Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK has thanked respondents to the public consultation on the Equality Bill for their contributions to the process.
When the extended consultation closed on November 28 more than 40 responses had been received from individuals and organisations. All the comments are now being carefully considered before the Bill is finalised for introduction.
The Chief Minister commented:
‘The consultation has attracted a range of responses in terms of views expressed and length of submissions, but I’d like to thank everyone who has made a contribution for taking an interest in this major piece of social legislation.
‘This is a comprehensive Bill with implications across the public and private sectors, so it’s important to point out that its implementation will be phased in to allow time for preparation, the production of guidance and the processing of necessary secondary legislation. It won’t all come in in one Big Bang following the granting of Royal Assent.’
Subject to a range of exceptions, the Equality Bill prohibits discrimination, in the provision of goods and services as well as in employment, on the grounds of specified characteristics including age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.
The Bill, which would replace the Disability Discrimination Act 2006 amongst other legislation, also requires organisations to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of disabled people.
