8. Monitoring for adverse impact in the future
Over and above any review of the proposed policy attached to a realignment of the Council’s estate, Schedule 9 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires that a system be established to monitor the impact of the final policy in order to gauge its effect on the relevant groups and subgroups attached to the nine Section 75 categories.
The results of ongoing monitoring must be reviewed and published on an annual basis (para. 4 (2) (b)). If the monitoring and analysis of results over a two-year period show that the policy results in greater adverse impact than predicted, or if opportunities arise which would allow for greater equality of opportunity to be promoted, the public authority must ensure that the policy is revised to achieve better outcomes for the relevant equality groups (Annex 1, para. 7.2).
The Council therefore needs to agree how the impact of the final policy will be monitored. This may involve some or all of the following:
- collation and analysis of all comments, queries, complaints received;
- surveys of visitors to the various locations;
- staff surveys;
- inclusion of appropriate questions in omnibus surveys.