§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to include in the legislation for a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights a specific duty for public sector employers to monitor pay by reference to gender and ethnicity. [HL51]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)As part of the legislation to create the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), the Government intend to introduce a general duty on public bodies to promote gender equality. The duty will require public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination as defined in the Sex Discrimination 59WA Act and the Equal Pay Act, and to promote equality of opportunity between men and women when carrying out their functions, which include their employment responsibilities. The legislation will provide for the introduction of specific duties through secondary legislation setting out more detailed requirements to enable public bodies to fulfil the general duty effectively. The detail of the specific duties will be developed following a full public consultation process.