Welsh Assembly and the lost equality impact assessment

[thatdamnedwoman]

The Welsh Assembly produced a 'Welsh Government Action Plan to advance equality for transgender people' in 2016

gov.wales/atisn13028

and said that an impact assessment had been carried out.

A Freedom of Information request was issued on March 2019 asking to see the impact assessment. The Impact assessment appears to have been lost. No trace of it anywhere — even though the Action Plan to Advance Equality for Transgender people mentions the importance of Impact Assessments. Here's the correspondence:

tinyurl.com/y6kxt29n

(I've had to do tinyurl as the original link was so long) It links to whatdotheyknow.com

If anyone here is sitting around at home today with nothing special to do you could check your local council (and possibly also town council and even parish council) on line and find out what resources/ action plans/ policies they have relating to transgender issues. If you find any, you could then use the letters in the whatdotheyknow link above as a template for making an FOI request asking about impact assessments.

My guess is the Welsh Assembly won't be the only body pushing change through without considering the impact on half the population. Let's help reveal this as the scandal we know it to be.

So, let me get this straight. If you don't do an EIA then you can pretend you've lost it and not only are there no consequences for this you also aren't made to do another one? And you can just merrily roll out policy changes on the ground without one.

Why would anyone in any organisation bother doing one in the first place?

Well done FOI you have done sterling work.

Yup. And what's even better is that nobody will be held to account because it's only women and those bothersome trans people. And everybody knows that women should just shut up and piss off, right?

Now back to that council meeting about what kind of biscuits we should be having in council meetings.

New response today to my latest request to Welsh Government.
www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/information_about_the_equality_i#incoming-1455724

I asked for the names of all organisations which were consulted or otherwise involved in the production of the Equality Impact Assessment. In reply they have sent me a link to the consultation responses for the Transgender Action Plan. This is the link:
gendergp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Welsh-Government-Action-Plan-2015-.pdf

They had already sent this document as an attachment to my previous request, and it is also available in their own archive, but they have now chosen to send me a link to it on Helen Webberley's website.

I also asked for the most recent available draft of the Equality Impact Assessment. They claim this is a repeat of my earlier request for the final document, so they appear to be stating that in addition to the final published document they have lost all earlier drafts. I will be requesting an internal review, and I will ask them to clarify whether this is the case. I view this as a separate request, since I didn't ask for draft documents in my earlier request.

Thank you for doing this.

Wouldn’t it be simpler at this point for them to just admit how badly they fucked up?

I mean they’re going to have to admit it at some point and the longer it goes on, the more extravagantly stupid they’re going to look

Why not just get it over with?

I've also had a reply to my latest letter to Jane Hutt. This is what she (or rather, the civil servant writing on her behalf) said:

"We note your views in relation to the loss of the Equality Impact Assessment; however, we do not consider that its loss represents a breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty. Therefore, we do not plan to withdraw the Transgender Plan. We have no authority for documents held on the websites of third parties, such as Youth Cymru or Welsh Women’s Aid these are a matter for those organisations."

Youth Cymru and Welsh Women's Aid are not public sector organisations, so have no obligations under the PSED. There is obviously something wrong with the way the PSED works if the public sector can circumvent it by passing the writing of policy to voluntary and private organisations, then saying "nothing to do with me". Welsh Government funded the writing of these policies, yet they are claiming they have no responsibility for their contents.

Searchlights are on their way. This is just one example of institutional capture, public-sector internal laziness (cut-and-paste mentality), manipulation by the trans lobby groups (e.g. Stonewall), and machiavellian disregard for procedure, the law, and steam-rollering women's rights.

Anyone who has been complicit in this will be held to account. Yes, in the meantime we will all have to pick the kids up from school, make tea and check an old granny-person isn't dead, but remember this... we will be coming for you.

Thank you for being so tenacious.

What you are doing is absolutely amazing. We have to find a way to make all of these people accountable.

"We note your views in relation to the loss of the Equality Impact Assessment; however, we do not consider that its loss represents a breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Say what now??

"I asked for the names of all organisations which were consulted or otherwise involved in the production of the Equality Impact Assessment. In reply they have sent me a link to the consultation responses for the Transgender Action Plan. This is the link:
gendergp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Welsh-Government-Action-Plan-2015-.pdf

They had already sent this document as an attachment to my previous request, and it is also available in their own archive, but they have now chosen to send me a link to it on Helen Webberley's website."

