The new duty to promote race equality

By 31 May 2002, key public bodies are required by the amended Race Relations Act 1976 to have in place specific measures to meet their new general duty under the Act to promote race equality. In this feature, we examine the implications of this new duty for education, health and other public authorities.

The Race Relations Act 1976 ("the RRA") is the main piece of legislation dealing with racial discrimination in the UK. Part 1 (ss.1-3) of the RRA outlaws three forms of such discrimination. These are essentially:

The RRA prohibits discrimination by public, private and voluntary organisations in the areas of employment, education, housing and in the provision of goods, facilities and services. Discrimination in the employment field is dealt with in Part II (ss.4-16) of the RRA. Section 4 establishes that discrimination is prohibited against prospective as well as existing employees in relation to an extensive range of pre-employment and employment matters at an establishment in Great Britain. It provides:

(1)It is unlawful for a person, in relation to employment by him at an establishment in Great Britain, to discriminate against another -

(a)in the arrangements he makes for the purpose of determining who should be offered that employment; or

(b)in the terms on which he offers him that employment; or

(c)by refusing or deliberately omitting to offer him that employment.

(2)It is unlawful for a person, in the case of a person employed by him at an establishment in Great Britain, to discriminate against that employee -

(a)in the terms of employment which he affords him; or

(b)in the way he affords him access to opportunities for promotion, transfer or training, or to any other benefits, facilities or services, or by refusing or deliberately omitting to afford him access to them; or

(c)by dismissing him, or subjecting him to any other detriment.

It should be noted, however, that s.4(2)(b) does not apply to benefits, facilities or services of any description if the employer is concerned with the provision (for payment or not) of such benefits, facilities or services to the public, or to a section of the public comprising the employee in question, unless:

(a)that provision differs in a material respect from the provision of the benefits, facilities or services by the employer to its employees; or

(b)the provision of the benefits, facilities or services to the employee in question is regulated by his or her contract of employment; or

(c)the benefits, facilities or services relate to training (s.4(4)).

A similarly worded exception applies to benefits, facilities or services provided to the public by the principal of contract workers (s.7(5)).

The RRA has remained largely unchanged since it came into force. Unlike sex discrimination law in the employment field, with which it has much in common, it has never been itself directly subject to European Community legislation. This was bound to change when Article 13 of the Treaty of Rome (as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam which came into force on 1 May 1999) conferred a power on the European Union to legislate to combat discrimination on a variety of grounds, including "racial or ethnic origin". The European Commission then issued the Race Discrimination Framework Directive¹ on 29 June 2000, which member states are required to implement by 19 July 2003.

The domestic scene was also set for change the moment the Macpherson Inquiry² into the death of Stephen Lawrence charged the Metropolitan Police Force with a form of indirect discrimination it described as "institutional racism". This was defined as: "the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.

It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racial stereotyping which disadvantage ethnic minority people." The government accepted that such racism was not limited to the police force but extended throughout local government and the civil service as well.

The RRA did not, at this time, extend to outlawing direct and indirect discrimination in public authority functions. This led the government into deciding that comprehensive measures should be taken to wipe out such discrimination. (These developments are noted in Industrial Relations Law Bulletin 631 p.16, Agreement on proposed race discrimination Directive, IRLB 643, p.15 and Race discrimination directive in force. See also our series of guidance notes on Race Discrimination published in Race discrimination 1: direct discrimination, Race discrimination 2: indirect discrimination and victimisation, Race discrimination 3: discrimination in employment and Race discrimination 4: enforcement and remedies  for a detailed analysis of the law in this area.)

Representing the most significant piece of reform to race discrimination law since the RRA, the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 came into force on 2 April 2001. It substitutes a new s.71 in the RRA, which imposes a new statutory duty on listed public authorities to have due regard, when performing their functions, to the need to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups.

The amended RRA therefore now outlaws direct and indirect discrimination in public authority functions not previously covered by the law, and imposes general and specific duties on public bodies to promote race equality. Indeed, the RRA now covers, with a few exceptions only, all of the functions of public authorities. Section 16 of the RRA, which provided special measures restricting the application of the RRA to the police, is repealed. This means essentially that the RRA now applies to the police in the same way as it does to private sector employers, and to any occasion on which the police are carrying out their public duties.

Regarding the Race Discrimination Framework Directive, as far as the UK government is concerned, the amended RRA now covers most of the grounds included in the Directive. The main changes that will be needed to the RRA to ensure compliance with the Directive are to the definition of indirect discrimination and to the burden of proof. (See the government's consultation document³ on the implementation of the EU Framework Employment and Race Directives.)

