Equality legislation in spotlight as government launches latest Red Tape Challenge
Equality legislation has become the latest area to come under the spotlight as part of the government’s 'Red Tape Challenge' initiative.
The government said the Equality Act 2010 had already replaced nine major pieces of legislation and scrapped another 100 sets of regulations.
It is now asking businesses, the public sector and voluntary and community organisations to submit views to its dedicated website about how the 2010 Act is working and what more can be done to simplify or deregulate equality legislation. Caroline Waters, director of people and policy at BT, has been appointed ‘sector champion’ for this latest challenge.
Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said: "The Equality Act is here to stay. Fairness and opportunity for all remain at the heart of government. But there is always more we can do to ensure that business is not being strangled by red tape.
"This government is committed to economic prosperity and reducing unnecessary rules and regulations. We want to know whether the Act could be simplified, better implemented, or if certain provisions should be dropped or amended, or whether it should be kept exactly as it is."
The government cited its decision not to implement s. 78 of the 2010 Act, which related to gender pay reporting, as an example of how it had already taken action “to drive fair treatment and equal opportunities without resorting to overly-bureaucratic regulation”. Its focus now is on encouraging the publication of equality workforce data on a voluntary basis.
Equality legislation is one of six cross cutting themes for the Red Tape Challenge. The others are: employment law; pensions; company law; health and safety; and environment legislation.
