Equality information to show due regard to the three aims of the duty

The Commission has a substantial evidence base which we use to inform our priorities and programme of work.

In developing our strategic plan and annual business plan we draw on a wide range of evidence and analysis of equality, good relations and human rights issues across the whole of British society. Our evidence base includes:

• our Quinquennial Review, ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ (and our equivalent reports to England, Scotland and Wales), which drew on a range of major datasets and surveys, including Census data as well as our own research reports, to build a portrait of Britain in 2015
• Our work to monitor progress against international human rights treaty obligations
• evidence taken from our investigations and inquiries, and
• Research reports conducted in our name and in partnerships with others.

The Commission undertook a public consultation to inform the development of our 2016-19 strategic plan and programme of work. The plan covers our objectives and priority areas on which we will focus our work programmes.

The consultation gave everyone the opportunity to comment on our draft plan and closed on 18 December 2015. 

We publish due regard statements on our strategic plan process to demonstrate how we have used this evidence to show due regard when choosing our strategic priorities which can be viewed on our impact assessments page.

Every year we directly engage with our stakeholders through face to face meetings, events and consultations. We use evidence and feedback from our consultations and engagement to inform our work during the year.

The Commission has always undertaken assessment of impacts when developing or revising our policies. We use equality information and the evidence from our consultations and engagement to identify the likely or actual effects on individuals, groups and communities in respect of the different protected characteristics. We look for opportunities to promote equality, as well as identifying any actual or potential adverse impact so that, where possible, it can be removed or mitigated. For example, a review of our absence management policy identified a training need for managers when dealing with and reporting disability-related absences. This support was implemented when we developed reasonable adjustments guidance for managers.

All our completed equality impact assessments can be viewed on our website. Having due regard through the assessment of impact is only beneficial if the outcomes are considered and inform decisions. Therefore the outcomes of our assessments are provided alongside papers considered by our Board and Executive Leadership Team at the point where decisions are made in relation to changes in policies or functions. See our published Board minutes.