What this EQIA is assessing
We are introducing a new Digital Cemetery Management System (DCMS) to address the challenges we face in modernising service delivery and to comply with new regulations relating to the Burials & Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016.
This investment will provide us with significant operational improvements, leading to enhanced service delivery for residents and a more efficient workflow for staff.
How the public interact with the service will not change when we introduce the new system, so this EQHRIA largely focuses on internal stakeholders.
What this EQIA has found
We have identified potential positive impacts on people with disabilities and people who are pregnant (including less scanning of physical paperwork), and lower socioeconomic backgrounds (including upskilling of staff to use the system and give them more experience in using digital tools).
There could be negative equality impacts on older groups and disabled people through the introduction of a new digital tool. We'll help prevent these potential impacts by providing training and training guides to all current and new employees who are required to use the DCMS within their role.
We'll ensure the solution complies with the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA accessibility standard, which defines how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.
Where the DCMS system remains inaccessible to employees that need to use the system, we will put reasonable adjustments in place.
We have identified positive human rights impacts relating to the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence particularly around personal data, privacy and confidentiality by improving data security. As data is intended to bring all related information within one system, it is easier to manage, access, and store in a cloud-based system.
What happens next
We have taken actions to reduce potential negative impacts which were identified above.
Whilst we have identified no further action throughout the project lifecycle, we'll capture lessons learned and consider what went well, what didn’t go as well as expected, and what we would do differently in the future.
Through this process, positive and negative impact of the system may be understood and these lessons learned may have actions associated with them.
More information
For more information on this Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment (EQHRIA), email EQHRIA@renfrewshire.gov.uk