The issue of equality is extremely important to us and if you wish to do business with us you will need to be aware of our position.
As regards equality issues, we are required to comply with
- the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 as amended in 1982 and 2003
- the Equal Pay Act 1970 as ammended in 1983
- the Disability Discrimination Act 1975, as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and in 2005, and the Special Education Needs & Disability Act 2001
- the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 and the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 and the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 and the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
- the Human Rights Act 1998
- the Equal Treatment (Amendment) Directive
We are also guided by the Equality and Human Rights Commission approach to procurement as set out in its guidance to local authorities launched in July 2003.
Our duty to promote race equality and to comply with the spirit and terms of other equalities legislation means that we consider these issues with regard to:
- services provided under contract or agreement
- your policies and practices
All contracts that we issue will contain a mandatory equalities clause. In addition, the equalities credentials of potential suppliers will be considered at the pre-qualification (PQQ) stage of any (or most) tendering exercises.
Where equalities is critical to the delivery of the service (for example in front line services delivered to the public), contractors will be monitored for their equalities compliance and will periodically be asked to complete an equalities questionnaire to enable us to assess your ongoing degree of compliance.
Further information is available on our equalities and diversity pages.
For procurement questions, email Debbie Quincey, the strategic procurement advisor, or call 01223 457400.