CRE draft Code

Pursuant to s.71C of the amended RRA, the Commission for Racial Equality ("CRE") has issued a draft statutory Code of Practice⁴ ("the Code") on the duty to promote race equality (final Code to be issued by May 2002) to which reference will be made throughout this article. The Code applies to the listed public authorities in England and Wales and to "non-devolved" public authorities in Scotland. (The Code of Practice for Scotland, when it is issued, will apply to Scottish public authorities.)

Public authorities are free to decide how they will meet their new duty under the amended RRA. However, the Code contains such practical guidance as the CRE thinks fit in relation to the performance by public authorities of this duty. It not only advises them on how to meet their obligations in this respect, but it also identifies examples of good practice.

The Code does not impose any legal obligations. However, being a statutory Code, it will be acceptable in evidence in any legal proceedings under the RRA before an employment tribunal or court of law. If any provision of the Code appears to the tribunal or court to be relevant to any question arising in the proceedings, "it shall be taken into account in determining that question" (s.71C(11) of the amended RRA). If a public authority fails to follow its guidance, it will need to show to the satisfaction of the court or tribunal how it has otherwise met its legal obligations under the general and specific duties to promote racial equality. The three-month consultation period on the current draft of the Code ends on 28 February 2002.

The CRE has also published draft guidance⁵ for public authorities to help them follow the Code. Unlike the Code, which can be used in evidence in any legal proceedings under the RRA, the CRE guides are non-statutory and so do not have any legal standing.

Although they may be referred to in legal proceedings, the tribunals and courts do not have to take them into account unless the same advice is also included in the Code. Even so, the CRE expects that they will be treated as authoritative documents, as they are based on the professional judgment of public authorities with wide-ranging practical experience of tackling discrimination and promoting race equality. It is planned to revise and update the guides regularly so that they always contain the most up-to-date experience and information.

Contracted-out functions and partnerships

It is the responsibility of the relevant public authority to meet its general and specific duties, and this responsibility will rest with those groups or individuals within each public authority who are liable in law for the authority's acts or omissions.

Where any of the functions of a public authority has been contracted out to a third party, and the duty to promote race equality applies to those functions, the public authority remains responsible for meeting the duties concerning those functions.

The general duty to promote race equality does not override other laws or regulations on public procurement, under which public authorities can buy or obtain services from outside organisations. However, public authorities will need to consider whether existing arrangements they have with third party providers meet the general, and any specific, duties.

When public authorities work in partnership or cooperation with other public, private or voluntary organisations, they will need to take into account their general and specific duties. They will need to be satisfied that any arrangements for planning and managing joint work meets with these duties as there are no similar statutory obligations on a private or voluntary partner.

Inspection and audit of public authorities

Agencies that audit or inspect public authorities are bound by the duty to promote race equality and must consider how this duty fits with their inspection or audit obligations.

The general duty

Section 71 of the amended RRA imposes a general statutory duty upon the listed public authorities. It provides that:

(1)Every body or other person specified in Schedule 1A or of a description falling within that Schedule shall, in carrying out its functions, have due regard to the need -

(a)to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination; and

(b)to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups.

Public authorities

Sixty categories of public bodies covering some 40,000 organisations are caught by this provision. Schedule 1A to the amended RRA lists ministers of the Crown and government departments, the National Health Service, local government, education and housing bodies and the police. On 3 December 2001, the Race Relations Act 1976 (General Statutory Duty) Order 2001 (SI 2001/3457) brought an additional 300 or so public authorities within the scope of the general statutory duty.

The list now also includes health authorities; libraries, museums and the arts; public corporations and nationalised industries; regulatory, audit and inspection bodies; and research and other bodies. Thus a public authority, as defined by the Code, means a body named, defined or described in schedule 1A to the RRA or, depending on the context, a body named, defined or described in one of the schedules to the RRA 1976 (General Statutory Duty) Order 2001.

Scope of duty

Most of the listed public authorities, such as the major public services of education and health, are bound by this duty in everything they do. Others, including professional bodies such as the Royal College of Surgeons, are bound by this duty only so far as their public functions are concerned. The Code defines "functions" as "the full range of a public authority's duties and powers".

This covers planning, policy-making, service delivery, regulation, inspection, enforcement and employment. The general duty must be met in respect of all these functions. The "public functions" of a listed public authority are defined in the Code as "functions that affect, or are likely to affect, the public or a section of the public". Whether or not a function is a public function is a matter for the courts to decide; however, the Code envisages that public functions "would normally not include internal management or contractual matters such as staff employment, purchasing goods, works or services, or acquiring or disposing of premises".

