Equality Act - Specific Duties

The Scottish Government have now released a revised draft of the specific equality duties for public bodies in Scotland.

The full consultation is available from the Scottish Government.

Every public authority is under a duty to eliminate discrimination, advance equality and foster good relations between the different protected characteristics. This is known as the ‘General Duty’. The regulations impose ‘Specific Duties’ that a public authority must follow in order to best perform the general duty.

The first draft was withdrawn as many people felt it wasn’t sufficiently robust to uphold and promote equality in Scotland. The revised draft contains some changes, with the main difference being that many of the regulations are now more explicit in what they are asking public authorities to do. 

The consultation runs until 25th November. SDEF will look to carry out further consultation during this period. If you are interested in being involved with further work on the Specific Duties then please feel free to leave your contact details when you complete our online survey. 

The main changes are outlined in our SDEF briefing. 

We are keen to make responding as easy as possible.

• Please fill in our short online questionnaire based on the questions in our briefing.

• Alternatively, you can  email us with any comments you may have.

• If you prefer, please feel free to call us on 01786 446456.

• You may also send us your views by post to:
  Scottish Disability Equality Forum
  12 Enterprise House
  Springkerse Business Park
  Stirling
  FK7 7UF