The government has at last decided to strengthen the Race Relations
(Amendment) Bill to ensure that the indirect discrimination provisions
of the Race Relations Act 1976 will apply to public bodies in respect
of their functions. There has also been an agreement that the Bill
will include a statutory duty to promote race equality.
The Bill was introduced as a direct response to the Inquiry Report
into the Murder of Stephen Lawrence. This was to extend the Race
Relations Act not just to cover the police service, but to cover all
public services.
The amendment to the Bill only came about after much lobbying of
the Home Office. The Home Secretary has now amended the Bill to
incorporate indirect discrimination which is a vast improvement to the
Bill.
The Bill is currently in its final stages and will soon be an Act
of Parliament. With the Human Rights Act 1999 and Crime and Disorder
Act 1998 we hope that the individuals as well as organistions will be
more proactive at looking at discriminatory issues and positively
challenging them.
Last updated 09-Oct-00
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