Staggering!!! The Welsh Government is so out of touch with this whole issue that it has directed you FOIrequester to the website of a GP not only suspended by the GMC but specifically prohibited under Welsh medical regulations from operating in Wales.

If I have understood this correctly, are we even sure yet that anyone in the Welsh Government actually had a hand in producing the Transgender Plan? ie. that this could be another case like that of the National Police Chiefs Council commissioning Stonewall to produce a "National Trans Toolkit" for all Police Forces, rubber-stamping it without reading it and not realising that it had issued guidance that misrepresented the law?

archive.fo/I6DZf

Shocking that trans advocacy groups in Wales did not notice the lack of an EIA and have not been kicking up a stink about this!

My gast is well and truly flabbered by this Before I became aware of this issue (thanks FWR), I thought our democracy and the way our country was run was pretty damn good. I thought our councils and governments probably had a lot of loud people who were full of hot air, but I was equally confident there were enough civic-minded people quietly getting on with their jobs. I’m still a bit shocked that this was apparently a complete fairytale mindset.

Anyway. This shower of shite are on my list as well. My best friend will tell you I routinely forget engagements, conversations and sometimes my own address too much wine but I will not forget this. That they don’t even respect women enough to admit they fucked up is very telling. That they’re willing for that fuck up to negatively affect girls in schools takes that up a level to blatant disregard for safeguarding. I will also not forget the despicable behaviour of GIDS.

FOIRequester I think you’re fabulous. Thank you so much for persevering with this

I'm going to have to write to Jane Hutt again about this statement:
We note your views in relation to the loss of the Equality Impact Assessment; however, we do not consider that its loss represents a breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty.

The EHRC say that impact must be monitored.
www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/assessing_impact_and_the_equality_duty_wales_0.pdf

"Assessing for impact on an authority’s ability to comply with the general equality duty does not end with the introduction of the new or revised policy."

"It is necessary to use monitoring, evaluation and review processes to ensure that the actual impact matches with the impact which was anticipated, and that relevant actions have been implemented."

"The specific duties in Wales include a requirement to monitor impact"

And Welsh Government have said the same in one of their own documents.
www.assembly.wales/laid%20documents/gen-ld10885/gen-ld10885-e.pdf

"Equality Impact Assessments are live and continuous assessments which last the lifecycle of the decision or policy and, in some cases beyond."

How can they monitor impact if they have lost the Equality Impact Assessment and they don't intend to replace it?

The Welsh Government have told me that they are not responsible for the transgender policies that they funded other organisations to produce.
We have no authority for documents held on the websites of third parties, such as Youth Cymru or Welsh Women’s Aid these are a matter for those organisations.

According to the EHRC:
"A public authority must take responsibility for complying with the general equality duty in relation to all functions to which the general equality duty applies. Responsibility for the general equality duty cannot be delegated to external organisations that are carrying out functions on its behalf."
www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/essential_guide_to_the_public_sector_equality_duty_wales.pdf

The Welsh Government funded both Youth Cymru and Welsh Women's Aid to produce their transgender policies. If that means they could be considered to be 'carrying out functions on its behalf' then the Welsh Government is responsible for compliance with the PSED and for the content of the policies.

I’m still a bit shocked that this was apparently a complete fairytale mindset.

That's because you've always gone with the grain and never excercised your rights to see if they actually exist.
Now you've realised they don't, it's all lies and the whole party system is useless if those in charge, who are supposed to speak for us, don't, and instead all think the same, talk the same and want the same outcome, power.

Brilliant work FOIrequester.

Like a pp, I'm shaken by the level of ineptitude and flagrant disregard for regulations on display. My faith in the governing bodies of this country has been shattered.

And, as an aside, what sort of organisation auto-deletes all emails after a year? If that is genuine (as opposed to a cover up) then that is yet another level of incompetence.

I send an email to my mp about the draft National guidelines a few weeks ago and I also copied the letter to my welsh AMs.

I have had one reply - see below. He is also aware of the lost impact assessment.

Thank you for contacting (Oscar) Mohammad Asghar AM to let him know your concerns regarding the draft guidelines.

I can confirm that Oscar shares your concerns. As you rightly pointed out, the onus to safeguard children should be on the adults caring for them, not the children themselves.

