Transcript THE PUBLIC DUTY TO PROMOTE EQUALITY Tess Gill WHAT ARE THE EQUALITY DUTIES? There are currently three public sector equality duties: • Race • Disability • Gender.

THE PUBLIC DUTY
TO PROMOTE
EQUALITY
Tess Gill
WHAT ARE THE EQUALITY DUTIES?
There are currently three public sector equality
duties:
• Race
• Disability
• Gender
WHAT DO THE DUTIES CONSIST OF?
Each of the Duties consists of:
• A general Duty
• Specific Duties
WHO DO THE DUTIES APPLY TO?
• The Equality
Authorities”
Duties
Apply
to
• The definition of “Public Authority”
between gender, race and disability.
“Public
differs
RACE EQUALITY DUTY
WHO DOES IT APPLY TO?
• The general race equality duty applies to all
public authorities listed in Schedule 1A of the Race
Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
• There
are
approximately
43,000
public
authorities bound by the general race equality
duty.
DISABILITY EQUALITY DUTY
WHO DOES IT APPLY TO?
• Unlike the Race Equality Duty there is no statutory list of
public authorities
• The Disability Duty uses the Human Rights Act definition of
“public authority”
• The Disability Equality Duty applies to all public authorities as
defined by section 6(3)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998
GENDER EQUALITY DUTY
WHO DOES IT APPLY TO?
• Like the Disability Equality Duty
• No statutory list of public authorities
• “Public authority” is defined in accordance with
section 6(3)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998
PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
The following public authorities are covered by the
equality duties:
• Ministers and Government Departments
• Executive Agencies
• Local Authorities
• Courts and Tribunals
• Crown Prosecutions Service
• Inspection and Audit Bodies
• Police Authorities and Chief Officers of Police
THE GENERAL DUTY
• Each of the general duties requires public
authorities to have due regard to the elimination
of unlawful discrimination and to the promotion of
equal opportunities;
•“DueRegard” requires proportionality,(greater
consideration to be given to functions or policies
that have the most effect) and relevance.
GENERAL DUTY – RACE EQUALITY
• A listed public authority must, in carrying out its
functions, have due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination
- Promote Equality of Opportunity
- Promote good relations between persons of
different racial groups
STEPS TO MEET
THE GENERAL RACE EQUALITY DUTY
• Public authorities must identify which of their
functions and policies are relevant to the duty
•The weight given to race equality should be
proportionate to its relevance
•The
three
elements
of
the
duty
are
complementary, they are all necessary to meet the
whole duty.
GENERAL DUTY – DISABILITY EQUALITY
When carrying out its functions a public authority
must have due regard to each of the six elements
to the general duty
GENERAL DUTY – DISABILITY EQUALITY
1) To promote equality of opportunity between disabled
people and other people
2) To eliminate unlawful disability discrimination
3) To eliminate harassment of disabled people that is
related to their disability
4) To promote positive attitudes towards disabled
people
5) To encourage participation by disabled people in
public life
6) To take steps to meet disabled people’s needs even
if this requires more favourable treatment
GENERAL DUTY – GENDER EQUALITY
• In carrying out its functions a public authority
shall have due regard to:
-The need to eliminate unlawful sex and
gender discrimination
-The need to eliminate harassment
-The
need
to
promote
equality
opportunity between men and women
of
GENERAL DUTY – GENDER EQUALITY
Gender Re-Assignment
As part of the general gender equality duty
public authorities are required to have due
regard to the need to eliminate unlawful
discrimination
and
harassment
in
employment and vocational training for
people who intend to undergo, are
undergoing or have undergone gender
reassignment.
