Integrated Impact Assessment - Engagement and Participation Policy
Our Integrated Impact Assessment is designed to help our decision making and ensure that a proposal:
- is aligned to the Council’s Corporate Well-being Objectives
- complies with the Equality Act 2010, including our socio-economic duty
- complies with the Welsh Language Measure 2011 (Welsh Language requirements)
- contributes to the National Well-being goals of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and incorporates the principles of Sustainable Development
- considers risk management
The Integrated Impact Assessment is categorised into the 7 National Well-being Goals for Wales:
- A prosperous Wales – where everyone has jobs and there is no poverty
- A resilient Wales – where we’re prepared for things like floods
- A healthier Wales – where everyone is healthier and can see the doctor when they need to
- A more equal Wales – where everyone has an equal chance whatever their background
- A Wales of cohesive communities – where communities can live happily together
- A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language – where we have lots of opportunities to do different things and where people can speak Welsh if they want to
- A globally responsible Wales – where we look after the environment and think about other people around the world
Proposal Details
Title of Policy / Proposal / Initiative
- Engagement and Participation Policy
Service Area
- Policy, Performance and Public Protection.
Officer completing Integrated Impact Assessment
- Cathryn Morgan, Equality and Inclusion Manager.
Corporate Lead Officer
- Alun Williams.
Please give a brief description of the purpose of the proposal
A revised Engagement and Participation Policy (draft). Our current policy was approved in 2022. The accompanying action plan is now complete.
The updated policy aims to:
- Increase Transparency and Feedback
- Enhance Communication and Promotion
- Improve Accessibility and Inclusion
- Simplify Engagement Materials
- Support Councillor Engagement
Who will be directly affected by this proposal?
Members of the public in Ceredigion, particularly those who wish to engage with us and participate in the decision making processes of the Council.
Council staff that are responsible for engagement and participation activities carried out by the Council.
Have those who will be affected by the proposal had the opportunity to comment on it? Please provide details.
A public engagement campaigns was undertaken in Summer 2025. The Equality and Inclusion manager and Corporate Manager for Democratic Services carried out a baseline assessment in Summer 2025. These activities have helped us to develop the draft policy.
The draft policy will be presented for public consultation during Winter 2025, subject to Cabinet approval.
Version Control
| Version Number | Author | Decision making stage | Date Considered | Description of any amendments made |
| 1.0 | Cathryn Morgan | Pre-Scrutiny | 21/10/2025 | Not applicable. |
| 2.0 | Cathryn Morgan | Pre public consultation | 03.12.2025 | Changed the impact on disabled people from None/Negligible to Positive |
Council Corporate Well-being Objectives
Which of the Council’s Corporate Well-being Objectives does this proposal address and how?
Ceredigion Council Corporate Strategy 2022-27
Boosting the economy, supporting business, and enabling employment
- Does not contribute directly but will help to ensure that plans and strategies to deliver this objective are informed by effective engagement and participation activity.
Creating caring and healthy communities
- As above and also contributes to our priority to ‘Further develop participation events to ensure communities have a voice’.
Providing the best start in life and enabling learning at all ages
- As above and also contributes to our priority to ‘Support the Ceredigion Youth Council as a forum for children and young people’ and ‘Develop leadership skills within our children and young people at the earliest opportunity’.
Creating sustainable, greener, and well-connected communities
- Does not contribute directly but will help to ensure that plans and strategies to deliver this objective are informed by effective engagement and participation activity.
National Well-being Goal: A Prosperous Wales
An innovative, productive, and low carbon society where everyone has decent work and there is no poverty.
Does the proposal contribute to this goal? Describe the positive or negative impacts.
Does not contribute directly but will help to ensure that plans and strategies that contribute to this Goal are informed by effective engagement and participation activity.
What evidence do you have to support this view?
Not applicable.
What action(s) can you take to mitigate any negative impacts or better contribute to this National Well-being Goal?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
National Well-being Goal: A Resilient Wales
A society where biodiversity is maintained and enhanced and where ecosystems are healthy and functioning.
