Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Equality
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many FTE equivalent staff in (a) their Department and (b) each Arm's Length Body it sponsors are dedicated to fulfilment of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED); what the (i) annual employment and (ii) total annual cost incurred is as a result of PSED and compliance with PSED for each of those bodies; what the outputs are from the work of PSED teams and personnel dedicated to PSED; and if they will publish an assessment of their Department's compliance with PSED.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a statutory obligation that applies across the public sector. As a procedural duty to have "due regard" to equality considerations, compliance is an on-going responsibility rather than a one-off task. It is integrated into the day-to-day development and delivery of all policies and services; as such, it is a core responsibility of all civil servants across government, rather than being restricted to dedicated personnel.
Because it is a continuous, procedural duty applicable to all civil servants, it is impossible to disaggregate the specific fraction of time or cost dedicated solely to Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance versus general policy and operational work. Attempting to calculate an FTE or cost figure would incur disproportionate cost and still be highly inaccurate.
Most MHCLG-sponsored NDPBs and HM Land Registry are independent public authorities responsible for their own compliance with statutory duties, including the Public Sector Equality Duty. Executive Agencies such as the Planning Inspectorate and QEII Centre operate under different governance arrangements, although they are also required to comply with applicable equality legislation. Information regarding ALBs’ internal resource allocation in relation to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is not held by MHCLG.
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