The Draft Equality Act (Statutory Duties) Regulations 2011 for England have been withdrawn by the government for further review. These regulations give detail on the specific duties placed on public bodies to help with the better delivery of the general equality duty. The stated approach of the revised regulations is to focus on results delivery and not performance of bureaucratic processes. Comments on the new draft regulations may be submitted until 21 April. Scotland has already announced a similar delay. This delay does not affect the general Equality Duty which will take effect on 5 April 2011.
More information on the English position is available on the Government Equalities Office website at http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010/public_sector_equality_duty.aspx and for the Scottish position see the EHRC Scotland website at http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/scottish-news/interim-advice-on-the-equality-act-scottish-specific-duties/