This report (Cm. 7455, ISBN 9780101745529) sets out the Government's progress against the Ministers for Women priorities, as set out in July 2007. The priorities concerned the following areas: (1) supporting women and families who are caring for children and elderly relatives; (2) tackling violence against women and changing the way women offenders are treated; (3) increasing the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women. The report also outlines activity which the Ministers for Women and Equality and Ministerial colleagues intend to make a reality before the end of the current Parliament. For the original report, Priorities for the Ministers for Women, see (Cm. 7183, ISBN 9780101718325).
This document sets out the Government's response to the Committee's report (HCP 468, session 2006-07, ISBN 9780215035820) into equality issues, including the establishment of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the introduction of the Equality Bill, the priorities of the Minister for Women, the Equalities Review and the Equalities Public Service Agreement.
This document sets out the Government's aims for the forthcoming Equality Bill. A substantial body of equality legislation has been introduced over the last four decades, but the legislation has become complex and hard to understand. The Equality Bill will declutter and strengthen the law. The Bill will introduce a new Equality Duty on the public sector, replacing the three existing duties on race, disability and gender and extending to gender reassignment, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. The Bill will contain powers to outlaw unjustifiable age discrimination, but there will be further consultation on the design of the legislation before the new legal protections are introduced. Transparency is essential to tackling discrimination, and public bodies will have to comply with the Equality Duty over gender pay, ethnic minority employment 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, under-representation of disadvantaged groups. Permission to use women-only shortlists for parliamentary candidates will be extended to 2030. 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 benefitting the individual taking the case so that there are benefits for the rest of the workforce of the employer found to have discriminated. A more comprehensive paper on the content of the Bill will be published shortly.
Government response to the Speaker's Conference (on Parliamentary Representation), session 2009-10, HC 239-I & II, (ISBN 9780215543141). Dated March 2010
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