Carrying out an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) will help to meet the ICB’s legal duties as well as bringing a number of benefits. They will:

• ensure that your decisions impact in a fair way: where there is evidence that particular groups will be negatively affected by a decision, action should be taken to address this.
• make your decisions based on evidence: EIRAs provides a clear and structured way to collect, assess and put forward relevant evidence.
• make decision-making more transparent: a process which involves those affected by the service, policy or function and which is based on evidence is much more open and transparent. This is more likely to engender trust in decision-makers and in your decisions.
• provide a platform for partnership working EIRA offers an opportunity for organisations to work in partnership to consider the impact on members of their shared communities and how they might best collaborate and co-ordinate financial decisions.

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB routinely carry out equality impact and risk assessments on its services, policies, and functions.