Guiding principles

The general duty to promote race equality is a threefold one:

In meeting this duty, public authorities should be governed by four guiding principles set out in the Code:

(1)The duty is obligatory, meaning that the listed public authorities must make race equality a central part of the functions that they have assessed to be relevant (see 2 below) such that it underpins all policy and practice in those areas.

(2)The duty must be met in all relevant functions. Public authorities are required to assess, in respect of each of their functions, whether and how race equality is relevant.

(3)The weight given to race equality should be proportionate to its relevance. This is probably the meaning to be given to the phrase "due regard" in s.71(1) of the amended RRA. Greater consideration and resources may need to be given to those functions that could have most effect on the public and that could affect racial groups in different ways.

(4)The elements of the duty are complementary in that they support each other and, in practice, may overlap with each other. However, the presence of all three are necessary to meet the whole duty, and so public authorities should consider and deal with all three elements of the duty separately.

Meeting the general duty

There is no one way of meeting the general duty. Each public authority will need to take account of its functions, specific areas covered and the size and variety of the community it serves, among other considerations, in meeting the duty in its own way.

For many public authorities, the general duty may not necessarily represent a new responsibility and may amount to no more than a more effective or efficient way of doing work they already do to promote equal opportunities. So they may only need to build on such initiatives, using their existing administrative systems and processes and adjusting their plans and priorities as necessary. What is clear is that the general duty is a continuing duty, and what a public authority might have to do to fulfil it may change over time as its functions or policies change, or as the community it serves changes.

Obvious first steps that a public authority might consider taking in order to meet the general duty include: identifying which of its functions are relevant to the general duty; prioritising those functions most relevant to race equality; and then assessing the relevance of each of these functions to each part of the general duty. A clear statement of the aims of each function or policy will aid in this assessment.

The public authority should consider whether it has information about how different racial groups are affected by the function or policy as employees or as users of its services. Information may be obtained from previous research, records of complaints, surveys or local meetings. From these, the public authority should assess which of its services are used by racial groups, what people think of the services and then decide what to do to meet the general duty. In many cases, what the public authority will have to do will amount to no more than basic good practice and continuous service improvement.

With each function or policy, the public authority might need to consider: whether the policy could have an adverse impact on equal opportunities for some racial groups or on relations between different racial groups; whether that adverse impact is unavoidable and can be justified by the policy's aims and importance; whether the authority needs to explore other ways in which its aims and objectives can be achieved without causing such adverse impact on some racial group; whether further research or consultation is necessary and, if so, whether this would be proportionate to the importance of the policy.

A public authority might then go on to consider how a particular policy might be changed in order to bring it in line with the general duty.

The specific duties

Section 71(2) of the amended RRA empowers the Secretary of State to make an order imposing on persons falling within Schedule 1A, "such duties as he considers appropriate" for the purpose of ensuring the better performance by those persons of their s.71(1) duties. Pursuant to this provision, the Secretary of State made the Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) Order 2001⁶ (SI 2001/3458) ("the RRA (Statutory Duties) Order") that came into force on 3 December 2001. Its effect is to impose upon some of the listed public authorities certain specific duties that support the general duty.

These amount to specific actions that those public authorities are required to take so as to help them meet the general duty to promote race equality. They must fulfil their requirements under the RRA (Statutory Duties) Order by 31 May 2002.

The specific duties cover duties in policy-making and service delivery as well as duties as employers. CRE guidance states that in addressing the specific duties the key question must always be: What action should we take to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and promote good race relations?

The duty to publish a Race Equality Scheme

The relevant provisions of the RRA (Statutory Duties) Order are set out in para. 2. This provides:

2(1) A body or other person specified in Schedule 1 to this Order shall, before 31 May 2002, publish a Race Equality Scheme, that is a scheme showing how it intends to fulfil its duties under section 71(1) of the RRA and this Order.

2(2) A Race Equality Scheme shall state, in particular -

(a)those of its functions and policies, or proposed policies, which that person has assessed as relevant to its performance of the duty imposed by s.71(1) of the RRA; and

(b)that person's arrangements for -

(i)assessing and consulting on the likely impact of its proposed policies on the promotion of race equality,

(ii)monitoring its policies for any adverse impact on the promotion of race equality,

(iii)publishing the results of such assessments and consultation as are mentioned in subparagraph (i) and of such monitoring as is mentioned in subparagraph (ii),

(iv)ensuring public access to information and services which it provides, and

(v)training staff in connection with the duties imposed by s.71(1) of the RRA and this Order.

