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Race Equality Advisory Forum

4 The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

The Forum welcomes the significant strengthening and extension of the scope of the Race Relations Act 1976.

In particular the Forum considers that the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (the RRAA) gives a legal framework for the mainstreaming of race equality and greater clarity for the public sector as to the essential components of such a mainstreaming approach in their own work.

The Forum endorses the 2001 consultation paper's¹ statement on the key features of an organisation promoting race equality as it:

• monitors its workforce, taking steps to ensure that ethnic minorities are treated fairly;
• assesses how its policies and programmes could effect ethnic minorities, identifies any potential for adverse differential impact, and takes remedial action if necessary;
• monitors the implementation of its policies and programmes to ensure that they meet the needs of ethnic minorities; and
• has a publicly-stated policy on race equality.

These features are essential to a mainstreaming approach to building in concern for equality and race equality from the start. The new general duty is reinforced by the power for Scottish Ministers to impose specific duties on all or some public authorities bound by the general duty.

The Forum recommends that all organisations adopt a mainstreaming approach to tackling racism and promoting race equality.

The Forum recommends that Scottish Ministers adopt the framework on specific duties set out in the 2001 consultation paper and that the Executive supports and encourages the development of good practice across the public sector in Scotland to ensure that compliance with the new specific duties delivers on the Executive's commitment to promote race equality.

4.1 New positive duty to promote race equality

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000 and its main provisions came into force on 2 April 2001. The main provisions:

• outlaw race discrimination in all public authority functions, with certain, very limited exceptions, not just those previously covered by the Race Relations Act 1976; this includes private sector bodies to the extent that they are discharging public functions;
• place a general duty on specified authorities to promote race equality; and
• give powers to Government to impose specific duties on public bodies to promote race equality and to the Commission for Racial Equality to enforce those specific duties.

Schedule 1A of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 lists those public authorities subject to the new duty. There is power to add to, or remove from, that list by secondary legislation made by the Home Secretary. The schedule lists a number of key Scottish public authorities including the Scottish Administration itself, local authorities, health services, police and education. Proposals for additions to the list of public bodies subject to the general duty and for the key central public bodies for which specific duties are proposed are contained in the consultation paper published by the Home Office on a GB-wide basis in February this year. Responses to the consultation paper have been received from a wide range of consultees including Scottish-based consultees. Scottish Executive Ministers are considering the application of the new legislative framework, including the powers to impose specific duties, for devolved matters.

The general duty came into force on 2 April 2001 and the Commission for Racial Equality has issued non-statutory guidance to public bodies to help them meet their obligations under the general duty.

4.2 Specific duties

Scottish Ministers have power to impose specific duties on bodies with devolved functions. As explained in the February 2001 consultation paper it is currently envisaged that specific duties will be imposed on a number of Scottish public bodies. These include the Scottish Administration, Audit Scotland, the police, local authorities, Health Boards and Trusts, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and Scottish Further Education Funding Council. The list of those bodies subject to specific duties can be added to, or deleted from, by orders made by the Scottish Ministers. Decisions on the list of bodies and the specific duties to be imposed will be made by Ministers later this year in the light of responses to the consultation and other considerations.

The Home Secretary has powers to impose specific duties in respect of reserved bodies consistent with the reservation of equal opportunities subject to the exception in the devolution settlement.

Current thinking on the nature of specific duties to be imposed is set out in the February 2001 consultation paper. The specific duties are likely to require bodies to:

• prepare and publish a Race Equality Scheme setting out how it intends to meet its obligations under the general duty and any other proposed specific duties to promote race equality which are relevant to it;
• assess which of its functions and policies are relevant to the general duty, with regular subsequent reviews, e.g. three yearly;
• set out its arrangements for assessing and consulting on the impact on the promotion of race equality of policies it has adopted or is proposing for adoption;
• set out its arrangements for monitoring for any adverse impact on the promotion of race equality of policies it has adopted or is proposing for adoption;
• set out its arrangements for publishing the results of:
  • assessments;
  • consultations; and
  • monitoring for any adverse impact on the promotion of race equality of policies;
• set out its arrangements for ensuring ethnic minorities have access to information and to services it provides; and
• set out its arrangements for training staff on issues relevant to the duty to promote race equality.

These are complemented by proposals for specific duties in relation to the public sector as an employer discussed in this report in section 6.4.

These include duties to monitor the ethnic composition of the workforce.

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