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Person responsible for managing the
assessment
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Solicitor to the Council
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Name and brief description of the
service / policy to be assessed
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Electoral Services
The administration of Elections and Electoral
Registration services for the electorate of the Borough of Havant
within the legislation and guidance provided by Parliament, central
government (Ministry of Justice) and the Electoral Commission.
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Objectives of the service/policy to be
assessed
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To ensure that those entitled to be entered on
the statutory Register of Electors have all proper facilities and
opportunities to be registered. To promote electoral participation,
raise awareness, improve voter turnout and ensure that those
entitled to and wishing to vote are able to do so effectively,
securely and with proper observance of the secrecy of their
ballot.
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Baseline/monitoring data
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Information from the 2001 census:
Of the residents in the Borough, 48.02% are
male, 51.98% female.
1700 residents (1.5%) are non-white
3570 (3.1) are not British
29.55% are aged under 25. 18.92% are aged 65
or over.
4,530 residents are in receipt of Disability
Living Allowance and 2,470 are in receipt of Attendance
Allowance.
Population: 115,300 (mid 2005)
Number of registered electors: 91,000
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Service/policy outcome
evaluation
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A high percentage of eligible voters is
registered (95%+)
An annual canvass is undertaken to update the
Register: information delivered to every household, with follow-up
‘door knocking’ visits in person in an effort to maximise voter
registration
In exceptional cases, ad hoc home visits are
made to give advice/assistance to elderly/infirm electors
Language line available for individual
calls
Equipment to aid disabled voters and
polling booths for the disabled are provided
at polling stations.
Polling stations are assessed for
accessibility by disabled persons.
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List of main
stakeholders/beneficiaries
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Electors
Candidates
Agents
Political groups
Facilities/equipment providers
Polling Station staff, count staff and other
casual election/canvassing staff.
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How representative is the
‘stakeholder’ list above?
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There are stakeholders who are not represented
such as:
The youth of the area – future electorate
Those not on the register:
Those who choose not to register
Recent immigrants
Transients
Those in prison
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Who benefits from the
service/policy?
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Electors
Candidates, agents and, where relevant, their
political parties
Law enforcement/investigation/regulatory
agencies
Credit reference agencies
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In what area are there concerns that
the policy could have a differential impact
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Race
Yes
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Disability
Yes
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Gender
None perceived
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Age
Yes
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Religious beliefs
Not known
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Sexual Orientation
None perceived
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Please explain for each of the target equality groups,
but in particular race, disability and gender:
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Areas of concern that the
service/policy could have a differential
impact
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Race: Although entitlement to
register and vote is NOT determined by direct reference to an
individual’s race or ethnic origin, the provisions in the
legislation concerning qualifying citizenship mean that it is more
likely that people of certain racial/ethnic origin will be excluded
from the Register than others.
A person’s racial/ethnic origin can entail
disadvantage in electoral participation due to
language/comprehension difficulties
Disability: It is recognised
that, without appropriate ‘inclusion’ measures, there is a risk
that disabled persons may be disadvantaged and potentially excluded
from access to electoral services
Age: people under the age of
18 are expressly prohibited by the legislation from voting.
Religious belief: although we
have no local evidence of this, the Council should be open to the
possibility that some persons meeting the legal qualifications for
voting (citizenship) may experience religious and/or cultural
influences which make it less likely that they will register and/or
vote.
Gender: no areas of concern
are identified which relate specifically to a person’s gender
Sexual orientation: no areas
of concern are identified which relate specifically to a person’s
sexual orientation
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Differential impact
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Race:
(1) A person may not be legally qualified to
register or to vote by reason of their lack of citizenship and thus
excluded from all participation.
(2) A person’s language difficulties could
potentially lead to difficulty or exclusion from access to
electoral registration and voting procedures.
