WELSH PEOPLE GIVE VIEWS TO MINISTER ON EQUALITY BILL

1st September 2009

Local organisations, businesses and charities from across Wales will today find out about the new Equality Bill from Michael Foster, Parliamentary Secretary for Equality, and give their views on important new equality measures.

Delegates at the event at the Marriott Hotel in Cardiff will include Cardiff Council, Enterprise Rent A Car and Age Concern Cymru.

The Bill, introduced in April by Minister for Women and Equality Harriet Harman, sets out groundbreaking new laws which will help narrow the gap between rich and poor; require business to report on gender pay; outlaw age discrimination[1]; and significantly strengthen Britain’s anti-discrimination legislation.

The Equality Bill will also give new powers to Welsh Ministers to place requirements on Welsh public bodies to fulfil the new Equality Duty, for example by setting equality objectives such as to increase the number of women in senior management, or reporting on inequalities like gender pay gap.

Public bodies already have to consider how their spending decisions, employment practices, and services they provide affect people according to their race, disability, or gender. The new Equality Duty will extend this to also cover age, sexual orientation, and religion or belief, so that more people get fairer opportunities and better public services.

Michael Foster said:

“Despite considerable progress, inequality and discrimination still exist in our society: in Wales women are paid on average 20.5% per cent less per hour than men, and the unemployment rate for disabled people is nearly twice as high as that of non-disabled.

“I welcome the Welsh Assembly’s consultation on their plans for Welsh specific equality duties, and am pleased that we have a shared agenda on making the Bill work.

”Today’s event will give people the opportunity to find out what the Equality Bill means for their organisations, and, importantly, it will give us feedback from the people who will be putting the measures into practice.”

In Wales, there are around 600,000 people aged over retirement age, over 1,500 000 women, around 240,000 disabled people and 68 000 Black and Asian people, who will benefit from the legislation.

The Bill will make it unlawful to discriminate against someone aged 18 or over because of their age when providing services or carrying out public functions. The ban could mean that an older person is offered lifestyle advice after suffering a heart attack, which may currently only be offered to younger people.

The Bill will also introduce measures which will shine a spotlight on hidden inequalities in gender pay by, for example, banning ‘secrecy clauses’ (which exist in nearly a quarter of workplaces and prevent colleagues from comparing their wages) and enabling requirements to be placed on public and private bodies to report on their gender pay gap.

The Equality Bill will strengthen our equality law by:

1. Introducing a new public sector duty to consider reducing socio-economic inequalities;

2. Putting a new Equality Duty on public bodies;

3. Using public procurement to improve equality;

4. Banning age discrimination outside the workplace;

5. Introducing gender pay reports;

6. Protecting people from being discriminated against because of two protected characteristics combined, for example black women.

7. Extending the scope to use positive action;

8. Strengthening the powers of employment tribunals;

9. Protecting carers from discrimination;

10. Offering new mothers stronger protection when breastfeeding;

11. Banning discrimination in private clubs; and

12. Strengthening protection from discrimination for disabled people.

‘Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill’ can be downloaded at www.equalities.gov.uk

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Please contact the Government Equalities Office press office on 0207 276 0988.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

• The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the Government’s overall strategy, legislation and priorities on equality issues. It was established in October 2007. The Office also has direct responsibility for policy on gender equality, sexual orientation, and for integrating work on race.
• The Equality Bill will simplify the law which, over the last four decades, has become complex and difficult to navigate. Nine major pieces of legislation and around 100 other measures will be replaced by a single Act to make it easier for individuals and employers to understand their legal rights and obligations.
• The Equality Bill will replace the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, much of the Equality Act 2006, the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, and the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 (where applicable, as subsequently amended), plus other ancillary pieces of legislation.
• Age discrimination is already banned in the workplace.

[1] Aged 18 or over, outside of the workplace