The integration of impact assessments enables us to get things right in the first place and save time, money and pain for our organisations but also for our communities and environment.
The integration of impact assessments enables us to get things right in the first place and save time, money and pain for our organisations but also for our communities and environment.
We all want a thriving environment, vibrant and healthy communities, sustainable public services and must help improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of our population.
Impact assessments and in particular Integrated Impact Assessments are designed just for that purpose. They are about maximising good impacts, not only mitigating the negative ones. They help us comply with legal duties, be efficient and do the right thing for nature, our population and future generations.
Together they give us a wider and longer-term view to shape better policies and decisions for our people and planet. They help us see diverse perspectives and consequences we could not have seen on our own.
As they are proportionate, they ensure we spend the right amount of time gathering data, involving communities and colleagues in the impact conversation.
IIAs and IAs are in fact resource saving by avoiding: waste of precious resources, legal bills, harm to individuals or communities and nature, unnecessary reparation or treatment costs and reputation shattering legal cases.
They are also useful tools within organisation to provide: assurances of compliance and of good practice; evidence and data; they provide internal checks and scrutiny. They also offer precious opportunities to upskill teams to apprehend more holistically the more and more complex world we navigate.
Impact assessments complement each other as we all share the same environment and population in Wales. The integration of impact assessments help ensure inclusion is the aim by default in our policies, projects and environments. They reveal intersectionality and cumulative impacts so we can better protect our most vulnerable ecosystems and communities.
We hear that sometimes economic impacts are prevailing, this is why we need to ensure economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts matter equally. Different impact assessments have been created, and some imposed, to help maximise benefits for specific groups or the environment against disproportionate impacts and priorities. The Well-being of Future Generations Act provides a natural umbrella as it demands the pursuit of the 4 equal dimensions of well-being: the economy, our society, the environment and our culture.
In Wales, we have a community of practice working together and supporting each other to create a culture across the public sector where the integration of assessments is second nature. We want to take impact assessment to the next level beyond minimal compliance. We understand that the benefits of the exercise outweigh the cost. We share what is working well and not so well, share information and tips so that we can save time and efforts while continuously improving our practice, as well as, improving the overall well-being of our people we serve and planet we nurture now and for the future. Please join us. Contact us.
The desired purpose of impact assessments in more detail
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The Socio-Economic Duty came into force in Wales on the 31 March 2021. The overall aim of the duty is to deliver better outcomes for those who experience socio-economic disadvantage. Public bodies subject to the Duty must, when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise their functions, have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome resulting from socio-economic disadvantage. The Duty applies to over 35 listed public authorities in Wales and is a legal requirement under Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
Learn more02
The PSED general duty requires public authorities to give due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination; advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations. Its purpose is to make sure that public authorities think about how they can promote equality in every aspect of their day-to-day business.
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The Wales specific duties further help listed public authorities achieve better performance of the general duty and focus on seeking improved equality outcomes. These duties cover a range of areas including equality objectives, strategic equality plans and assessing policy and practice impacts.
Chapters five and six of the Equality and Human Right’s Technical Guidance for the Public Sector Equality Duty: Wales provide further information relating to equality impact assessing and monitoring of policies and practices.
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Public bodies in Wales must carry out sustainable development under the Well-being of Future Generations Act since 2016. 56 public bodies are currently subject to this duty, to “improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales by taking action, in accordance with the sustainable development principle, aimed at achieving the well-being goals”. They must do so in a way which does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (using long-term thinking, a preventative, integrated and collaborative approach while involving the people they affect) . While there is no legal requirement to undertake an impact assessment in relation to this duty, it is good practice the Commissioner encourages.
