Written question asked by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 14 July 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 July 2010. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Monday, 6 September 2010 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Academies: Equality

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what advice he has received on the compliance of the proposed Academies Bill with the provisions of the Equalities Act 2010.

Answer: [holding answer 19 July 2010]: All the provisions of the Academies Bill comply with the Equality Act 2010.Academies will be subject to all the private duties set out in the Equality Act, such as those applicable to schools, employers and service providers, when the Act comes into force in October 2010. This means that an academy may not discriminate against, victimise or harass any pupil or prospective pupil, employee or recipient of services, on the grounds of disability, gender reassignment, race, religion/belief, sex or sexual orientation. (Employees and recipients of services are additionally protected in relation to the characteristics of age and marriage/civil partnership.)Furthermore, it is, and always has been, the intention to add academies to the list of bodies in Schedule 19 of the Equality Act. Including academies on the list of public authorities in Schedule 19 means that academies will also be subject to the public sector duties set out in Part 11 of the Equality Act, when they come into force in April 2011.

Secondary information