East Cambridgeshire District Council

Single Equality Scheme & Action Plan

The Council's Single Equality Scheme aims to protect the Council against discrimination on the grounds of race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. These six strands of equality need to be understood together. It is often the case that inequality and prejudice are perceived and experienced on multiple levels and in this respect, the separation or isolation of different issues can be artificial. That is why the Council has introduced a single equality scheme to develop an overall view of equality, diversity and human rights.

The aims and principles underpinning our single equality scheme are to:

• Develop measures and actions to ensure discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, disability, age, religion/belief or sexual orientation does not occur, whether it is direct, indirect, intentional or unintentional.
• Positively promote equality of opportunity.
• Challenge discrimination against people who work for the Council or who use our services.
• Raise staff awareness and understanding of these issues.

You can view a copy of the Council's Single Equality Scheme here:

• Single Equality Scheme

The Equality Act 2010

From 1 October 2010, the new Equality Act 2010 came into force. The Act provides a new cross-cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all; to update, simplify and strengthen the previous legislation; and to deliver a simple, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.

The Act is a major piece of legislation bringing together all the current discrimination laws into one, and replaces a whole raft of long established legislation including the:

*    Sex Discrimination Act 1975;
*    Race Relations Act 1976;
*    Disability Discrimination Act 1995;
*    Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003;
*    Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003;
*    Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006;
*    Equal Pay Act 1970;
*    Equality Act 2006, Part 2; and
*    Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007.