Summary
A substantial body of equality legislation has been introduced over the last four decades but such legislation has become complex and difficult to understand.
This publication, 'Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill (Cm. 7431)', sets out the Government's aims for the forthcoming Equality Bill, which will simplify and strengthen the law and introduce a new Equality Duty on the public sector.
The Bill will replace the three existing duties on race, disability, and gender and extend to gender reassignment, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. It will also contain powers to outlaw unjustifiable age discrimination. There will be further consultation on the design of the legislation before the new legal protections are introduced.
Transparency is essential in tackling discrimination and public bodies will have to comply with the new Equality Duty over gender pay, ethnic minority, and disability employment. The Government will work with business to improve transparency in the private sector.
The Bill will extend the scope of positive action so that employers can take account - when selecting between two equally qualified candidates - of under-representation of disadvantaged groups. Permission to use women-only shortlists for parliamentary candidates will be extended to 2030 and non-legislative measures to increase the number of ethnic minority elected representatives in Parliament and local councils will be pursued.
Finally, the Bill will aim to strengthen enforcement. Tribunals will be allowed to make wider recommendations in discrimination cases, which will go beyond benefiting the individual and consider benefits for the rest of the workforce of the employer found to have discriminated.
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