Single equality schemes

This page outlines what a single equality scheme is, why organisations may consider developing a single scheme and what it can cover.

• Background
• General duties
• Specific duties

Background

Public sector equality duties are central to new and existing legislation around race, disability and gender. With the move towards a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights, organisations are increasingly required to demonstrate how outcomes will be measured and inequalities removed. In particular, how they will assess the impact of policies, strategies and action plans on the local population or the workforce.

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General duties

Many organisations are opting to develop single equality schemes, which bring together their responses to all three duties covering race, disability and gender. It also addresses other areas such as religion, belief, age and sexual orientation. This may have advantages such as identifying and responding to issues of multiple discrimination.

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Specific duties

In addition to the general duty, current equalities legislation places additional specific duties on public sector organisations. A key requirement of all these duties is to produce Race, Disability and Gender Equality Schemes.

Equality schemes should set out the actions the organisation has taken or intends to take in relation to equality. Equality schemes are also an opportunity for organisations to demonstrate how they will:

• meet the implications of the general and specific duties
• involve and consult with appropriate stakeholders
• gather information which is relevant and use it to review the implementation of the scheme objectives
• assess the impact of current and future functions and policies on equality
• implement the actions as stated in the scheme