Oscar wants transgender people to have the freedom to live their lives in a way that feels right to them, however this cannot be at the expense of the safety of young people who have an equal right to be protected and feel safe in their environment.

In 2016, the Welsh Government created an Action Plan to advance equality for transgender people . As part of this Action Plan, an Equality Impact Assessment should have been carried out to ensure that the Action Plan did not discriminate against any disadvantaged or vulnerable person or people in our society. Oscar has since learnt that the Equality Impact Assessment document has been “lost” by the Welsh Government. Oscar has pressed the Welsh Government to explain how this important document has been lost and what action they intend to take to ensure that no disadvantaged or vulnerable people in our society are discriminated against without it. I regret to say that the Welsh Government’s response to this matter was not satisfactory and brushed away Oscar’s concerns.

Please be assured that the safeguarding of children is highly important to Oscar and that he will continue to hold the Welsh Government to account on this matter.

Kind Regards / Cofion gorau

@FOIrequester You are amazing. Thank you

Not only did they lose the EIA (if there ever was one) but it seems that they have also withdrawn (or accidentally hidden!) the "Welsh Government Action Plan to advance equality for transgender people" FOIrequester.

The only copy on the Welsh Government website seems to be the one without a front cover that they uploaded in response to your FOI Request. That one does not turn up in Search Results because the file name is the FOI reference number: "ATISN%2013341%20%20-%20Doc%201.pdf"

Perhaps that is why they sent you the link to the copy on the Webberley site, FOIrequester , ie. because they couldn't find the copy they posted to you earlier? Who knows, if there ever was an EIA then maybe that got lost the same way, by being saved with some weird file name?

I happened across a couple of other FOI replies that are interesting if you have not seen them before:

"ATISN 11591 Welsh Government interaction with transgender organisations" (24 Oct 2017)
gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-01/171025atisn11591lttr.pdf

"ATISN 13110 Funding for Welsh Women’s Aid" (9 May 2019)
gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-05/ATISN%2013110%20.pdf

However, I am wondering if there is an opportunity right now to influence what happens for women over the next four years?

(Apologies if this has been mentioned earlier or in another thread thatdamnedwoman)

------

The very last paragraph of the main text of the "Trans Action Plan" says:

"The Transgender Action Plan will feed into the revised Welsh Government Strategic Equality Plan for 2016-2020."

gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-09/ATISN%2013341%20%20-%20Doc%201.pdf

"Welsh Government Strategic Equality Plan 2016-2020"
gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-03/equality-plan-and-objectives-2016-2020.pdf

"Strategic Equality Plan 2016-2020 - Equality Impact Assessment"
(this exists! Lawks'amercy!)
gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-03/equality-plan-and-objectives-impact-assessment.pdf

One of the 4 Sept 2019 replies to your FOI Requests states that the "Trans Action Plan" is "out of date":

"ATISN 13341 - Documents relating to the Equality Impact Assessment for the Transgender Action Plan"
gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-09/ATISN%2013341-%20Final%20Response%20Due%204%20September.pdf

"The Transgender Action Plan is now out of date. In terms of what actions we take next, we await the feedback of the UK Government’s consultation of the Gender Recognition Act the findings of which are due to be published in the Autumn. Once in receipt of those findings, we intend to consider what action we will need to take in Wales to advance equality for transgender people. A new Transgender Plan would require a new Equality Impact Assessment to be produced to assess its impact ."

However, the actions in the "Trans Action Plan" relate to the 2016-2020 Strategic Equality Plan, as promised by the Welsh Government, and it is about to be updated.

Consultation on the Strategic Equality Objectives 2020-2024

gov.wales/written-statement-launch-strategic-equality-objectives-2020-2024-consultation-2019

Consultation document - deadline 19th November
gov.wales/strategic-equality-objectives-2020-2024

Extracts

"Introduction

Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) which, in summary, places a duty on public bodies to have due regard in exercising their functions to the need to:
 Eliminate discrimination, harassment, and victimisation;
 Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and
 Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The PSED was developed to harmonise the previous equality duties regarding race, disability and gender equality, and to extend across all of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

The 9 protected characteristics are:
age
disability
gender reassignment
pregnancy and maternity
race
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation
marriage and civil partnership (in relation to being treated differently at work)."

