Letter to public authority leaders from the Minister for Women and Equalities
Published 18 December 2023
© Crown copyright 2023
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-sector-equality-duty-guidance-for-public-authorities/letter-to-public-authority-leaders-from-the-minister-for-women-and-equalities
Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP
Minister for Women and Equalities
Secretary of State for Business and Trade
President of the Board of Trade
Old Admiralty Building
London
SW1A 2BL
December 2023
Dear Public Authority Leaders,
As the Minister for Women and Equalities, I am writing to you as a leader of a public authority regarding your statutory duty under the Public Sector Equality Duty (the duty).
Public authorities should consider all individuals (including their own employees) when carrying out their day-to-day work – in shaping policy and in delivering services. The duty requires public authorities to ensure that equality issues are actively considered in order to remove or minimise disadvantage and to meet the needs of and encourage greater participation in public life by those with protected characteristics. As part of the Equality Act 2010 (the act), the Public Sector Equality Duty also requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to foster good relations between people who share and do not share a relevant protected characteristic.
At this moment in time, given the recent hostility towards the Jewish community and rise of anti-Muslim hatred, it is particularly important that public authorities take their duty to have due regard to the need to foster good relations seriously. Now more than ever, we need to see public authorities providing leadership in reducing prejudice and increasing understanding between different groups of people.
I wish to make it entirely clear that public authorities must provide leadership and remain steadfast in maintaining the legal obligations in the act. The act provides protection against discrimination, harassment, victimisation and unfair treatment associated with any of the protected characteristics it covers.
Many people are under the misconception that the act protects groups. It does not. It is about protected characteristics. It is important to remember that every single person has a protected characteristic therefore the act protects all individuals. The 9 protected characteristics in the act are:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
I would like to be clear that there is no ‘hierarchy of rights’ under the act, therefore we should not hold one protected characteristic in higher regard than another.
To assist you in compliance with the duty, I attach updated Public Sector Equality Duty guidance. I would strongly advise you to re-familiarise yourself with your organisation’s responsibilities by reviewing the updated guidance.
Yours sincerely,
RT HON KEMI BADENOCH MP
Minister for Women and Equalities, Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade