National Drivers for Equality and Diversity

The following drivers for change detail the requirements which underpin equality and diversity in the CCG as well as across the healthcare system, and support the wider NHS approach for achieving this. Further information on each of these is available in the CCG’s Equality and Diversity Plan.

Legislation

The Human Rights Act (1998)

The NHS Constitution (2012)

Health and Social Care Act (2012)

Equality Act (2010)

The Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October 2010. The Act brings together and replaces the previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, which aims to simplify and strengthen the law, removing inconsistencies and making it easier for people to understand and comply with it.

The Act identifies the following protected characteristics which it is against the law to discriminate against someone because of:

Further information about these protected characteristics in the North Yorkshire area are included in the NHS North Yorkshire CCG Equality and Diversity Plan.

Public Sector Equality Duty

The Public Sector Equality Duty came into force in April 2011 (S149 of the Equality Act, 2010).

The aim of the General Equality Duty is to ensure that public authorities, and those carrying out public functions, consider how they can positively contribute to a fairer society through advancing equality and fostering good relations in their day to day activities. The duty ensures that equality considerations are built in to the design of policies and the delivery of services and that they are kept under review.

General Equality Duty

The CCG is required to have due regard of the need to:

Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Act.
Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant characteristic and those who do not.
Foster good relations between people who share a relevant characteristic and those who do not.

Having “due regard” means consciously thinking about the three aims of the Equality duty as part of the process of decision making. This means that consideration of equality issues must influence how our decisions are reached on how services are commissioned and procured.

To comply with the Act , the CCG must:

Remove or minimise disadvantages experienced people due to their protected characteristics.
Take steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people.
Encourage people with protected characteristics to take part in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low.

Specific duties

Equality Delivery System

The Equality Delivery System tool was introduced in 2012 and redesigned in 2013 (EDS2). Its intention is to support NHS commissioners and providers to deliver better outcomes for patients and communities and better working environments for staff, which are personal, fair and diverse. It assists organisations to achieve compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty by encouraging them, in engagement with stakeholders, to review their equality performance and to identify future priorities and actions.

Further information about the EDS2 is available here and in the CCG Equality and Diversity Plan

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