the clustering of Magistrates Courts in London. The project reflects the 2006 HMCS Business Strategy in ensuring 'that access is provided as quickly as possible and at the lowest cost consistent with open justice and that citizens have greater confidence in, and respect for, the system of justice.' (HMCS Business Strategy February 2006)
EIA 28/07
Policy: Loughborough Court House Development Project
The courthouse, serving the Loughborough area, provides improved and extended facilities benefiting stakeholders and the wider community, in compliance with the Disability Discrimination and Human Rights Acts, health and safety legislation and the Courts and Witness Charters. The development as part of a major regeneration area will add aesthetically and give a community focus.
EIA 29/07
Policy: Governance of Britain - Judicial Appointments
The EIA on the judicial appointments consultation concludes that none of the options consulted on would affect equality. There is no proposal to move away from the overriding principle of selection on merit, or from any of the existing obligations in relation to judicial diversity under the current system.
EIA 30/07
Policy: Expansion of Tribunals Service - Asylum Support Adjudicators
The move of the Asylum Support Adjudicators from the Home Office to the Tribunals Service was screened for its impacts on equalities in May 2006. it was determined that there is a neutral impact for all areas in respect of the project and so a full impact assessment was not required.
EIA 31/07
Policy: The Establishment of a Gambling Appeals Tribunal
The establishment of a fully operational Gambling Appeals Tribunal (GAT) was screened for its impacts on equalities in August 2006. Plans have been put in place to monitor and review the EIA by the GAT management team after intervals of12 months.
EIA 32/07
Policy: Closure of Bury St Edmunds Magistrate's Court payments counter
This EIA assess the impact of closing the payments counter at Bury St Edmunds Magistrates Court, which releases staff resources to other administrative duties. Alternative methods of payment are available to customers. No adverse impacts to customers as a result of the changes were identified by the EIA.
EIA 33/07
Policy: Reduction in the number of Trust cases managed by the Court Funds Office
This EIA assesses the impact on staff of the reduction of the number of Trust cases managed by the Trusts and Estates Section of the Court Funds Office, Official Solicitors and Public Trustees (OCFOSPT) through closure and transfer of cases to a new trustee. A full EIA was not required. The policy will be reviewed in March 2008.
EIA 34/07
Policy: Introduction of an electronic clocking in system - HMCS
Installation of an electronic clocking in system. To ensure accurate recording of staff attendance, maximise efficency/effectiveness of staff resources. Consultation took place with staff through team briefing and question and answer session; no user issues regarding exclusion or specific challenges raised. Policy forwarded to TU and no issues raised.
EIA 35/07
Policy: Provision of two computer stations for public use - Civil Appeals Office
The service provided is for the installation of two computer terminal booths in the Public Area leading to the Civil Appeals Office Registry, where applications for permission to appeal and for issue of appeal notices are processed. The booths will provide customers with access to the Civil Appeals Office Website, where they can obtain authoritative information on the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) relating to matters they wish to issue. The service is available to all Court Users.
EIA 36/07
Policy: Electronic filing of Applicants/Appellants and Respondents notices - Pilot
Civil Appeals Office
This EIA relates to the service provided by the Civil Appeals Office, enabling court users to file notices online. The pilot will run for six months, with evaluations taking place after three and six months, after which a decision will be taken regarding permanent provision of the service.
EIA 37/07
Policy: Digital audio recording of court proceedings - Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
The service specified in this assessment is for the digital audio recording of court proceedings in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), with the aim of reducing the time for production of first draft and final transcripts of judgment.
This is a change to the medium by which transcripts are produced, rather than a change to any rules or practices governing availability or content, so there is no disadvantage to any group in society as a result of the change. The benefit is that transcripts will be available to court users or anybody with a need to access judgments of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in a timelier manner.
EIA 38/07
Policy: Amalgamation of Case Management Groups Civil Appeals Office
This assessment relates to the amalgamation of the existing Case Management Groups and the Associates Office, within the Civil Appeals Office.
The resultant units will specialise in various areas of work and will bring their direct experience of the casework into court when acting as court clerks.
EIA 39/07
Policy: Relocation Diary Manager from Southampton Combined Court to Winchester County Court
Relocation of Band C Diary Manager from Southampton Combined Court to Winchester County Court office resulting in efficiency savings on file transfer, DX costs, courier costs, time and communication. Fully utilise the county court team in Winchester who would support the diary manager. The entire area will benefit from increased efficiency and effectiveness and the resulting savings.
EIA 40/07
Policy: Incitement of hatred on grounds sexual orientation
This EIA relates to new offences of stirring up hatred against persons on grounds of their sexual orientation. There are already offences of stirring up racial and religious hatred and, subject to evidence that may emerge during the passage of the legislation, consideration will be given to covering transgender and disabled people.