SPECIFIC DUTIES
• Public Authorities are also under specific equality
duties
• These differ according to the equality strand
• Specific duties may also differ according to the
sector which the public authority operates in
• Specific duties are designed to help public
authorities meet their general equality duties
SPECIFIC DUTIES – RACE EQUALITY
PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
• Public Authorities are required to prepare and
publish a Race Equality Scheme
- A Race Equality Scheme should explain
how the public authority will meet its general
and specific duties under the Act
- The first scheme should
published by 31 May 2002
have
been
- The schemes are subject to three yearly
reviews
SPECIFIC DUTIES – RACE EQUALITY
PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
The Employment Duty requires public
authorities to:
- Monitor by racial group the number of
staff in post
- Monitor by racial group the numbers of
applicants for employment, training and
promotion
SPECIFIC DUTIES – RACE EQUALITY
PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
• The Employment Duty
• 150+ full time staff – additional monitoring
requirements
• The results of
published annually
this
monitoring
should
be
• The results should be analysed and any
necessary remedial action taken to address
unfairness, disadvantage or possible discrimination
SPECIFIC DUTIES – RACE EQUALITY
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Have specific duties to:
- Prepare and publish a Race Equality Policy
by 31 May 2002
- Provide the local authority with ethnic
monitoring data on staff in schools
- Monitor teaching staff, recruitment
decisions and career progression in Further
and Higher Education establishments
SPECIFIC DUTIES – DISABILITY EQUALITY
• There is a list of public bodies covered by the specific
disability equality duties at Appendix A, Schedule 1 of
Disability Discrimination (Public Authorities) (Statutory
Duties) Regulations 2005
• The statutory Code of Practice states that the specific
duties are designed to create a framework in which
public bodies can plan, deliver, evaluate and report on
their performance in carrying out the general duty.
SPECIFIC DUTIES – DISABILITY EQUALITY
The Disability Equality Scheme
- This is at the core of the specific duties on
public authorities
- It requires a public authority to publish a
Disability Equality Scheme demonstrating how
it intends to fulfil its general and specific duties
by 4 December 2006
SPECIFIC DUTIES – DISABILITY EQUALITY
The Disability Equality Scheme
Must include a statement of:
- The way in which disabled people have been
involved in the development of the scheme
- The authority’s methods for impact assessment
- The steps which will be taken towards fulfilling
its general duty (“the action plan”)
- The authority’s arrangements for gathering
information
- The authority’s arrangements for putting the
information gathered to use
SPECIFIC DUTIES – DISABILITY EQUALITY
The Disability Equality Scheme
• Within three years of the scheme being
published the authority must take the steps set
out in its action plan and put into effect the
arrangements for gathering and making use of
information
•The public authority must publish a report
containing a summary of the steps taken under
the action plan, the results of its information
gathering and the use to which it has put the
information.
SPECIFIC DUTIES – GENDER EQUALITY
• There is a list of public authorities who are
required to comply with the specific gender
equality duties
• All listed public authorities are required to
comply with the same specific duties
• At the heart of the gender equality
framework is the Gender Equality Scheme
duty
SPECIFIC DUTIES – GENDER EQUALITY
The Gender Equality Scheme
• Must contain the public authority’s overall objectives for
meeting the gender equality duty, including any pay
objectives
• Must contain information on how the authority will take
action to collect information
• How the information collected will be used to meet the
general and specific duties
• What action will be taken to review the effectiveness of
the authority’s implementation of its duties and to
prepare subsequent schemes
• Including how the impact of existing and new policies
and practices will be assessed for their impact on gender
equality
• How the authority will take action to consult relevant
SPECIFIC DUTIES – GENDER EQUALITY
The Gender Equality Scheme
• Requires the actions set out in the scheme to
be implemented within three years unless it is
unreasonable or impracticable to do so
• The public authority to report against the
scheme every year and to review the scheme at
least every three years.
HOW ARE THE DUTIES ENFORCED?
Informal Route
• The EHRC would expect to engage in informal
correspondence and communication giving noncompliant authorities the opportunity to comply
without proceedings
HOW ARE THE DUTIES ENFORCED?
• The Equality and Human Rights Commission has
formal enforcement powers
• It can enforce the general equality duties by way
of compliance notices and judicial review
• It can enforce specific
compliance notices
duties
by
way
of
HOW ARE THE DUTIES ENFORCED?
Compliance Notices: General Duties
• The EHRC must first carry out a statutory
assessment
• If a public authority fails to comply with a
relevant notice the EHRC may apply for a court
order requiring compliance
HOW ARE THE DUTIES ENFORCED?
Compliance Notices: Specific Duties
• The EHRC may serve a compliance notice on an
authority that is failing to comply with specific duties.
• It is not obliged to carry out a statutory assessment
• The compliance notice will state that the authority must
meet its duties and tell the EHRC within 28 days what it
has done to comply with the specific duties
• If the EHRC believes that a public authority on which a
notice has been served has failed to comply with the
specific duties or to provide requested information it may
apply to a county court for an order requiring compliance.
HOW ARE THE DUTIES ENFORCED?
• Organisations and individuals may enforce
duties by way of judicial review
• See R( on the application of Chavda v Harrow
London Borough Council.
• Need for authority to have clearly recorded
compliance with the duties
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