Public bodies should face a duty to promote equality across all groups

All public bodies should face a duty to promote equality across all groups, which should be judged by how far existing inequalities are narrowed, a government review on the issue said today.

The final report of the Equalities Review called for an integrated public sector duty, which would cover race, disability, gender age and sexual orientation.

Currently, only the first two are covered by separate duties, with a gender equality duty due to come into force in April.

Public bodies would be judged against a new equality framework, which the review recommends, which would give them the flexibility to set targets appropriate to their local communities.

The review, chaired by Trevor Phillips, who also chairs the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, was announced in February 2005, and was designed to “investigate the causes of persistent discrimination and inequality in British society”.