The Public Sector Equality Duty and Equality Impact Assessments

The Public Sector Equality Duty and Equality Impact Assessments
House of Commons Library Briefing 8 July 2020

• This briefing outlines the Public Sector Equality Duty contained in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which requires public authorities to have due regard to several equality considerations when exercising their functions.
• Section 149 replaced pre-existing duties concerning race, disability and sex. It extended coverage to the additional “protected characteristics” of age, gender reassignment, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation and, in certain circumstances, marriage and civil partnership.
• This briefing also provides an overview of Equality Impact Assessments. These are assessments that public authorities often carry out prior to implementing policies, with a view to predicting their impact on equality. The Equality Act 2010 does not specifically require them to be carried out, although they are a way of facilitating and evidencing compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Health equity - resources and guidance collection

Health equity
PHE and others January 2018 (ongoing updates)

• Evidence, resources and guidance to help support national, regional and local areas to reduce health inequalities.
• See the guide to the collection and description of the "social gradient" across health inequalities here.
• Contents include
• Guidance for system wide approaches to reduce health inequalities
• Children and young people
• Work, health and inclusive growth
• Healthy places
• Community engagement and asset based approaches
• Prevention and early treatment
• Economics and health equity
• Inclusion health
• Data and intelligence reports on health inequalities
• Public sector equality duty

Equality in procurement - guidance

Buying better outcomes: Mainstreaming equality considerations in procurement: a guide for public authorities in England 
Equality and Human Rights Commission, March 2013

• Guidance that explains how public authorities may approach the task of ensuring that they comply with the public sector equality duty (PSED) obligations at different stages of the procurement cycle and takes you through equality issues that you may need to consider at each stage

Public Sector Equality Duty for CCGs

CCG: Compliance With the Legal Equality Duties v0.04 
NHS Commissioning Board, March 2013

• Timeframes for CCGs to meet the specific duties of the public sector Equality Duty  (PSED). 
• Information to demonstrate compliance with the public sector Equality Duty must be published annually starting by 31 January 2014 and equality objectives at least every four years starting by 13 October 2013.