Does the proposal contribute to this goal? Describe the positive or negative impacts.
Does not contribute directly but will help to ensure that plans and strategies that contribute to this Goal are informed by effective engagement and participation activity.
What evidence do you have to support this view?
Not applicable.
What action(s) can you take to mitigate any negative impacts or better contribute to this National Well-being Goal?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
National Well-being Goal: A Healthier Wales
A society where people make healthy choices and enjoy good physical and mental health.
Does the proposal contribute to this goal? Describe the positive or negative impacts.
Does not contribute directly but will help to ensure that plans and strategies that contribute to this Goal are informed by effective engagement and participation activity.
What evidence do you have to support this view?
Not applicable.
What action(s) can you take to mitigate any negative impacts or better contribute to this National Well-being Goal?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
National Well-being Goal: A More Equal Wales
A society where everyone has an equal chance whatever their background or circumstances.
This section is longer because you are asked to assess the impact of your proposal on each group that is protected by the Equality Act 2010.
If you have identified no greater impact on the groups listed than on the general population, you should select ‘None/Negligible’.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people because of their age?
Children and Young People up to 18
- Positive
People 18-50
- Positive
Older people 50+
- Positive
Describe the positive or negative impacts.
It’s likely that there will be a positive impact on people of all ages. No negative impacts have been identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
The draft action plan includes an action to develop ways to better engage with underrepresented groups, including young people. People that responded to the public engagement campaign requested that the timing of engagement events is considered to ensure that people who are working are not excluded (this is included in the action plan). People also said that those who rely on public transport and older people would prefer locally based engagement events.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between people in this group and the rest of the population?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people because of their disability?
Hearing Impairment
- None / Negligible
Physical Impairment
- None / Negligible
Visual Impairment
- Positive
Learning Disability
- Positive
Long Standing Illness
- None / Negligible
Mental Health
- None / Negligible
Describe the positive or negative impacts.
It’s likely that there will be some positive impact on disabled people. No negative impacts have been identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
The draft action plan includes actions to offer consultations in multiple formats and to ensure that digital tools are accessible for screen readers and non-digital users.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between people in this group and the rest of the population?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people who are transgender?
Trans Women
- None / Negligible
Trans Men
- None / Negligible
Non-binary people
- None / Negligible
Describe the positive or negative impacts
None identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
The policy outlines how we will encourage and enable all local people to participate in our decision making processes. The action plan does not include any actions that focus specifically on people who are transgender.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between people in this group and the rest of the population?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people with different sexual orientation?
Bisexual
- None / Negligible
Gay Men
- None / Negligible
Gay Women/Lesbian
- None / Negligible
Heterosexual/Straight
- None / Negligible
Describe the positive or negative impacts
None identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
Neither the policy nor the action plan includes any actions that focus specifically on people with different sexual orientation.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between people in this group and the rest of the population?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people who are married or in a civil partnership?
People who are married
- None / Negligible
People in a civil partnership
- None / Negligible
Describe the positive or negative impacts
None identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
The draft policy does not include any actions that will disproportionately impact on people who are married or in a civil partnership.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between people in this group and the rest of the population?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people who are pregnant or on maternity leave?
Pregnancy
- None / Negligible
Maternity
- None / Negligible
Describe the positive or negative impacts
None identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
The draft policy does not include any actions that will disproportionately impact on people who are pregnant or on maternity leave.
What action(s) can you take to mitigate any negative impacts or better contribute to positive impacts?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people because of their ethnic origin?
Asian / Asian British
- Positive
Black / African / Caribbean / Black British
- Positive
Mixed / Multiple Ethnic Groups
- Positive
White
- None / Negligible
Other Ethnic Groups
- Positive
Describe the positive or negative impacts
It’s likely that there will be a positive impact on global majority/ethnic minority people. No negative impacts have been identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
People of global majority/ethnic minority are currently underrepresented in our engagement and consultation campaigns. The draft action plan includes an action to develop ways to better engage with underrepresented groups.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between people in this group and the rest of the population?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people with different religions, beliefs, or non-beliefs?
