ability issues. For more see Enforcing the duty.
There is an issue whether the Localism Bill (link to EHRC briefing) may to some extent lessen the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The PSED is in addition to the body's obligations under the normal Equality Act rules relating to employment, provision of services, exercise of public functions and education etc. These are the 'individual rights' which form the bulk of the Equality Act, ie they are aimed at creating rights for individuals who have been discriminated against. Where these individual rights apply, it will normally make sense not to focus only on the PSED. (See above What is covered for some idea of the overlap between the PSED and other duties). Although the PSED can be helpful, the authority may well have breached an individual right anyway, such as the obligation to make reasonable adjustments in respect of services or public functions.
A particular strength of the PSED is in requiring disability to be taken into account at the outset when making decisions rather than after the event. Remember though that even without the PSED, the reasonable adjustment duty in respect of services and public functions, for example, is 'anticipatory', even though it can be claimed as an individual right. So authorities - and other service providers - are required to consider needs of disabled people even before a particular individual presents themself. (This can also be the effect of the prohibition on indirect discrimiation, another individual right.) The PSED and individual rights under other parts of the Equality Act may complement each other.
Even if there is no 'anticipatory' obligation, a disabled person may have an individual right under the Equality Act whether or not the PSED applies.
Under previous legislation there were separate equality duties on public bodies. These covered race, disability and gender. The duty relating to disability, the 'Disability Equality Duty', had been in effect since December 2006. These separate duties have now been replaced by a single Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under EqA s.149ff, from 5th April 2011 (SI 2011/1066).
As well as race, disability and gender, this single PSED also covers age, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation, and to a limited extent marriage and civil partnership.
Apart from the new duty now covering these other grounds of discrimination, the main change under Equality Act 2010 is to the content of the 'specific duties' (see above), which previously required authorities to produce 'equality schemes'.
The Order which brought the new single PSED into effect from 5th April 2011 is SI 2011/1066 (link to legislation.gov.uk).
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Last updated 13th September, 2011 (part update 16th January, 2013)