Citation, commencement and interpretation

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006 and shall come into force on 6th April 2007 immediately after section 76A of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975( 2 ).

(2) In this Order—

“listed authority” means a public authority listed in the Schedule to this Order;

“section 76A(1) duty” means the duty of a public authority, under section 76A(1) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, in carrying out its functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment and to promote equality of opportunity between men and women; and

“staff” includes any person treated as an employee for the purposes of Part 2 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Employment Field).

Preparation and publication of a Gender Equality Scheme

2. —(1) A listed authority shall by 30th April 2007 prepare and publish a Gender Equality Scheme (a “Scheme”), that is a scheme showing how it intends to fulfil its section 76A(1) duty and its duties under this Order.

(2) In preparing a Scheme, a listed authority shall consult its employees, service users and others (including trade unions) who appear to it to have an interest in the way it carries out its functions.

(3) In preparing a Scheme, a listed authority shall take into account any information it has gathered of the kind described in paragraph (6)(a) and any other information it considers to be relevant to the performance of its section 76A(1) duty and its duties under this Order.

(4) A listed authority shall ensure that its Scheme sets out the overall objectives which it has identified as being necessary for it to perform its section 76A(1) duty and its duties under this Order.

(5) A listed authority shall, when formulating its objectives for the purposes of paragraph (4), consider the need to have objectives that address the causes of any differences between the pay of men and women that are related to their sex.

(6) A listed authority shall ensure that its Scheme sets out the actions which it has taken or intends to take to—

(a) gather information on the effect of its policies and practices on men and women and in particular—

(i) the extent to which they promote equality between its male and female staff, and

(ii) the extent to which the services it provides and the functions it performs take account of the needs of men and women;

(b) make use of such information and any other information the authority considers to be relevant, to assist it in the performance of its section 76A(1) duty, its duties under this Order and in particular its regular review of—

(i) the effectiveness of the actions identified for the purposes of sub-paragraph (e), and

(ii) its arrangements for the preparation of subsequent Schemes;

(c) assess the impact of its policies and practices, or the likely impact of its proposed policies and practices, on equality between women and men;

(d) consult relevant employees, service users and others (including trade unions); and

(e) achieve the fulfilment of the objectives set out for the purposes of paragraph (4).

Implementation of the Gender Equality Scheme

3. —(1) A listed authority shall, within the period of three years beginning with the date when a Scheme or a revised Scheme is prepared and published under article 2 or 4, put into effect the actions identified for the purposes of—

(a) article 2(6)(a);

(b) article 2(6)(b); and

(c) article 2(6)(e).

(2) Nothing in this article imposes any requirement on a listed authority where, in all the circumstances, it would be unreasonable or impracticable for it to perform the requirement.

Review of a Gender Equality Scheme

4. A listed authority shall review its Scheme and prepare and publish a revised Scheme—

(a) not later than the end of the period of three years beginning with the date of publication of its first Scheme; and

(b) subsequently at intervals of not more than three years beginning with the date of publication of the last revision of a Scheme.

Publication of a Gender Equality Scheme as part of another document

5. A listed authority may comply with the duty to publish under article 2 or 4 by setting out its Scheme as part of another published document or within a number of other published documents.

Annual reporting

6. —(1) A listed authority shall take such steps as are reasonably practicable to publish annually a report summarising the actions that the authority has taken towards the achievement of the objectives identified for the purposes of article 2(4).

(2) Such an authority may comply with the duty to publish under paragraph (1) by setting out its report within another published document.

Article 1(2)

SCHEDULE

• The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service

• Any of the naval, military or air forces of the Crown

• The Arts and Humanities Research Council

• The Arts Council of England

• The Audit Commission for Local Authorities and the National Health Service in England and Wales

• The Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council

• A body corporate established pursuant to an order under section 67 of the Local Government Act 1985( 3 ) (transfer of functions to successors of residuary bodies etc. )

• The British Broadcasting Corporation, in respect of its public functions

• The British Council

• The British Library

• The British Museum

• The British Transport Police Authority

• The British Waterways Board

• The Central Police Training and Development Authority (CENTREX)

• The Channel Four Television Corporation, in respect of its public functions

• The chief constable for the Ministry of Defence Police appointed by the Secretary of State under section 1(3) of the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987( 4 )

