§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many additional civil servants have been employed to implement Section 2 of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000; and by which of the specified authorities listed in Schedule 1A to the Act they were employed; and [HL3173]
What has been the cost of implementing Section 2 of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000; and how this compares with any estimate given during the passage of the Bill. [HL3174]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalMore than 43,000 public bodies are listed in Schedule 1A to the 2000 Act. There is no centrally held information on who is employed by these public bodies to implement Section 2 of the Act or the cost to them.
§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
What evidence they have of the benefits which have resulted from the implementation of Section 2 of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. [HL3235]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalThe full benefits of the duty to promote race equality will be realised over time, as it becomes mainstreamed in the work of public bodies.
Research conducted on behalf of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) found that nearly 70 per cent of public authorities and educational institutions felt that their work on implementing the duty had already produced positive results. The benefit most commonly cited was increased awareness of race equality in policy making and service delivery; other benefits included increased ability to ensure policies and services were targeted and designed appropriately.
Supporting evidence to the findings of the research conducted on behalf of the CRE has been published in the Audit Commission's report, The journey to race equality published in January 2004. This states that the duty to promote race equality and good race relations under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act is the most influential driver of activity on race equality.