2(3) Such a person shall, within a period of three years from 31 May 2002, and within each further period of three years, review the assessment referred to in para. 2(a).

Not all the listed public authorities are subject to the duty to publish a Race Equality Scheme ("an RES"). Those who are subject are government departments, local government, police, health, regulatory bodies, advice agencies and commissions. They are also all bound by the general duty.

Those not subject to the duty to publish a RES (but bound by the general duty) are non-departmental public bodies, for example, research councils, other agencies and commissions; advisory committees and councils, parish councils and Welsh community councils; and the governing bodies of schools and of institutions of further and higher education. The latter are subject to other specific duties provided for in paras. 3 and 4 of the RRA (Statutory Duties) Order (see box).

The preparation and publication of an RES is essentially the specific duty that packages all the other specific duties into a coherent strategy and action plan. The arrangements in the RES amount to a set of minimum standards necessary to meet the general duty under s.71(1) of the RRA as well as the requirements of paras. 2(2) and (3) of the RRA (Statutory Duties) Order 2001.

Although RESs are a new development, those public authorities that already have equality strategies and action plans in place may only need to build on these to develop their RESs into schemes that meet with the new legislative requirements. However, the RES must be easily identifiable as meeting all the statutory requirements for such a scheme.

Identifying relevant functions and policies

Public authorities that are under a duty to publish an RES must first state the functions and policies they have identified as relevant to the performance of their general duty to promote race equality. This statement of relevant functions and policies is to be reviewed at least every three years. The Code states that applicable general principles are as for the general duty (see above).

Whether or not a function or policy is relevant could be decided by considering whether that function or policy affects or could affect different racial groups in different ways. So for each function or policy, the public authority might ask: whether, and how, each of the three parts of the general duty applies; which racial groups are affected; and whether people could be affected differently because of their racial group.

Assessment and consultation arrangements

The public authority must then go on to state its arrangements for assessing the likely impact of its proposed policies on the general duty (this includes data collection arrangements), and for consulting groups who may be affected by the policies.

Assessment should help to identify whether a policy might have a different impact on some racial groups, and whether it will contribute to good race relations. It may involve using relevant past data; research findings; population data including census findings; comparisons with similar policies in other authorities; survey results; ethnic data collected at different stages of a process; one-off data gathering exercises or specially commissioned research.

Public authorities already consult groups of people in a variety of ways, for example, by consultation meetings; focus groups; reference groups; citizens' juries; public scrutiny; and survey questionnaires. The particular method used should be suitable for both the topic and groups involved, and the views and opinions received should be those of those groups likely to be affected by their policies. The results should be used to shape the decision-making process.

The whole exercise should be in proportion to the effect the policy is likely to have. The public authority should ensure its aims are clearly explained and that the exercise is properly timetabled and monitored, and the findings published.

If assessment or consultation shows that a proposed policy is likely to have an adverse impact on race equality, the public authority should consider how it is going to meet the general duty. Questions to be asked include: whether its objectives can be met in another way; whether the policy can be justified by its overall aims; whether adapting the policy can compensate for the disadvantage; and whether the needs of racial groups with distinct needs can be met within the proposed policy or by separate means.

Monitoring arrangements

The public authority must state its arrangements for monitoring all policies identified as relevant to the general duty. The aim of monitoring is to keep track of how a policy is working and to see whether it is having an adverse impact on race equality in any way.

Specifically, an efficient, up-to-date and relevant monitoring system should be able to test the following:

The arrangements should also explain what the public authority would do in the event that monitoring resulted in a finding that a policy was having an adverse impact on the promotion of race equality and would prevent the public authority from meeting its general duty.

Publishing arrangements

Public authorities must set out their arrangements for publishing the results of any assessments, consultations and monitoring they do. This is to increase openness, demonstrate their commitment to fulfilling the general duty, and increase public confidence across all racial groups. Publishing arrangements should be in proportion to the size of the public authority and the importance of the subject matter for publication.

The arrangements should state the following: why assessment, consultation or monitoring took place; how they were carried out; a summary of responses or views produced; an assessment of the policy options, and what the public authority has decided to do. Arrangements for publishing monitoring results should indicate how often and in what form publication will take place.

Information arrangements

Public authorities must set out their arrangements for making sure the public have access to information and the services they provide. They might also consider how they can improve public access to their services.

