A government priority and public sector requirement

Investigating the impacts on equality groups is now a statutory responsibility. EqIAs originated from the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, which placed a requirement on public authorities to assess and consult on the likely impact of proposals on race equality. This was supported by the introduction of the Equality Standard for Local Government in 2001 (a revised Standard was published in October 2007). The Standard was a voluntary best value performance indicator for adoption by local authorities, developed jointly by the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the DIALOG unit of the Employers’ Organisation for Local Government.

Undertaking EqIAs is now a statutory responsibilityThe Disability Discrimination Act in 2005 and the Equality Act (2006) served to further strengthen equality policy and place a responsibility on public authorities to mainstream equalities considerations in policy making and conduct robust assessments. At the end of 2006 the Disability Equality Duty (DED) also came into force, placing a responsibility on all public bodies to pay ’due regard’ to the promotion of equality for disabled people in every area of their work.

The equalities agenda continues to gain prominence, with proposals for a Single Equality Bill published in June 2007. The pronounced objective of the Bill is to simplify and streamline the discrimination legislative framework, harmonising the existing key pieces of legislation. It is expected that this will help in tackling persistent inequalities more consistently and produce better outcomes for those who currently experience disadvantage