DfC Equality
Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act places a statutory obligation on Public Authorities to carry out their functions with due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity and good relations in respect of religious belief, political opinion, gender, race, disability, age, marital status, dependants and sexual orientation.
Equality Scheme
The DfC Equality scheme sets out how the Department is committed to meeting its statutory obligations on the promotion of equality and good relations under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act. The scheme is available in alternative format if required.
DfC 5 Year Review of Equality Scheme 2016-2021
An equality scheme describes certain arrangements that a public authority has set-up and which it is obliged to apply and follow as a means of fulfilling the duties imposed on it by Section 75(1) and (2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.Public authorities who have Section 75 equality schemes are obliged to review those schemes periodically.
A 5 year review covering the period May 2016 to March 2021 was undertaken to examine how the arrangements have been applied and to assess how effective they have been in assisting the Department to comply with the Section 75 duties.
Equality Scheme Section 75 complaints procedure
This explains how the Department's Equality Scheme Complaints Procedure works in relation to Section 75 complaints. A Section 75 complaint can be made by a person who believes that they have been directly affected by a failure of the Department to comply with its Equality Scheme.
Annual Report to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
The Department's Equality Scheme commits the Department to submitting a formal review of progress, on an annual basis, to the Equality Commission, setting out the action taken to fulfil its Section 75 commitments.
- Annual Report to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland 2023-24
- Annual Report to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland 2022-23
- Annual Report to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland 2021-22
- Annual Report to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland 2020-21
Section 75 Action Plan
The Section 75 Action Plan will detail known key inequalities that exist in Northern Ireland. Some relate to the work of the Department and this plan sets out what the Department is doing and intends to do to help address these inequalities.
Disability Action Plan
An amendment to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995) requires public authorities, when carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to:
- promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
- encourage participation by disabled people in public life
The Department is required to submit to the Equality Commission (the Commission) a Disability Action Plan showing how it proposes to fulfil these duties in relation to its functions.
Review of Disability Action Plan
Public authorities in Northern Ireland must carry out a review of their Disability Action Plans within five years of its publication and forward a report of this review to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI). The purpose of this review is to report on whether the Department for Communities has met its statutory requirements to encourage persons with a disability to participate in public life and promote positive attitudes towards people with disabilities. This review report covers the period 2020-2024.
Policies screened
The Department is committed to publishing screening templates and screening reports containing details of all policies screened in the quarter.
If you have any queries about any of the screening exercises completed in this quarter please contact Equality Unit.
Consultations
Consultations, both current and closed, are listed in the consultation section of the website.
- View Consultations
Section 75 consultees
In fulfilling the Department's obligations under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act, the Department's Equality Scheme includes a commitment to consult with the Equality Commission and representative groups of Section 75 categories on the implementation of existing policy and creation of new policy with regards to equality of opportunity and good relations.
View the List of Section 75 consultees
Audit of Inequalities 2021-2022
In line with our statutory equality duties under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 the Department for Communities (DfC) has undertaken an audit of inequalities.
This audit will set the framework for DfC to address inequalities impacting on Section 75 categories relevant to its functions and will enable the Department to identify areas where it can better promote equality of opportunity and good relations for our service users and those affected by our policies.
Further Information
More about Section 75 and the disability duties can be found on the Equality Commission website.
Equality Unit
The Equality Unit in the Department has lead responsibility for helping the Department meet its statutory commitments set out in Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Unit provides advice to managers and staff throughout the Department on equality matters and helps the Department meet its obligations contained in the Equality Scheme.
For more information please contact the Equality Unit.