Equalities legislation - Print version

Equalities legislation

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the basis of their 'protected characteristics', which are:

• age
• race
• disability
• sex
• gender reassignment
• sexual orientation
• religion or belief (or lack of religion or belief)
• pregnancy and maternity
• marriage or civil partnership

Protected characteristics | EHRC (equalityhumanrights.com) [https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010/protected-characteristics]

Coventry’s residents' data by protected characteristics

Coventry is a diverse and cohesive city with a relatively young population, with a median age of 35 years compared to the UK average of 40 years. In recent years, the city has experienced an 8.9% growth in its population, from 316,915 in 2011 to 345,300 residents.

Download a breakdown of protected characteristics data for Coventry [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7515/coventry-residents---census-2021].

The Public Sector Equality Duty

The Public Sector Equality Duty is a duty on public authorities to consider or think about how their policies or decisions affect people who are protected under the Equality Act.

The duty supports good decision making by ensuring public bodies consider how different people will be affected by their activities, helping them to deliver policies and services which are efficient, effective, accessible to all and which meet different people's needs. It imposes a duty on the Council to have due regard to the need to:

1. Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation
2. Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it
3. Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

These are often referred to as the three aims of the general duty.

The Equality Act explains that the second aim (advancing equality of opportunity) involves, in particular, having due regard to the need to:

1. Remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics
2. Take steps to meet the needs of people with certain protected characteristics where these are different from the needs of other people
3. Encourage people with certain protected characteristics to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low

The Equality Duty is supported by specific duties, which require public bodies

1. to publish relevant, proportionate information demonstrating their compliance with the Equality Duty;
2. to set themselves measurable equality objectives.

Specific Duty: Publishing Information

The Council meets this specific duty requirement through publication of the following:

• Council Plan Year-End and Half Year Performance Reports
• Equality and Consultation Analyses

For further statistical information about Coventry, please visit: Facts about Coventry [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/factsaboutcoventry].

Specific Duty: Equality Objectives

Further information on Coventry City Council's equality objectives [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/diversity-inclusion/equality-objectives-2022-25].