Training arrangements

Public authorities must set out their arrangements for training their staff in connection with the general duty to promote race equality, and in any specific duties. This is to make sure that staff responsible for meeting the general and specific duties are aware of these and have the necessary skills to carry them out. This specific duty is concerned with meeting the training needs of those staff responsible for managing and delivering a public authority's race equality strategy as a whole. Staff training will therefore focus on what the particular public authority needs to do to meet its general and specific duties.

CRE guidance states that the RES is effectively a strategy and action plan summarising a public authority's approach to race equality. To produce an RES, a public authority will have to consider at corporate level the effects of all its activities and operations in terms of race equality and to make the necessary changes to deliver their services effectively in a multi-ethnic society.

It is a public document, and the public authority is answerable to the public for delivering the programme set out in it. Experienced senior staff should have overall responsibility for day-to-day management of the scheme with direct reporting lines to the chief executive. Time and resources should be allocated to those taking on this role. A public authority should also consider a steering group to oversee the process and to help coordinate different activities.

The employment duty

The public authorities bound by the general duty and the duty to publish a RES are also all bound by the employment duty. Those public authorities bound by the general duty but not by the duty to publish an RES are also all nevertheless bound by the employment duty. Those public authorities that must produce an RES should include in it their arrangements for meeting their employment duties (see box on page 54).

The employment duty on public authorities is set out in paras. 5(1), (2) and (3) of the RRA (Statutory Duties) Order 2001. They read:

(1) A person to which this article applies shall:

(a)before 31 May 2002, have in place arrangements for fulfilling, as soon as is reasonably practicable, its duties under para. 2; and

(b)fulfil those duties in accordance with such arrangements.

(2) It shall be the duty of such a person to monitor, by reference to the racial groups to which they belong:

(a)the numbers of -

(i)staff in post, and

(ii)applicants for employment, training and promotion, from each such group; and

(b)where that person has 150 or more full-time staff, the numbers of staff from each such group who -

(i)receive training,

(ii)benefit or suffer detriment as a result of its performance assessment procedures,

(iii)are involved in grievance procedures,

(iv)are the subject of disciplinary procedures, or

(v)cease employment with that person.

(3) Such a person shall publish annually the results of its monitoring under para. 2.

The employment duty is essentially a specific duty to carry out ethnic monitoring of one's workforce. The RRA, while it outlawed racial discrimination, did not make ethnic monitoring compulsory. By making regular monitoring a requirement to meeting the general and specific duties, the amended RRA calls for a more active and strategic approach to rooting out discrimination and promoting racial equality. The CRE has published a separate guide⁷ on the monitoring duties under the Act.

The aim of the employment duty is to provide a framework for measuring the progress of equal opportunities in public sector employment. If successful, the Code envisages that it should result in: a more representative workforce; recruitment and retention of able staff; improvement in morale and productivity of staff; improvement in staff management; good practice; and avoidance of claims of unlawful discrimination.

The monitoring information provided will guide initiatives that could lead to a more representative public sector workforce, for example, by setting recruitment targets for under-represented racial groups, or targeting management development courses at racial groups that are under-represented at certain levels.

To fulfil the employment duty, public authorities should: collect ethnic monitoring data; analyse the data to find any patterns of inequality; take any necessary action to remove barriers and promote equality of opportunity; and publish the results of the monitoring each year. If the monitoring shows that current employment policies, procedures and practice are leading to unlawful racial discrimination, the public authority should take steps to end that discrimination.

As a first step, the public authority should examine each of its procedures closely to find out where and how discrimination might be happening and then consider what changes to introduce. Where monitoring reveals that policies, procedures and practice have an adverse impact on equality of opportunity or good race relations but fall short of unlawful discrimination, the public authority should consider changing those policies or procedures so that they still meet the same aims but do not harm equality of opportunity or race relations.

With regard to monitoring, the Code encourages public authorities to use the same ethnic classification system as the one in the 2001 census. Where a public authority chooses to collect more detailed information, the categories should be similar to those used in the 2001 census. Any extra ethnic categories added to reflect an authority's particular circumstances should aim to fit in with those census categories.

Where a public authority employs more than 150 full-time staff, it must also monitor and analyse the other specific areas set out in 5(1)(2)(b) of the RRA (Specific Duties) Order 2001, namely: grievances; disciplinary actions; performance appraisals (when this results in benefits or sanctions); the number of staff who receive training; and the number of staff leaving the authority, for whatever reason.