"In October 2018, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published Is Wales Fairer? – a comprehensive review of how Wales is performing on equality and human rights. The report provides valuable data and evidence that will support the efforts of all our public bodies to reduce inequality in Wales.
The EHRC looked across six themes of life (“domains”):
 education;
 health;
 living standards;
 justice and security;
 work; and
 participation
It compared outcomes for groups in areas such as pay gaps, educational attainment, and experiences of hate crime.

What’s new?

We have used the analysis from our early engagement with stakeholders and the evidence contained in Is Wales Fairer? 2018 to prepare a draft set of Equality Objectives. Our aim is to ensure our Equality Objectives for 2020-2024 will address the challenges set out in Is Wales Fairer? 2018. To support this, the actions relating to each objective will be arranged using the domains in that report.

This consultation document does not include all of the actions that will contribute to achieving the objectives. The focus at present is on ensuring the objectives themselves, and the long-term aims to which they will contribute, are the right ones.

This consultation therefore asks you consider the following:

 What are the greatest barriers facing those with protected characteristics in Wales; and
 Whether the Welsh Government’s draft Equality Objectives adequately capture and address those challenges."

----

The Consultation Document is a hefty thing and I have not read all of it - enough to see that there is plenty of scope for a woman-focussed SWOT analysis

REPEATING in case this key bit got buried in the blurb above:

Consultation on the Strategic Equality Objectives 2020-2024

gov.wales/written-statement-launch-strategic-equality-objectives-2020-2024-consultation-2019

Consultation document - deadline 19th November
gov.wales/strategic-equality-objectives-2020-2024

Apologies if this has been done/suggested but would it be possible to do a FOI request on the finances to find out who invoiced them for doing the work?

Like a pp, I'm shaken by the level of ineptitude and flagrant disregard for regulations on display. My faith in the governing bodies of this country has been shattered.

This has been quite an education for me about the competence of the people running the country.

And, as an aside, what sort of organisation auto-deletes all emails after a year?

I think this is standard practice in some government departments. Any important emails are archived elsewhere and there is an auto-deletion policy for the mailboxes. What I understand from their response is that they didn't bother searching mailboxes because of their auto-deletion policy, and they didn't find anything in a search of their archives (apart from the single ministerial briefing).

I have forwarded their responses to my open complaint with the ICO to investigate. I still haven't heard any more from them, and it looks as though enquiries have to be made by phone, not email, so I will probably have to phone them soon to try to progress that further.

Berthatydfil That's quite a positive response from Mohammad Asghar, but pretty appalling that the Welsh Government have just 'brushed away' his concerns. They've been doing that to me, but I'd have hoped that an AM raising concerns might carry more weight.

I've written to my constituency AM and some of my regional AMs about this, but no response yet. I wrote to them at the same time as I wrote to Jane Hutt, who replied yesterday, so I'll give them until next week then write a follow-up asking for a response. My constituency AM has usually responded quite promptly, but on one occasion claimed not to have received an email when I wrote again a month or so later asking why I hadn't had a reply.

As so often, it's not the initial offence, it's the cover-up.

@FOIrequester
I copied all my AMs into the letter I sent to my MP but he is the only one to reply (even acknowledge the letter)

MoleSmokes Thanks for linking to that consultation. It was mentioned in the reply from Jane Hutt's office yesterday, but I haven't had time to read any of it yet. Also thanks for the links to the other FOI requests which I hadn't seen.

Not only did they lose the EIA (if there ever was one) but it seems that they have also withdrawn (or accidentally hidden!) the "Welsh Government Action Plan to advance equality for transgender people"

I asked Jane Hutt to withdraw the Transgender Action Plan due to the loss of the Equality Impact Assessment. Last time I checked it was still there, but the link I had bookmarked now just goes to the gov.wales home page. This is the link: gweddill.gov.wales/docs/dsjlg/publications/equality/160314-transgender-action-plan-en.pdf

So having told me yesterday that they weren't going to withdraw the Transgender Action Plan, they seem to have quietly done just that.

The GenderGP link they sent me is to the summary of consultation responses. This document is still available in the Welsh Government archive, so there is no excuse for linking to a third party site, particularly one run by a suspended and discredited doctor with a criminal record for running an illegal clinic. <a class="break-all" href="https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160419022823/gov.wales/consultations/people-and-communities/equality-transgender-people-consultation/?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160419022823/gov.wales/consultations/people-and-communities/equality-transgender-people-consultation/?lang=en

I have nothing to add but I am following with great interest (and many thanks to you FOI)
Sending a link to Webberley's website is just... I have no words!