The public sector Equality Duty is made up of a general Equality Duty which is supported by specific duties. The general Equality Duty requires public authorities, such as local councils, to have due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act.
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
- Foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it.
Although there is no explicit legal requirement to collect and use equality information across the protected characteristics, we are required to understand the impact of our policies and practices on people with protected characteristics. Collecting and analysing equality information is an important way for us to develop our understanding.
This collecting and collating of information, and its analysis, is a continuous process through our Joint Intelligence Unit and our Change Programmme. Ensuring that equality intelligence is relevant, comprehensive and up to date is a challenge to all public bodies. The links below describe the evidence we are using, the processes we are utilising and our ongoing development work.
