Equality and diversity

The government has moved towards a wider equalities agenda of six strands, each attracting legislation and relating to the elimination of unlawful discrimination in employment and delivering of services. These developments impact on public authorities at both a local and national level.

Plymouth City Council’s approach

Plymouth City Council has taken major steps in its equalities work by:

• progressing to meet Level 2 of the Equality Standard for Local Government in 2006/2007
• revising its Race Equality Scheme
• rolling out a Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment training programme covering the six strands Embarking on an Corporate Learning and Development Equalities Programme for staff

By embracing the six equalities strands and their drivers to inform the way we provide inclusive services, in policy development and employment and to meet inspection imperatives:

Age

From October 2006 the Age (Employment) Regulations will place obligations on range of organisations in making it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of age in areas like insisting on retirement at the 65 or treating young people adversely.

Disability

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 makes it unlawful to discriminate or treat a person less favourably for a reason relating to their disability in employment, access to goods and services and the buying of land and property. The DDA 2005 extends the 1995 Act by introducing a General Duty for disability and the statutory requirement for a Disability Equality Scheme.

Faith and belief

The Employment Equality (Faith and Belief) Regulations 2003, outlaws discrimination in employment and vocational training.

Gender

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment, education, housing and providing goods, services and facilities to the public. This applies to both men and women and makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of marriage.

Race

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 strengthened and extended the Race Relations Act 1976, by introducing the race General Duty and the statutory requirement for a Race Equality Scheme. The 2000 Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin.

Sexual orientation

The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, outlaws discrimination in employment and vocational training.

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