Disability: a person with a
disability may have significant difficulties with electoral
participation beyond those experienced by people without disability
i.e..:
· in
reading forms and other electoral material/stationery
· in
the physical process of completing/signing /returning forms
· in
accessing polling stations
· in
comprehending information about the process
Age: minors are excluded from
all formal electoral participation.
Religious belief:
religious/cultural influences may wholly or partly exclude some
people from electoral participation. However, we have no evidence
that this is actually the case.
Gender: No differential
impact identified
Sexual Orientation: No
differential impact identified
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Reasons for any differential
impact
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Race:
(1) The impact is intentional
within electoral law which, of necessity, has to define and limit
the scope of the electorate.
(2) Non-availability of election
literature in languages other than English; under use/possible
under promotion of language line facility; lack of established
links between HBC as a whole and minority/ethnic groups within the
Borough
Disability: Legislation
prescribes the activities (completion of forms, voting at a
polling station) which are necessary for electoral participation
but which by their nature potentially pose difficulties for
disabled persons to engage in. Note, however, that the legislation
itself does make a number of special provisions intended to assist
the disabled and minimise or compensate for differential
impact.
Age: impact is intentional
and prescribed by legislation
Religious belief:
IF there is any actual differential impact
(not established) the reasons would be rooted in religious/cultural
diversity within the local electorate and HBC’s lack of knowledge
or understanding of the same.
Gender: N/a
Sexual Orientation: N/a
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Are there any barriers to
opportunities or access for some groups?
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As set out in the section on “Reasons for any
differential impact” above
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Complaints data
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One informal complaint at the last election –
lack of a disabled voter’s screen at a polling station.
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Are there disadvantages caused by
discrimination?
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Difficulty with or exclusion from electoral
participation by an individual, i.e. registering to vote and
actually casting a vote.
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Are there opportunities to better
promote service/policy inclusion?
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Service inclusion may be improved by the
Council as a whole developing links with and outreach to
minority/ethnic groups and interests within the Borough.
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Have you undertaken any
consultation?
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(1) Access Officer is consulted ad
hoc, as necessary, over disabled access to Polling Stations.
(2) July-August 2007
consultation in the context of a Review of Polling Districts and
Polling Places. One aim of that Review is to ensure that disabled
persons have reasonable access to Polling Stations and the HBC
Access Group was invited to comment in the Review.
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Consultation outcomes
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As to (2) above, the review elicited
some comments concerning disabled access to 3 (out of a total of
48) polling stations and these will be considered and addressed as
appropriate.
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Assessment conclusion
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Within Electoral Services the greatest scope
for discrimination/differential impact to occur is by reason of a
person’s disability. Legislation, government guidance and the
practices developed over the years within the service itself,
however, already provide ‘built in’ significant
checks/protections/assistance for disabled electors.
Race (most particularly where an elector’s
first language is other than English) could be presenting barriers
to inclusion but the extent to which this is in fact the case is
not known
Likewise, influences rooted in religious and
cultural diversity may be having an effect upon inclusion in
electoral processes but the Council has no evidence or data as to
this.
Direct ‘discrimination’ on the grounds of a
person’s age (below 18) or citizenship is mandatory in the national
legislation.
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Monitoring timetable
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- Polling Districts (Stations) Review to be determined by Full
Council October 2007
2.
Continue to have regard to disabled
access/inclusion issues in election
planning, on polling day itself and in post-election reviews
3
ERO to review such up to date demographic information relating to
the Borough as may be available to the Council with a view to
assessing need for availability of voter information in languages
other than English (end Nov 2007).
4 In
the longer term, seek to exploit any Council-wide initiatives for
developing links with ethnic/minority groups for targeting of
outreach on electoral matters.
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Please ensure that you have provided as
much evidence as possible to support the responses you have
given.
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Additional Comments
None.
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Signed:
Solicitor to the
Council
(Completing Officer)
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Signed: Head of Customer and
Support
Services
(Head of Service)
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Date: 26 September
2007
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