Childcare/education
Sure Start settings
Grants & funding
Inclusion
Legislation
When developing services, or advising others how to develop services, you should ensure that they do not breach any of the equality laws that have been passed to protect under represented or minority groups. To adhere to responsibilities set out in equality legislation, you should be aware of the duties under the following laws:
- Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA) – makes it unlawful to treat a person less favourably than another on racial grounds. This covers grounds of race, colour, nationality, national or ethnic origin
- Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RRAA) – outlawed discrimination (both direct and indirect) and victimisation in all public authority functions not covered by the RRA. It also placed a general duty to promote race equality on all public authorities
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) – prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the areas of employment, provision of goods, facilities, services and premises, education; and provides for regulations to improve access to public transport to be made
- Employment equality 2003 – outlaws discrimination (direct and indirect) in employment, on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief or similar philosophical belief
- Human Rights Act 1998 – came fully into force in October 2000. It gives further effect in the UK to rights contained in the European Convention of Human Rights. The Act makes it unlawful for a public authority to breach Convention rights, unless an Act of Parliament could not have acted differently
- European Community Treaties and conventions:-
- Race and employment directives (Article 13 of the EC Treaty in 2000) – these directives provide a common framework of protection against discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, religion or belief, disability and age.
