HL Deb 27 October 2004 vol 665 c134WA
Lord Ouseley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they intend to manage the equality and diversity implications of their intention to cut many Civil Service jobs. [HL4468]

Lord Bassam of Brighton

The Cabinet Office has issued guidance for departments outlining the factors that they should consider as they develop their plans to implement the outcomes of the Efficiency Review. This emphasises the need to ensure that their procedures do not result in unlawful discrimination directly or indirectly and to consider the impact of their plans on the diversity of the workforce, so that specific groups of staff are not disproportionately disadvantaged. In particular, departments must consider the need to conduct Race Equality Impact Assessments.