Discrimination - The Equality Bill

Current Activity

The Equality Bill did not pass through parliament fully in the 2008/09 session and has been carried over in to the 2009/10 session

 

 

Read the Committee Debates

 

  • Report and Third Reading - Debate on removing discrimination in the employment interview process. College's position mentioned.

Key College issues

 

The Royal College of Psychiatrists believe that the Equality Bill offers significant opportunities to strengthen and enhance existing discrimination legislation in a landmark Bill. We are campaigning on the following issues:

 

  • Outlawing age discrimination in mental health services
  • Creating a new Public Sector Equality Duty
  • Removing discrimination against mental health in parliament
  • Removing discrimination in the employment interview process.

 

Read more

 

 

Background: The Equality Bill

 

Tackling discrimination is one of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ eight key priorities, as set out in the College’s three year Fair Deal for mental health campaign.

 

The College is calling on the NHS to take the lead in reducing discrimination against people with mental health problems and learning disabilities, and is committed to ‘campaigning for anti-discrimination legislation to be extended in order to protect people against discrimination by service providers on the grounds of age.’ [1]

 

This Bill will consolidate the numerous pieces of existing discrimination legislation into one Act (There are currently nine major pieces of discrimination legislation, around 100 statutory instruments setting out connected rules and regulations and more than 2,500 pages of guidance and statutory codes of practice.) and to introduce further responsibilities in a bid to outlaw all forms of discrimination. It will apply throughout the United Kingdom.
© 2012 Royal College of Psychiatrists