Buddhist
- Positive
Christian
- Positive
Hindu
- Positive
Humanist
- Positive
Jewish
- Positive
Muslim
- Positive
Sikh
- Positive
Non-belief
- None / Negligible
Describe the positive or negative impacts
It’s likely that there will be a positive impact on people with different religions and beliefs. No negative impacts have been identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
People of different religions are currently underrepresented in our engagement and consultation campaigns. People with no religion are slightly overrepresented. The draft action plan includes an action to develop ways to better engage with underrepresented groups.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between people in this group and the rest of the population?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on men or women?
Men
- Positive
Women
- Positive
Describe the positive or negative impacts
It’s likely that there will be a positive impact on men and women. No negative impacts have been identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
Men are well represented in the decision making processes of the Council, and women not so well. However, men are currently underrepresented in our engagement and consultation campaigns. The draft action plan includes an action to develop ways to better engage with underrepresented groups.
The engagement campaign identified a need to schedule engagement activities to suit diverse availability, for example caring responsibilities (often but not always undertaken by women). The action plan includes an action to address this.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between men and women?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people from the Armed Forces Community?
Members of the Armed Forces
- None / Negligible
Veterans
- None / Negligible
Spouses
- None / Negligible
Children
- None / Negligible
Describe the positive or negative impacts
None identified.
What evidence do you have to support this?
The draft policy does not include any actions that will disproportionately impact on people from the Armed Forces community. The Armed Forces Veterans Forum is already listed as a stakeholder group in our engagement and consultation toolkit.
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Socio-economic Duty
Socio-economic disadvantage means living on a low income compared to others in Wales, with little or no accumulated wealth, making it more difficult to access basic goods and services.
Family background or where a person is born still affects their life. For example, a child from a wealthy family often does better at school than a child from a poor family, even if the poorer child is more naturally academic. This is sometimes called socio-economic inequality.
Do you think this proposal will have a positive or a negative impact on people experiencing socio-economic disadvantage?
- Positive
Describe the positive or negative impacts
The policy outlines how we will encourage and enable all local people to participate in our decision making processes. If delivered well, the policy will have more of a positive impact on people at socio-economic disadvantage than others.
What evidence do you have to support this?
Socio-economic disadvantage is linked to lower educational outcomes and lower paid work. This can result in the need to take on more hours thus reducing time available to engage and participate in public life. It can also result in lower confidence levels, or indeed discrimination and this can reduce a will to engage and participate with Council decision making process.
Our 5 point action plan includes actions to make it easier for people to engage with us, for example ‘Enhanced Communication and Promotion’, ‘Improve Accessibility and Inclusion’ and ‘Simplify Engagement Materials.’
What action(s) can you to take to mitigate any negative impacts?
Is there an opportunity to use this proposal to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity or encourage good relations between people in this group and the rest of the population?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
National Well-being Goal: A Wales of Cohesive Communities
A society with attractive, viable, safe, and well-connected communities.
Does the proposal contribute to this goal? Describe the positive or negative impacts.
The draft Engagement and Participation Policy will contribute to this goal through doing more to increase people’s knowledge about the functions of the Council. It also aims to help people that they belong to their local area and can make a difference. A key aim of the policy is to enable people to play a part in influencing local decisions which is also a key element of this Well-being Goal.
What evidence do you have to support this view?
Welsh Government’s Social Research paper, based on National Survey interviews carried out in 2021-22. The research found that the key factors found to be linked with people feeling that they could influence decisions affecting their local areas include:
- feeling that they have a good understanding of what their local councillor does for their community
- agreeing that the local councillor works closely with the local community, and
- feeling satisfied with the availability of local services and facilities.