With this information, the public authority should see if there are differences between different racial groups; investigate the underlying reasons for the differences; and deal with any unfairness, disadvantage or possible discrimination, for example, by setting employment targets; training staff, revising policies and procedures and using positive action, when necessary.

CRE guidance on the employment duty encourages public authorities to consider taking the following actions:

Guiding principles of ethnic monitoring

A public authority must take full account of the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 when it collects, stores or analyses ethnic data. It should regularly analyse and question the ethnic data and then follow up and tackle any barriers or failures highlighted. Monitoring should be considered an ongoing process of analysis, asking questions, investigation and change. There must be commitment to these issues from the top of the organisation.

Relationship between the general and specific duties

The specific duties have been introduced to help public authorities meet the general duty. Therefore they are a means to an end, the ultimate objective being to meet the general duty. In practice, this means that each time a specific duty is being performed, the public authority must ask itself whether it is meeting the general duty. For example, unless the monitoring arrangements are carried out to the point of dealing with any adverse impact identified, the general duty will not be met.

So the question for public authorities, upon completion of the monitoring exercise, should be: "What action should we take to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and good race relations?"

Specific duties for schools and institutions of further and higher education

Paragraph 3 of the RRA (Statutory Duties) Order 2001 makes special provision for educational bodies (specified in parts I or II of Schedule 2 to this Order). Before 31 May 2002, they must:

(a)prepare a written statement of [their] policy for promoting race equality (a race equality policy); and

(b)have in place arrangements for fulfilling, as soon as is reasonably practicable, [their] duties under para. (3) or (4) as the case may be.

By para. 3(2) they must maintain a copy of this statement, and fulfil their duties in accordance with these arrangements. Paragraph 3(3) then requires them to assess the impact of their policies, including the race equality policy, on pupils, staff and parents of different racial groups including, in particular, the impact on attainment levels of such pupils.

Schools must therefore: prepare and publish a race equality policy (rather than a race equality scheme); monitor and assess how their polices affect ethnic minority pupils, staff and parents, the emphasis here being on pupils' achievements.

Higher and further education institutions must also: prepare a race equality policy; assess how their policies affect ethnic minority students and staff; arrange to publish their policies and the results of assessments and monitoring.

Schools and further education and higher education institutions are not directly bound by the employment duty, as they have separate employment responsibilities. However, they will need to take account of employment matters in meeting their general duty. The main responsibility for meeting the employment duty rests with their LEAs, who have a specific duty to monitor current and prospective staff at every maintained school in their area, by their racial groups (see para. 5.4 of the Code).

Maintained schools will need to supply their LEA with appropriate employment data. They will therefore need to examine the employment duties and guidance set out in the Code in order to know what information their LEA will require from them.

Enforcement

Under new ss.71D and E of the amended RRA, the CRE has new powers of enforcement of the specific duty to promote race equality. It may issue a compliance notice against a public authority that has "failed to comply with, or is failing to comply with" any of its specific duties.

The compliance notice shall require the public authority to comply with the duty concerned and to inform the CRE, within 28 days of the date on which notice is served, of evidence of this, including the steps it has taken, or is taking, to comply with the specific duty.

The CRE may also require written evidence to verify that the duty has been complied with. The CRE may apply to a county court, or to the sheriff court in Scotland, for an order requiring a public authority to furnish any information required by a compliance notice if the public authority fails to supply the information in accordance with the notice or the CRE has reasonable cause to believe that it does not intend to supply that information.

The CRE may also apply to a county court or sheriff court for an order requiring compliance with a compliance notice where it considers that a public authority has not, within three months of the date on which a compliance notice was served on it, complied with any requirement of the notice. The county court or sheriff court may grant the order in the terms that the CRE applied for, or in more limited terms. A failure to obey the court order may put the public authority in contempt of court.

Part 7 of the Code states that the general duty may be enforced by an application to the High Court for judicial review by a person or group of people with an interest in the matter, or by the CRE.

¹No. 2000/431/EC

²February 1999

³Towards Equality and Diversity, available on the internet at www.dti.gov.uk/er/equality .

⁴Statutory Code of Practice on the duty to promote race equality. Available free from the CRE website: www.cre.gov.uk .

⁵Code of Practice on the Duty to Promote Race Equality: a guide for public authorities (consultation draft, 2001). Available from the CRE website: www.cre.gov.uk .

⁶SI 2001/3458

⁷Ethnic Monitoring: A guide for public authorities (consultation draft, 2001). Available from the CRE website: www.cre.gov.uk .