- Implementing the new Equality Bill: the implications for the public sector and public procurement in Scotland

Tuesday 1 December 2009, King James Thistle Hotel, Edinburgh

Keynote speaker: Alison Pritchard, Head of Strategy, UK Government Equalities Office

Featured speakers include: Yvonne Strachan, Head of Equality Unit, Scottish Government; Chris Oswald, Head of Policy and Parliamentary Affairs, Equality and Human Rights Commission; Robin Schneider, Director, Schneider-Ross; Duncan McNeil MSP, Convenor, Local Government and Communities Committee, Scottish Parliament; Glyn Hawker, Scottish Organiser (Bargaining & Equal Pay), UNISON; Allan Bouglas, Director of Development, Committed 2 Equality.

In April this year, the UK Government published its new Equality Bill with the aim of fundamentally changing the delivery of equality and diversity throughout society. The Bill intends to streamline, simplify and strengthen all current equality legislation into one single Act. It focuses not just on the delivery of equality in the workplace but also in the provision of goods, facilities and services.

A new, single public sector equality duty is proposed, bringing together the three existing duties - covering disability, gender and race - and extending the list of protected characteristics to other areas including age, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief and sexual orientation. This general Equality Duty - to apply throughout Great Britain - ‘will require public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment (and) victimisation... advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations across all these protected characteristics'.

The UK Government has outlined two frameworks to help public authorities in England and Wales meet these obligations - the social economic duty and the specific public sector duties. In Scotland, the power to propose specific public sector frameworks is devolved.

The Scottish Government's consultation on the potential of extending the specific public sector duties to Scotland is due to be launched in September. Some of the UK Government's proposals are already implemented by Scottish public bodies in relation to the existing equality duties. However other proposals, were they to be adopted in Scotland, would have significant implications for the public sector and public procurement.

For example, at a time when only two Scottish Councils have managed to successfully negotiate equal pay settlements, one ‘new' specific duty advocates that public bodies with 150 or more employees should publish their gender pay gap figures, their black and ethnic minority employment rates and their disabled people employment rates. The proposals also contain a set of specific duties promoting the use of public procurement to help meet the obligations outlined in the general duty by encouraging public bodies to include equality-related factors, where appropriate, within the award criteria and contract conditions.

Hearing from the Head of Strategy at the UK Government Equalities Office - Alison Pritchard - leading practitioners in the public sector, equality campaigners, union representatives and academics, this conference will consider how the Equality Bill will be implemented in Scotland.

With attendees from across the Scottish public, private and voluntary sectors, participants will be encouraged to:

examine the contents and objectives of the UK Equality Bill
explore the new provisions and duties included within the Bill
discuss what this means for public sector bodies and all those involved in public procurement in Scotland
assess whether equality duties are cost effective
consider the importance of sharing expertise to capture the gains of public sector duties
debate how equality and diversity can be achieved during a recession
share existing examples of good practice in ‘mainstreaming' equality.

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Conference Rates

Conference Papers Only - £75.00 + VAT

Full - £270.00 + VAT
private sector
Standard - £235.00 + VAT
public sector
Reduced - £190.00 + VAT
professional bodies, trade unions, charities with turnover greater than £1M, universities and colleges
Supported - £120.00 + VAT
charities with turnover less than £1M, voluntary and community organisations