Equalities watchdog issues guides on considering equality in policy making, and on Public Sector Equality duty and data protection

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued a 10-step guide for public bodies in England on how to consider equality in policy making.

The watchdog has also published guidance for public authorities in England, Scotland and Wales explaining the relationship between the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and data protection law.

The first document, How to consider equality in policy making: A 10-step guide for public bodies in England, is intended for public authorities and organisations delivering a public function in England.

In the introduction the EHRC notes that a public function may be carried out by private and voluntary organisations, for example, when a private company manages a prison, or a when a voluntary organisation takes on responsibilities for child protection.

The watchdog says the guide is primarily targeted at people in public bodies who develop new policies, or review the effectiveness and impact of existing policies.

It adds, however, that it may also be “useful for people who:

  • make decisions on introducing new and existing policies (for example, councillors, board members and ministers)
  • review how other public bodies consider equality within their work (for example, regulators, inspectorates and ombuds).”

The EHRC says the guide will help organisations comply with the PSED as set out in the Equality Act 2010.

The watchdog adds that the guide includes:

  • practical guidance on how to comply with the law and how to demonstrate best practice
  • tips and reminders on legal principles
  • advice on how to keep equality considerations relevant and proportionate
  • examples to illustrate how organisations can implement the steps in the guide.

The 10 steps discussed in the document are:

  • Step 1. Define a clear policy proposal
  • Step 2. Gather evidence to inform your initial equality screening and record your conclusions
  • Step 3. Draw up plans for monitoring and reporting on actual impact
  • Step 4. Gather further evidence if needed
  • Step 5. Use all evidence to inform your full equality considerations and record equality impact
  • Step 6. Finalise your equality considerations and produce your actions, monitoring and reporting plans
  • Step 7. Present relevant information to your decision makers and record decision
  • Step 8. Collect evidence to monitor actual impact
  • Step 9. Update equality considerations
  • Step 10. Present your updated equality considerations to your decision makers and record the decision

“The amount of time and resource your organisation puts into considering the equality impact of a particular policy must be proportionate to its potential impact on people with protected characteristics and its relevance to the three aims of the PSED. This 10-step guide will help you achieve this,” the EHRC says.

Separate guidance has previously been published for public bodies in Wales and Scotland.

The EHRC’s second document, The Public Sector Equality Duty and data protection, provides advice for public authorities in England, Scotland and Wales that are legally required to publish equality information under the specific equality duties.

It covers:

  • The Public Sector Equality Duty
  • Specific duties for listed public authorities
  • Data Protection
  • Collecting personal information for public sector equality duty purposes
  • Processing equality information lawfully under equality and data protection law
  • Further information

The guide also includes a case study on the Dutch benefit scandal, when as many as 26,000 individuals were wrongly accused of child benefit fraud over a period of six years.

This followed the Dutch tax authorities’ use of new predictive AI-based technology to identify benefit fraud.

“This has led to unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, nationality and religion. It has had serious consequences for both individuals and institutions,” the EHRC says.

John Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:  “Artificial intelligence and new digital technologies have the potential to transform delivery of the public services we all rely on. While these emerging technologies can improve service delivery and reduce costs, we also know that AI can perpetuate bias and discrimination when it’s implemented poorly.

“It is essential that public bodies carefully consider both the positive and the negative impacts the introduction of AI could have on service users with protected characteristics. This will help prevent unlawful discrimination and ensure real benefits are delivered for communities across Britian.

“We want to help the public sector to understand how they can utilise AI responsibly, while complying with the PSED and data protection legislation. The package of guidance we have published today will support public sector bodies to navigate these challenges by assessing and addressing the equality impact of their policies”.
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