LGA warns councils and housing associations on equalities laws compliance

The Local Government Association has warned councils and housing associations considering changing services or altering their housing allocation policies to ensure they comply with the Equality Act.

The LGA said: “Changes to housing allocation plans that have the net effect of negatively impacting on those with protected characteristics, such as disability, race or age, may well be against equality laws, and would be subject to a legal challenge.”

The Association added that – in addition to housing – other policies such as schooling and public health outcomes would need to be actively considered when delivering more “locally driven” services.

“It is clear that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to services will no longer be enough to be compliant with the rules around promoting equality,” it said.

The warnings came as the Association published two sets of guidelines aimed at helping local authorities and other bodies meet their equalities obligations. These are:

• The Social Housing Equality Framework: these guidelines have been designed to help councils and housing associations ensure appropriate housing is provided to vulnerable people. They have been revised to take into account changes to equality legislation, as well as to the regulatory and inspection regimes for the social housing sector. The SHEF also reflects the greater freedom in relation to allocations.
• The Equality Framework for Local Government: this is intended to help councils “to continue to consider the impact that their policies on areas such as education have on the people who live and work in their area, and meet their wider requirements under equalities legislation”.

The LGA highlighted how councils can request a peer review and challenge to ensure that they meet the requirements of the SHEF guidance. “If a peer review team agrees that the required level has been met, then the council will be awarded a SHEF recognition award,” it said.

Cllr David Sparks, Vice Chairman of the LGA, said: “The equality frameworks can help ensure that councils not only provide high quality local services, but also ensure that local people are placed at the centre of decision making.

“Public bodies are rightfully bound by provisions within equalities legislation and local government wants to avoid legal challenges and protect the needs of vulnerable people. I urge councils to use the frameworks as a tool to promote equality and assist with compliance to the law.”

The LGA plans to launch a third equality framework, relating to fire and rescue, in March.

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