Review concludes need for single Equality Act

An independent review of anti-discrimination legislation has called for

a single Equality Act that would include protection from discrimination

on grounds of sexual orientation, age and religion, in addition to the

groups currently protected under UK law.

The review, Equality: a new framework, is a detailed examination of

current anti-discrimination law and contains over 50 recommendations for

improvement. It was carried out by the Centre for Public Law and the

Judge Institute for Management Studies at the University of Cambridge.

It is likely to be highly influential in future discussions on changes

to equality law.

Other recommendations include:

*the establishment of a human rights commission for Britain with a

separate single equality commission;

*a duty on public authorities to promote equality and collect and

publish the data required to do this; and

*a requirement on employers to conduct periodical reviews of employment

practices to ensure equal participation and to conduct regular pay

audits.

The Equal Opportunities Commission welcomed the report. Chief Executive

Lynne Berry said: "We particularly welcome the recommendation for a duty

on public authorities to promote equality."

Equality: a new framework, Bob Hepple QC, Mary Coussey and Tuyfal

Choudhury, Hart Publishing, tel: 01865 245533, price £15.