Children's hearings and pre-hearing panels - composition changes: equality impact assessment

Executive Summary

The public sector equality duty requires the Scottish Government to assess the impact of applying a proposed new or revised policy or practice. Equality legislation covers the protected characteristics of: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, sex, sexual orientation and religion and belief.The Equality Act 2010 harmonised existing equality legislation and includes a public sector duty ('the Duty') which requires public authorities to pay due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation or any other prohibited conduct;
• Advance equality of opportunity; and
• Foster good relations between different groups - by tackling prejudice and promoting understanding

This Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) has considered the potential impacts of a proposed amendment to the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 on each of the protected characteristics. As the impact of this amendment is anticipated to be limited to only those circumstances where it is not operationally viable to convene a mixed gender panel, the EQIA has not identified any adverse impact on any protected groups.