Who should do a race equality impact assessment?

What is a race equality impact assesment? A race equality impact assessment is a way of systematically and thoroughly assessing, and consulting on, the effects that a proposed policy is likely to have on people, depending on their racial group. Why do a race equality impact assessment? Policies do not affect everyone in the same way. You will need to make sure at an early stage of their development that they will not have unfavourable effects on some groups, or at least take steps to mitigate these effects. When to do a race equality impact assessment This page looks at which policies should be assessed, the difference between a policy and a decision, and considers whether policies designed to tackle the adverse effects of current policies shoudl also be assessed. How to do a race equality impact assessment A race equality impact assessment should be carried out in two stages - the first involves screening a proposed policy to see if it is relevant to the race equality duty, and the second consists of eight distinct procedures, involves detailed analysis and assessment of the proposals as they are being developed

Home Office: regulatory impact assessments

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This page was last updated on 13 April 2005

Specific duties - public authorities

Who should do a race equality impact assessment?

All public authorities bound by the specific duty to produce and publish a race equality scheme must make arrangements to assess their proposed policies for any effects they might have on meeting the three parts of the race equality duty.

Schools in England and Wales, education authorities in Scotland, and further and higher education institutions in Britain do not have to produce a race equality scheme. Instead, they have specific duties in education that call for the production of a race equality policy and assessment of the effects their policies are likely to have on pupils, staff and parents from different racial groups.

More about the specific duties in education

Although the race equality duty does not apply to the private or voluntary sectors, any organisation interested in making sure its policies do not disadvantage or exclude people on grounds of race, colour, nationality, or ethnic or national origin will find the advice on this site useful.

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