Welsh Government report: Influencing decisions in local area (National Survey for Wales): April 2021 to March 2022 | GOV.WALES
What action(s) can you take to mitigate any negative impacts or better contribute to the goal?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
National Well-being Goal: A Wales of Vibrant Culture and Thriving Welsh Language
A society that that promotes and protects culture, heritage, and the Welsh language and which encourages people to take part in the arts, sports, and recreation.
Does the proposal contribute to this goal? Describe the positive or negative impacts.
Does not contribute directly but will help to ensure that plans and strategies that contribute to this Goal are informed by effective engagement and participation activity.
What evidence do you have to support this view?
Not applicable.
What action(s) can you take to mitigate any negative impacts or better contribute to the goal?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
With reference to the following, do you think this proposal will have a positive or negative effect on the Welsh language?
Opportunities for people to use the Welsh language
- None / Negligible
Treating the Welsh language, no less favourably than the English language
- None / Negligible
What evidence do you have to support this view?
The policy will be developed, consulted upon and delivered through the medium of Welsh and English. However, the policy does not include any specific actions that would increase the profile of the Welsh language in Ceredigion.
What action(s) can you take to increase the positive impact or mitigate any negative impact on the Welsh language?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
National Well-being Goal: A Globally Responsible Wales
A society that considers how our actions might impact on other countries and people around the world.
Does the proposal contribute to this goal? Describe the positive or negative impacts.
Does not contribute directly but will help to ensure that plans and strategies that contribute to this Goal are informed by effective engagement and participation activity.
What evidence do you have to support this view?
Not applicable.
What action(s) can you take to mitigate any negative impacts or better contribute to the goal?
Further actions may be identified by the public consultation campaign.
Strengthening the Proposal
If you have identified any negative impacts in the above sections, please provide details of any practical changes and actions that could help remove or reduce the negative impacts.
| What will you do? | When? | Who is responsible? | Progress |
If no action is to be taken to remove or mitigate negative impacts, please justify why. (If you have identified any unlawful discrimination then the proposal must be changed or revised.)
No negative impacts identified.
How will you monitor the impact and effectiveness of the proposal?
The action plan will be led by the Equality and Inclusion team. Progress will be monitored annually and reported to Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet. Further feedback from residents will be used to refine and improve engagement practices.
Sustainable Development Principle: 5 Ways of Working
Describe below how you have implemented the five ways of working in accordance with the sustainable development principle of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
Long term - balancing short-term needs with long-term need and planning for the future.
- This policy is a building block towards improved engagement with and participation of the public in the functions of Ceredigion County Council. It includes short term actions that will gain long term benefits.
Collaboration - working together with other partners to deliver.
- To be delivered well, the policy relies on the help of our stakeholder groups, including town and community councils and various community interest groups.
Involvement - involving those with an interest and seeking their views.
- The draft policy relies heavily on views gathered from the public and stakeholder groups during our engagement campaign in Summer 2025. The draft policy is being circulated for further public comment in Winter 2025.
Prevention - putting resources into preventing problems occurring or getting worse.
- The National Survey for Wales 2025 showed that just 19% of adults in Wales feel that they can influence decisions affecting their local area. The draft Engagement and Participation Policy seeks to address this.
Integration - considering the impact of your proposal on the four pillars of well-being (social, economic, cultural and environment) the objectives of other public bodies and across service areas in the Council.
- The draft policy impacts on social well-being through increasing a sense of belonging and taking part in local life.
No impact is identified on economic, cultural or environmental well-being although it will help to ensure that our plans and strategies contribute to all four pillars of well-being.
The implementation of the policy will impact on the workload of all service areas but most particularly on Democratic Services and on Policy, Performance and Public Protection.
Risk
Summarise the risk associated with the proposal.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|
Impact Criteria |
Very Low | Low | Medium | High | Very High |
|
Likelihood Criteria |
Unlikely to occur | Lower than average chance of occurring | Even chance of occurring | Higher than average chance of occurring | Expected to occur |
| Risk Description | Impact | Probability | Score (Impact x Likelihood) |
| Poor implementation of the policy resulting in reputational damage and legal challenge. | 3 | 2 | 6 |