Response to public sector equality duty: reducing bureaucracy
Commission's response to Government Equalities Office (GEO) policy review paper regarding the specific duties of the public sector equality duty
Equality Act 2010: The public sector equality duty: reducing bureaucracy
Summary
The Commission submitted a formal response to the governments earlier proposals for draft regulations for the specific duties. Our position remains largely unchanged therefore we do not propose to repeat this in detail here, but to focus on the substantive changes to the draft regulations.
In summary, it is our view that the new proposals:
- are likely to increase bureaucratic burdens on public bodies due to the even greater ambiguity of the legal requirements compared to the previous proposals;
- will not help drive better equality outcomes as the practical steps that support the delivery of this change have been weakened further; and,
- will reduce transparency and accountability to citizens, the primary drivers of change and intended beneficiaries.
There is also a significant risk that the lack of clarity will leave public bodies at risk of increased challenge, including through judicial review.
> Download our response in full (Word)
> Download the policy review paper on the GEO website
> More about the public sector equality duty
Last Updated: 21 Apr 2011