Welsh specific public sector equality duties

Draft regulations for the Welsh specific public sector equality duties to underpin the Equality Act 2010 were laid before the National Assembly for Wales on 8 March 2011. The regulations relate to Welsh higher education institutions and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

• Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) (Regulations 2011)

Subject to the agreement of the National Assembly of Wales, the regulations will come into force on 6 April 2011.

Summary

There are a total of 20 draft regulations. These include regulations on:

• Equality objectives
• Engagement provisions
• Arrangements for collection of information about compliance with the general duty
• Impact and monitoring of policies and practices
• Training and collection of employment information
• Pay and action plans
• Strategic equality plans
• Reports by authorities on compliance with the general duty
• Public procurement

The Welsh Assembly government have published a response to the specific duties consultation, which includes details of the requirements for each of the regulations (pages 10-23).

• Welsh Assembly specific duties consultation response

Next steps

ECU will produce guidance for the higher education sector on the Welsh specific duties. We will also run events to develop and share existing knowledge within the sector on how to meet the duties.

You can find further information about the Equality Act on our dedicated Equality Act 2010 homepage.

• Equality Act 2010 homepage