The Equality Bill published by Government this week is likely to have a major impact on housing organisations when the legislation comes into force in April 2010.  The legislation will place new duties on public bodies, which are likely to form part of the regulatory and inspection framework, as well as service provision and community engagement.

The new legislation will draw together nine current pieces of legislation and will affect bodies in England, Scotland and Wales.  It will cement the rights of many groups of people who rely heavily on social housing such as disabled people, older age groups and black and minority ethnic groups.  However, the new legislation will require public bodies to consider and plan more effectively for the diverse needs of their communities on issues such as sexual orientation, religion or belief.

John Thornhill, Senior Policy and Practice Officer at CIH says: “CIH welcomes the Equality Bill which will make equalities legislation more accessible to millions and will empower housing providers to create more equal employment opportunities and diverse communities. A lot of work is already underway to prepare for the Equality Bill and CIH is working in partnership with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to ease the way for this legislation into the housing sector.”  

*ENDS*

News release issued on behalf of the CIH by Jill Dwyer, CIH Press Office, Octavia House, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8JP. Telephone: 07786 716961. Email: press@cih.org).

Notes to Editors:

1.        The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the professional body for people involved in housing and communities. We are a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. We have a diverse and growing membership of over 22,000 – both in the public and private sectors – living and working in over 20 countries on five continents across the world. Our members work for local authorities, housing associations, Arms Length Management Organisations, Government bodies, educational establishments and the private sector. Many tenants and residents are also members. We exist to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the wellbeing of communities. Further information is available at: www.cih.org 

2.       The Equality Bill covers some of the following issues:

·         a new public sector duty to consider reducing socio-economic inequalities, this applies to government ministers and departments and key public bodies such as local authorities;

·         reduce the nine major pieces of legislation relating to equality, and around 100 statutory instruments into a single act with the aim of making the law more accessible and easier to understand;

·         public authorities will have to consider how their policies, programmes and service delivery will affect people within the different strands of diversity;

·         introduce a single equality duty, which will require public bodies to plan for the diverse needs of their workforce and the communities they serve;

·         make further regulations outlawing unjustifiable age discrimination by those providing goods, facilities and services;

·         strengthen enforcement, for example, by allowing tribunals to make wider recommendations in discrimination cases;

·         enable employers to take positive action in relation to the recruitment of under represented groups when selecting between equally qualified candidates;

·         strengthen the law to protect people who are associated with a protected person eg a carer of a disabled person.

3.       Link to Equality Bill: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmbills/085/voli/2009085i.pdf

4.       CIH Resources:

Supplement: http://www.cih.org/housingpractice/

Good Practice: http://www.cih.org/publications/pub801.htm