Public authorities
Duty of public authorities5
In the 1995 Act, after section 49 insert—
PART VAPUBLIC AUTHORITIES
49AGeneral duty
1
Every public authority shall in carrying out its functions have due regard to—
a
the need to promote positive attitudes towards disabled persons; and
b
the need to encourage participation by disabled persons in public life.
2
Subsection (1) does not apply to—
a
the functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland relating to the prosecution of offences; or
b
any act of a description prescribed by regulations.
3
Subsection (1) is without prejudice to any obligation of a public authority to comply with any other statutory provision (including any other provision of this Act).
4
The Commission shall—
a
keep under review the effectiveness of the duty imposed by this section;
b
offer advice to public authorities and others in connection with that duty.
5
Not later than 3 years after the appointed day, the Commission shall prepare and publish a report on the effectiveness of the duty imposed by this section.
6
In this section—
“the appointed day” means the day appointed under Article 1(2) of the Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 for the coming into operation of Article 5 of that Order;
“the Commission” means the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland;
“public authority” has the same meaning as in section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47).
49BPlan as to duty under section 49A
1
A public authority to which this subsection applies shall prepare and submit to the Commission a plan showing how the public authority proposes to fulfil the duty imposed by section 49A in relation to the relevant functions.
2
Any other public authority shall prepare and submit to the Commission such a plan if requested to do so by the Commission.
3
A public authority—
a
may at any time revise its plan and submit the revised plan to the Commission;
b
shall, if requested to do so by the Commission, revise its plan and submit the revised plan to the Commission.
4
A plan (or revised plan) shall—
a
conform to any guidelines as to form or content which are issued by the Commission with the approval of the Office;
b
specify a timetable for measures proposed in the plan;
c
include details of how it will be published.
5
Subsection (1) applies to any public authority except one which is notified in writing by the Commission that that subsection does not apply to it.
6
If a public authority—
a
fails to submit a plan under subsection (1) before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the appointed day or, if later, the establishment of the authority,
b
fails to submit a plan under subsection (2) before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the date of the request under that subsection,
c
fails to submit a revised plan under subsection (3)(b) before the end of the period of 3 months beginning with the date of the request under that paragraph, or
d
submits to the Commission under paragraph (3)(a) or (b) a revised plan which in the opinion of the Commission fails to comply with subsection (4),
the Commission shall lay before the Assembly a report of that failure containing such comments and other material as appear to the Commission to be appropriate to bring to the attention of the Assembly.
7
A public authority—
a
shall review its current plan under this section—
i
in the case of an authority in relation to which there is a scheme under Schedule 9 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, at the same time as the authority reviews its current scheme under paragraph 8(3) of that Schedule;
ii
in the case of any other authority, at such times as the Commission may request; and
b
inform the Commission of the outcome of the review.
8
In this section—
“the appointed day”, “the Commission” and “public authority” have the same meanings as in section 49A;
“the relevant functions” means the functions of the public authority or, in the case of a plan submitted in response to a request which specifies particular functions of the public authority, those functions.