Equality Act and Public Sector Equality Duty
The Equality Act, which came into force in October 2010, replaces previous anti-discrimination laws with a single act to make the law simpler and to remove inconsistencies. This makes the law easier for people to understand and comply with.
The act also strengthened protection in some areas including:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation.
The act says that these nine characteristics cannot be used as a reason to treat people unfairly.
The Equality Act sets out the different ways in which it is unlawful to treat someone, such as:
- direct and indirect discrimination
- harassment
- victimisation
- failing to make a reasonable adjustment for a disabled person.
The act prohibits unfair treatment in the workplace, when providing:
- goods, facilities and services
- exercising public functions
- housing letting and leasing
- in education
- by associations such as private clubs.
The Public Sector Equality Duty requires us as a public body to have 'due regard' to:
- eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act
- advance equality of opportunity
- foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who don’t.
The Duty also requires us to take into account disabled people's impairments, when making decisions about policies and services, as the law recognises that disabled people’s needs may be different from the needs of non-disabled people.
Statutory Equality Objectives and our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2021 - 2024
At least every four years we have to produce at least one or more equality objectives and these are in our Equality, Dignity and Respect Policy.
We have produced a Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan to help us manage our objectives.
Statutory Equality Information about our Workforce
Every year we need to produce a set of employment statistics to demonstrate how we are doing in employing a diverse workforce.
Statutory Equality Information about putting the Public Sector Equality Duty into practice
Every year we need to produce a report on how we are implementing the Equality Act's Public Sector Equality Duty.
The information for 2023/24 can be found in the statutory equality information report - 2023/24.
School Accessibility Strategy
Our School Accessibility Strategy 2019-2022, that we need to produce under the Equality Act 2010, sets out how we will increase access to education for disabled pupils in our schools by:
- increasing disabled people's access to the curriculum
- improving the environment in schools by removing physical barriers faced by disabled pupils, so they can access education and associated services
- improving the way we present information to disabled people so that it is accessible.
The Strategy applies to disabled pupils:
- who are in schools now
- in the school system, but at an earlier stage
- who are not yet in the school system, but we, as well as other agencies already know about them.
The Strategy is for schools, governors, parents/carers, professionals and members of the local community. It will help in producing individual school access plans developed with disabled children and young people and implemented by each school.