Equality and Human Rights Commission

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Equality and Human Rights Commission

• Neil Martin
• Regional Advisor, Yorkshire Humber

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The Commissions remit

• reduce inequality and discrimination in all its
  forms
• promote and protect human rights, and
• strengthen good relations

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EHRC work

• Equality Bill
• Human Rights Inquiry Strategy
• Legal cases BNP
• Research migrant workers social housing
• Guidance Challenging organised racial hatred
• Inquiries targeted violence harassment of
  disabled people
• Strategic Funding Programme
• Good Relations Measurement Framework
• Triennial Review
• Regional work priorities

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The Equality Bill

• Declutter the law on equality
• Currently 9 major pieces of legislation
• About 100 statutory instruments
• more than 2,500 pages of guidance statutory
  codes of practice.
• Ensure public services are responsive to the
  needs of communities and promote equality
• Ensure greater transparency
• Election?

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Equality Bill

• Protected characteristics
• Age, disability, gender, gender identity, race,
  religion or belief, sexual orientation
• Dual discrimination clause
• Public sector duties
• Socio-economic duty
• Procurement
• Positive discrimination
• Gender pay gap pay reporting

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Public Sector Duty

• A public authority must have due regard to the
  need to
• eliminate discrimination, harassment,
  victimisation
• advance equality of opportunity between persons
  who share a relevant protected characteristic and
  persons who do not share it
• foster good relations between persons who share a
  relevant protected characteristic and persons who
  do not share it
• Having due regard to foster good relations
  involves having due regard, in particular, to the
  need to
• tackle prejudice, and
• promote understanding
• A person who is not a public authority but who
  exercises public functions must, in the exercise
  of those functions, have due regard to the duties

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Public Sector Duty

• Focus on outcomes
• Equality Impact Assessments
• Specific duties
• Secondary legislation
• GEO consultation

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Socio-economic Duty

• Strategic public authorities to consider
  socioeconomic disadvantage in
• Planning
• monitoring of the services
• Tackle some of most deep rooted discrimination

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Equality Bill Key Dates

• Bill in House of Lords Committee stage
• Spring 2010
• expect to be enacted
• Summer 2010
• GEO consultations on secondary legislation
• October 2010
• Commencement employment services / public
  functions
• April 2011
• Commencement Public Sector Equality Duty /
  procurement
• Current duties still apply

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Equality Bill EHRC Guidance

• Non Statutory Guidance
• Whats New In the Act
• Employment Guidance for Employers Employees
• Services and Public Functions Guidance for
  Providers Users
• The Equality Act for Public Bodies
• Equality in the Public Sector for Individuals,
  Private and Third Sector Organisations

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Equality Bill EHRC Guidance

• Codes of Practice
• Employment Occupation
• Services Public Functions
• Equal Pay
• Education
• Public Sector Equality Duty
• Consultation
• www.equalityhumanrights.com/legislative-framework/
  equality-bill/equality-bill-consultations/
• Non-Statutory Guidance consultation event 31st
  March 2010

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Contacts

• Yorkshire Humber
• neil.martin_at_equalityhumanrights.com
• Tel [phone]
• khalida.ashrafi_at_equalityhumanrights.com
• michaela.bartlett_at_equalityhumanrights.com
• Helpline 0845 6046610

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Building a society built on fairness and respect
where people are confident in all aspects of
their diversity.