(2) what steps she is taking to ensure that private organisations contracted to work (a) in her Department and (b) for non-Departmental public bodies and executive agencies for which her Department is responsible are aware of their duties under gender equality legislation when exercising public functions on behalf of public bodies;
(3) what plans she has to carry out gender impact assessments of her Department’s major policy developments and new legislation;
(4) what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) her Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies for which she is responsible are taking steps to meet the requirements of the forthcoming duty on public bodies (i) to end unlawful discrimination and harassment and (ii) to promote equality between women and men.
The Department will publish a single equality scheme on 4 December 2006. This scheme will incorporate a revised race equality scheme, a disability equality scheme and a draft gender equality scheme. It will also, but to a lesser extent, include equality issues around age, religion and belief and sexual orientation.
The discrimination provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 apply to both the public and private sectors. Gender equality considerations can be built into contracts between public authorities and their private sector contractors where they are relevant to the function or service being carried out.
The Department is taking an integrated approach to equality impact assessment, and all our major new policies, including those requiring legislation, will be assessed for their impact on equality in terms of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.
To assist non-departmental public bodies, our executive agencies, NHS and social care organisations and us in ensuring that private sector contractors providing goods, works or services on our behalf are aware of their obligations under the general gender equality duty we will refer to the Equal Opportunities Commission’s (EOC) Code of Practice of the Gender Equality Duty and any further EOC guidance when available.