The Equality Act 2010 public sector Equality Duty, which came into force on 5 April 2011, ensures that all public bodies play their part in making society fairer by tackling discrimination and providing equality of opportunity for all. The duty ensures that public bodies consider the needs of all individuals in their day to day work - in shaping policy, in delivering services, and in relation to their own employees. The new Equality Duty covers the following protected characteristics:

• Age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation

It also applies to marriage and civil partnership, but only in respect of the requirement to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination.

The Equality Duty has three aims. It requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act;
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it; and
• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

As a public body the Authority is subject to the Equality Act. The Authority Equality Policy can be viewed here.