Livestock traceability and health services: equality impact assessment

Key Findings

Age: evidence suggests that farmers in general represent an aging population, with 41% of those with legal responsibility (which would include the responsibility to report livestock traceability and health data) aged 65 or over. The default method for reporting livestock traceability and health data is online. Older users may have less digital confidence and/or skills, which places them at risk of unlawful discrimination and facing inequality of opportunity when compared with younger users with better digital skills.

Disability: there is moderate evidence to suggest that dyslexia is overrepresented in the farming community. The statutory obligations to report livestock traceability and health data are available in writing on government websites and printed publications, accompanied by extensive written guidance intended to support farmers. The reliance on written information places the dyslexic members of the farming community at risk of unlawful discrimination and facing inequality of opportunity.

Intersectionality: dyslexia was officially recognised by the UK Government Department of Education and Science in the late 1980’s. Educational support for dyslexia has steadily increased since then, but dyslexics who entered education before the late 1980’s are less likely to have been diagnosed and supported to learn to read. This means that those in their 50s and above are less likely to have benefitted from dyslexia diagnosis. Older farmers therefore have an increased risk of unrecognised (and therefore unsupported) dyslexia.