Disability in the new Equality Duty

Disability in the new Equality Duty Caroline Gooding Equality Consultant

I will discuss: • How has the Equality Duty changed? • What do we know was good about the disability equality duty? • How can groups and individuals get the best out of the new Equality Duty?

Single Equality Act 2010 New Equality Duty will bring together the three existing duties (disability, race and gender) and extend to: • gender reassignment, • age, • pregnancy and maternity, • sexual orientation and • religion or belief

As before • General equality duty: in the Equality Act, requiring authorities to have “due regard” to equality in carrying out functions • Specific duties: to be introduced by regulations, applying to smaller number of authorities, to assist compliance with general duty

Time table • Consultation on specific duties closes 10 November • Draft statutory Code • New duty in force April 2011 • Setting equality objectives April 2012 Disability Equality Duties remain in force until Equality Duty comes in.

New Equality Duty will retain the three broad “limbs” of the existing duties: • eliminating unlawful discrimination and harassment; • advancing equality of opportunity; and • advancing good relations between different groups.

The Act says that advancing equality of opportunity involves in particular the need to: (a) remove or minimise disadvantage (b) take steps to meet the needs of people who share a protected characteristic (c) encourage people who share a protected characteristic to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation is disproportionately low.

The Act says that steps to meet disabled people’s needs • Includes in particular steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities

The Act says that fostering good relations requires in particular: • Tackling prejudice • Promoting understanding

Who is covered by the general equality duty? • Public authorities listed in the Act – and by subsequent regulations • Other bodies (public, private or voluntary) in the exercise of ‘public functions’

Current disability equality duties • Involve disabled people in developing Disability Equality Scheme • Publish scheme • Demonstrate have taken actions in scheme (unless it would be unreasonable and impractical to do so) • Report on progress • Review and revise scheme

Disability Equality Scheme must set out: • How an authority intends to fulfill its duties • Statement of involvement of disabled people in its development • Statement of equality impact assessment methods • Action plan • Evidence gathering: employment; educational opportunities; services and other functions - extent to which they take into account disabled people’s needs

Secretary of State duty – Disability only Overview of the progress made by public authorities in their policy sector in relation to disability equality, setting out proposals for co-ordination of action by public authorities in that policy sector to further progress on disability equality

Proposed specific dutiesPublic authorities must: • Set equality outcome objectives – and review at least every 4 years • Publish equality data annually Equality Act 2010: The public sector equality duty Promoting equality through transparencyAugust 2010

What equality outcome objectives must be set? • one or more objectives which the authority reasonably thinks that it should achieve in order to further one or more of the aims set out in the general equality duty • must be specific and measurable; and authorities should set out how progress towards the objective(s) will be measured

Public bodies with more than 150 employees must publish employment data in relation to ‘the protected characteristics of employees’ • Code and guidance will provide further guidance on which information should be published by different types of public bodies. • The Government “expect this to include data on important inequalities such as ..the distribution of disabled employees throughout an organisation’s structure.”

Authorities must also publish • assessments of the equality impacts of its policies and practices, and the likely impact of its proposed policies and practices and the information taken into account in such assessments • details of any engagement with persons it considered interested in the general equality duty

In place of regulation… • “Our focus on transparency means that citizens themselves will be able to judge, challenge, applaud and hold to account public bodies in their performance of both the general duty and the specific duties. This new emphasis means that public bodies will be democratically accountable, and that citizens and representative groups will engage with public bodies in ensuring that they fulfil the aims of the Equality Duty.”

Lessons from RADAR’s ‘Achieving Equality for Disabled People in the Public Sector’ “Through this project we found that there are three elements of the duty which are clearly having an impact on the performance of public sector organisations in relation to disability equality. These are: • Involving disabled people • A clear focus on actions and outcomes • Mainstreaming disability equality through equality impact assessments

Making practice happen EHRC 2009 • The Secretary of States’ specific duty to report on disability across each sector has created a significant shift in central government’s understanding and response to disability equality.

Get the best out of new Equality Duty • Comment on draft regulations: • Comment on statutory Code • Work with organizations on objectives – keep up good practice involvement • Use general duty

Enforcement The General Equality Duty can be enforced by any individual with a particular interest, through applying to the courts for a judicial review or through an enforcement notice issued by the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Only the EHRC can enforce compliance with the specific duty.

General Disability Equality Duty cases • R (on application of Chavda and Others) v Harrow LBC 2007 • R (on the application of Lunt and another) v Liverpool City Council 2009

Disability in the new Equality Duty