Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty in respect of (1) undertaking, and (2) publishing, Equality Impact Assessments on Government policies.
The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a world leading policy that places a proactive equality duty on public bodies, and those exercising public functions, to consider the potential effects of key decisions on groups with protected characteristics. Government departments are each individually responsible for ensuring their compliance with the PSED.
Assessments of significant policy and operational changes are routinely undertaken by Departments and other public bodies as part of PSED compliance. There is however no statutory requirement to publish assessments and decisions on publication are a matter for the public body concerned, given the particular circumstances.