Consultation on the Department for the Economy Draft Equality Scheme 2022-2027, Draft Audit of Inequalities and Action Plan 2022 - 2027 & Draft Disability Action Plan 2022 - 2027

Overview

Consultation

The attached questionnaire seeks your views on the Department for the Economy Draft Equality Scheme, Draft Audit of Inequalities and Action Plan 2022-2027, and Draft Disability Action Plan 2022-2027.

Responses must be received no later than 4 June 2023

Equality Scheme and Equality Duties

Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires public authorities, in carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity and regard to the desirability of promoting good relations across a range of categories as outlined below:

Section 75 (1): In carrying out the functions as they relate to Northern Ireland there is a requirement to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between:

• persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation;
• men and women generally;
• persons with a disability and persons without; and
• persons with dependants and persons without.

Section 75 (2): In addition, without prejudice to the obligations above, in carrying out the functions as they relate to Northern Ireland, the Department is required to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

Schedule 9 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires that each public authority designated under the Act must set out in an Equality Scheme how it proposes to fulfil the duties imposed by Section 75 of the Act.

Audit of Inequalities and Equality Action Plan

In April 2010 the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland published new statutory guidance, ‘Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998: A guide for Public Authorities‘. The guidance recommends that Departments and other public authorities undertake an audit of inequalities, by examining their functions and how these relate to the promotion of equality and good relations (the ‘Section 75 Good Relations duty’). The Audit of Inequalities is intended to provide a strategic picture of inequalities and to take stock of those social and economic inequalities that provide the context for Departments’ activities, and in particular, consideration of how Departments might intervene through policies, programmes and services to reduce inequalities.

It was further recommended by the Equality Commission that Departments use this information to develop and implement an action plan to address inequalities relative to their functions. The action plan is also intended as a basis for monitoring performance on equality measures, and for annual reporting to the Equality Commission.

Disability Action Plan

Under Section 49A of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995) (as amended by Article 5 of the Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006), public bodies are required, when carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to:

• promote positive attitudes towards disabled people; and
• encourage participation by disabled people in public life.

These are collectively referred to as the ‘disability duties'.

Under Section 49B of the DDA 1995, the Department is required to submit a Disability Action Plan to the Equality Commission, showing how it proposes to fulfil these duties in relation to its functions.

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What happens next

Thank you for completing the survey.  In certain circumstances we may wish to contact you for clarification or expansion depending on the information you have provided in your response.