improving government service delivery to minority ethnic ... - NCCRI

improving
government
service
delivery
to minority
ethnic groups
Chapter 2: Northern Ireland Research Findings 40_41
74_The Northern Ireland
Act 1998.
75_www.equalityni.org/
publications/downloadlist.
cfm?id=5
76_OFMDFM (2003)
Race Directive. A Note on
Implementation in Northern
Ireland.
77_OFMDFM (2002)
Tackling Racial Inequalities
in Northern Ireland.
Structures and Strategies.
-
-
Overseeing the effectiveness of the statutory duties under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 in
respect to public authorities
Keeping under review the working of anti-discrimination and equality legislation and, when required by
the Department or otherwise thinks it necessary to draw up and submit to the Department proposals for
amending legislation.
The Commission was established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and has published guidelines for public
authorities, many of which have introduced race relation policies.
Under Section 75 (1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 74 there is a statutory obligation for a public authority to
promote equality of opportunity, “between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group,
age, marital status or sexual orientation”. Section 75 (2) states that, “…a public authority shall in carrying
out its functions in relation to Northern Ireland, have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations
between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group”. Both the Race Relations Order
and Section 75 have meant that many public authorities have had to begin to identify and meet the needs of
minority ethnic groups in Northern Ireland.
Schedule 10 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires all designated public bodies to go through a statutory
Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) on policies which are ‘screened’ and have potential ‘adverse impact’
on any of the nine equality grounds, which includes ‘racial groups’. The Equality Commission has published
‘Practical Guidance on Equality Impact Assessment.’ 75
The Race Relations (NI) Order 1997 was updated in 2003 under the Race Relations Order (Amendment)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 to give effect to the EU ‘Race’ Directive 2003/43/EC. On 17 June 1997
the Treaty of the European Community at Amsterdam was revised by the governments of the fifteen Member
States. Article 13 of the Treaty provides a legal base for community action to combat discrimination on the
grounds of racial or ethnic origin. In Article 13 there is a Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment
between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. OFMDFM has said that the Directive will “help to ensure
that Northern Ireland meets minimum standards of legal protections from racial discrimination across Europe”. 76
The regulations also apply to Irish Travellers. However, ‘nationality’ and ‘colour’ are not explicitly covered by
the Directive, this is of concern given that these tend to be the grounds for racist attacks and discrimination in
Northern Ireland.
As well as these legislative developments the Government has also focused on racial equality through the New
Targeting Social Need (TSN) Policy. The New TSN can be seen as an initiative which ‘tends to compliment
the equality provisions outlined under the Northern Ireland Act 1998’. 77 One aspect of this policy is to
promote social inclusion including adopting “a strategic approach to the needs of minority ethnic people”. A
steering group of senior civil servants has been set up to oversee the implementation of the New TSN across
government departments. A New TSN Unit within OFMDFM advises departments on how best to implement
the New TSN and working groups have been set up for each aspect of the policy.