ired to be proactive in advancing disability equality, and indeed other forms of equality.
The idea is that disability should be 'mainstreamed'. Disabled people and disability equality should be taken into account from the outset, rather than focusing on individualised responses to specific disabled people. Mainstreaming should help identify from the start unnecessary barriers to equal participation for disabled people, as well as encouraging authorities to take 'positive action' measures where permitted.
The general duty, ie. to have 'due regard', applies to most public bodies, for example central and local government, schools, universites, hospitals and the police. Private companies and voluntary sector organisations are also subject to the general duty so far as they perform a public function. See PSED: General Duty: What bodies are covered by the general duty?. The specific duties are somewhat more limited but should cover most major public bodies.
In the main, the general duty applies to all functions of public bodies, as well as the public functions of private bodies. Some examples include (but are not limited to):
Like the Disability Equality Duty before it, the Public Sector Equality Duty has two parts. First there is the 'general duty'. In broad terms, this obliges public authorities to have due regard to the need to:
The courts have taken the approach the general duty is an important duty which public authorities need to observe, and there are numerous cases in which authorities have been taken to task for failing to do so. For more, see PSED: General Duty.
The second part of the Public Sector Equality Duty is the 'specific' duties. These are designed to support performance of the general duty, and are set out in regulations.
Before April 2011 the 'specific duties' required authorities to produce equality schemes. Those rules no longer apply.
The purpose of the [specific duty] regulations is to help public bodies in the better performance of the equality duty - we should not lose sight of that key point during the debate. The general duty is the key provision, which is in place and is broader than previous duties. The specific duties are designed simply to help public bodies to perform the general duty better.
Lynne Featherstone MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Equalities, 11th July 2011 (link to Hansard).
There are different specific duties for bodies in different areas of Great Britain:
Technically, the question is whether the body is listed in EqA Schedule 19 Part 1 (England and non-devolved bodies) Part 2 (Wales), or Part 3 (Scotland) - see below Schedule 19.
Schedule 19 of the Equality Act 2010 lists authorities which are subject to the general duty and can, by regulations, be subjected to 'specific duties'. The general duty goes beyond bodies listed in Schedule 19 in that it also covers companies etc carrying out public functions, but 'specific duties' can only be imposed on bodies listed in Schedule 19. For an unoffical version of the Schedule, including later additions up to April 2011, see Schedule 19 Equality Act 2010, consolidated April 2011 (link to homeoffice.gov.uk/equalities).
Whether the 'specific duties' of an authority are determined by regulations of the Westminster government (English and non-devolved bodies), the Welsh Government or Scottish Government depends on whether the authority is listed in Part 1, 2 or 3 respectively of Schedule 19. This Schedule as amended also has a Part 4 listing 'cross-border authorities'; which government makes regulations for these is designated by a code letter next to the name of the authority, according to EqA s.154.
The courts have been willing to see the PSED, particularly the general duty, as an important obligation with which authorities must comply. It is possible for an individual or organisation to bring an action for judicial review, and the EHRC can enforce the duties. Much more often, however, the duties will be used outside a court context as a basis to question, or complain to an authority about, its lack of regard to dis