• A chief constable of a police force maintained under section 2 of the Police Act 1996( 5 ) for a police area in England

• The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

• The Children’s Commissioner for England

• The Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection

• The Commission for Racial Equality

• The Commission for Social Care Inspection

• The Commissioner of Police for the City of London

• The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis

• The Common Council of the City of London, in its capacity as a local authority, a police authority or a port health authority

• The Construction Industry Training Board

• Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence

• Council for Licensed Conveyancers

• In England, a county council, a London borough council or a district council

• The Council of the Isles of Scilly

• The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils

• The Court of Faculties

• The Disability Rights Commission

• The Economic & Social Research Council

• The Electoral Commission

• English Partnerships

• The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board

• The Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council

• The Equal Opportunities Commission

• The Financial Services Authority

• A fire and rescue authority in England constituted by a scheme under section 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004( 6 ) or by a scheme to which section 4 of that Act applies

• The General Chiropractic Council

• The General Council of the Bar

• The General Dental Council

• The General Medical Council

• The General Optical Council

• The General Osteopathic Council

• The General Social Care Council

• The General Teaching Council for England

• The governing body of an educational establishment maintained by a local education authority, in England

• The governing body of an institution within the further education sector in England, within the meaning of section 91(3) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992( 7 )

• The governing body of an institution within the higher education sector in England, within the meaning of section 91(5) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992

• The Greater London Authority

• A Health Authority established under section 8 of the National Health Service Act 1977( 8 )

• The Health Protection Agency

• The Health and Safety Commission

• The Health and Safety Executive

• The Higher Education Funding Council for England

• The Historic Royal Palaces Trust

• The Horniman Museum

• A housing action trust for an area of land in England established under Part 3 of the Housing Act 1988( 9 )

• The Housing Corporation

• The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

• The Imperial War Museum

• The Independent Police Complaints Commission

• The Institute of Legal Executives

• The Institute of Trademark Attorneys

• A joint authority in England established under Part 4 of the Local Government Act 1985( 10 ) (police, fire services, civil defence and transport)

• A joint authority in England established under section 21 of the Local Government Act 1992( 11 )

• The Judicial Appointments Commission

• The Law Society of England and Wales

• The Learning and Skills Council for England

• The Legal Services Commission

• A local authority with respect to the pupil referral units it establishes and maintains in England by virtue of section 19 of the Education Act 1996( 12 )

• A local education authority in England

• A local probation board for an area in England established under section 4 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000( 13 )

• The London Development Agency

• The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority

• The Medical Research Council

• Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Court Administration

• The Metropolitan Police Authority established under section 5B of the Police Act 1996( 14 )

• A Minister of the Crown or government department

• The Museums Libraries and Archives Council

• The Museum of London

• The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester

• The National Audit Office

• The National College for School Leadership

• The National Gallery

• A National Health Service trust in England established under section 5 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990( 15 )

• A National Health Service foundation trust established by the Health and Community Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003( 16 )

• The National Lottery Commission

• The National Maritime Museum

• The National Museum for Science and Industry

• A National Park Authority for a National Park in England established by an order under section 63 of the Environment Act 1995( 17 )

• The National Portrait Gallery

• Natural England

• The Natural Environment Research Council

• The Natural History Museum

• The Nursing and Midwifery Council

• Ofcom

• The Olympic Delivery Authority

• The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council

• A Passenger Transport Executive for a passenger transport area in England and Wales within the meaning of Part 2 of the Transport Act 1968( 18 )

• A police authority established in England under section 3 of the Police Act 1996( 19 )

• The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board

• A primary care trust established under section 16A of the National Health Service Act 1977( 20 )

• The proprietor of a City Technology College, a City College for Technology of the Arts or an Academy

• The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)

• The Quality Improvement Agency

• A regional development agency established under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998( 21 ) (other than the London Development Agency)

• Remploy Limited

• The Sector Skills Development Agency

• The Security Industry Authority

• The Serious Organised Crime Agency

• Sir John Soane’s Museum

• The Standards Board for England

• Student Loans Company Ltd

• The Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple or the Under-Treasurer of the Middle Temple, in his capacity as a local authority

• The Tate Gallery

• The Training and Development Agency for Schools

• Transport for London

• The UK Film Council

• UK Sport

• The Victoria and Albert Museum

• VisitBritain

• The Wallace Collection