Written question asked by Margaret Moran (Labour) on Friday, 19 February 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 23 February 2010. It was answered by John Healey (Labour) on Thursday, 25 February 2010 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Housing: Equality

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions of the Equality Bill on the operation of (a) the Tenants Services Authority, (b) the Homes and Communities Agency and (c) registered social landlords.

Answer: Following Royal Assent, the Government intend to add—by secondary legislation—a number of bodies to the list of public authorities in Schedule 19 to the Equality Bill, including the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), thereby making them subject to the proposed public sector equality duty.The TSA is currently consulting on a Single Equalities Scheme that takes account of the requirements under the proposed Equality Bill. The consultation paper is available on the TSA's website:"www.tenantservicesauthority.org/upload/doc/Single_equalities_scheme.doc"The HCA introduced a Single Equality Scheme in November 2009 following extensive consultation. This is available on the HCA's website:"http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/equality"Registered social landlords (RSLs) are not listed as public bodies in the Bill. The Government do not intend to add them through secondary legislation.It is for individual RSLs, as independent organisations, to ensure that they comply with all applicable legislation.

Secondary information