Equalities – A Glossary
Comprehensive Equality Scheme
A published document, revised every 3 years, setting out an organisation’s legal obligations
and good practice, together with actions to maintain and improve its service delivery and
employment performance. “Comprehensive” means to include all of the equality strands.
Disability Equality Duty
The Disability Equality Duty came into force on 4 December 2006. This legal duty requires
all public bodies to actively look at ways of ensuring that disabled people are treated equally.
Most public authorities in Britain are also covered by specific duties to promote disability
equality.
Disability Equality – Specific Duties
Most public authorities in Britain are covered by specific duties to promote disability equality.
A statutory code of practice includes guidance for public authorities on meeting the specific
duties. Authorities must publish disability equality schemes that set out how they will carry
out the general duty, including:
 a statement of how they involve disabled people in developing their schemes
 an action plan setting out the steps they will take to promote equality and meet the
general duty
 arrangements for gathering information about their performance on disability equality
 arrangements for assessing the impact of their policies on disability equality and
ways to improve these when necessary
 details of how they are using the information gathered, in particular in reviewing the
effectiveness of their action plan and preparing subsequent schemes.
Within three years of the scheme being published, public authorities must take the steps set
out in their action plans (unless it is unreasonable or impracticable for them to do so) and put
into effect the arrangements for gathering and making use of information.
Public authorities must also publish a report containing a summary of the steps taken under
their action plans, the results of their information gathering and the use to which they have
put the information.
Equalities Forum
The Northumberland National Park Authority Equalities Forum was established in May 2008.
Forum members, while having particular equality strand interests, are asked to consider all
strands and act as the main (but not necessarily the only) means of consultation and
community scrutiny on diversity and equality issues.
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Equalities – A Glossary
The forum will:
 provide external accountability for the Authority’s Comprehensive Equality Scheme
 work with the Authority and inform the equality planning process
 participate in improvement to service design, delivery and scrutiny
Equality Impact Assessment
The purpose of an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is to improve the work of the Authority
by making sure that services/functions, policies, procedures and practices do not
discriminate and that, where possible, they promote equality. The process is carried out by
systematically analysing a proposed or existing service/function, policy, procedure or
practice to identify what effect, or likely effect, it will have on different groups in the
community. The process is described and documentation provided within the Authority’s
Comprehensive Equality Scheme. Completed assessments are published on the Authority’s
website.
Equalities Steering Group
The Northumberland National Park Authority Equalities Steering Group is chaired by Steve
Gray, Finance and Human Resources Officer. The other members are Derek Proudlock,
Operations Manager (South); Duncan Wise, Visitor Development Manager and Neil Milburn,
Admin.Officer (Equalities). The main remit of the Steering Group is to co-ordinate and assist
in the mainstreaming of all Authority activity in relation to diversity and equality issues. There
is a “terms of reference” which expands on this.
Equality Standard
The Equality Standard for Local Government was established in 2001 and revised in March
2007. It provides a way of working in local authorities that makes the mainstreaming of
equality into service delivery and employment an issue for all aspects of the authority’s work.
By working through the Standard local authorities will be able to identify disadvantage
associated with age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation and set
targets to eliminate the barriers that create that disadvantage.
Equality Standard – levels
There are 5 level of achievement:
1. Commitment to a comprehensive equality policy
2. Assessment and community engagement
3. Setting equality objectives and targets
4. Information systems and monitoring against targets
5. Achieving and reviewing outcomes
Equality Strands (or Diversity Strands)
These are the six commonly used classifications for examining equality and diversity issues:
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Age
Disability
Gender
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Equalities – A Glossary
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Race
Religion or belief
Sexual Orientation
Gender Equality Duty
The gender equality duty is a legal obligation which came into force in April 2007. It was
introduced by the Equality Act 2006, which in turn amended the Sex Discrimination Act
1975.
The gender equality duty requires public authorities to promote equality between men and
women and eliminate unlawful sex discrimination. Instead of depending on individuals
making complaints about sex discrimination, the duty places the legal responsibility on public
sector organisations, authorities and institutions to demonstrate that they actively promote
equality between men and women. The duty affects policy making, public services such as
transport, and employment practices such as recruitment and flexible working.
Gender Equality – Specific Duties
Public authorities with a duty to publish a gender equality scheme also have a range of
specific duties that help them to meet their general duty to promote gender equality. The
statutory code of practice for England and Wales summarises the duties as follows:
 To prepare and publish a gender equality scheme, showing how the public authority
will meet its general and specific duties, and setting out its gender equality
objectives.
 In formulating its overall objectives, to consider the need to include objectives to
address the causes of any gender pay gap.
 To gather and use information on how its policies and practices affect gender
equality in the workforce and in the delivery of services.
 To consult stakeholders (that is, employees, service users and others, including trade
unions) and take account of relevant information in order to determine its gender
equality objectives.
 To assess the impact of its current and proposed policies and practices on gender
equality.
 To implement the actions set out in its gender equality scheme within three years,
unless it is unreasonable or impracticable to do so.
 To report against the scheme every year and review the scheme at least every three
years.
Race Equality Duty
In 2001, the Race Relations Act was amended to give public authorities a new statutory duty
to promote race equality. The aim is to help public authorities to provide fair and accessible
services, and to improve equal opportunities in employment.
Note: this duty does not apply to National Park Authorities. However, Northumberland
National Park Authority has agreed to work with the duty as if it did apply.
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Equalities – A Glossary
Self Assessment
“Self assessment” has the normal meaning that local authorities are used to – for example in
assessing themselves against a framework such as NPAPA (National Park Authorities
Performance Assessment). In the case of the Equality Standard, local authorities can selfassess at levels 1 and 2, but require external validation at level 3. The Equality Steering
Group is responsible for self-assessment.
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