1.16 Currently public sector bodies, including qualifications regulators, are subject to a duty to promote sex, race and disability equality. The Equality Act 2010 extends this to include the promotion of equality in respect of age, gender reassignment, religion/belief and sexual orientation through the new Public Sector Equality Duty. However, the duty to make reasonable adjustments continues only to apply to disability, not to other protected characteristics9.

1.17 The EHRC is currently consulting on the new Public Sector Equality Duty. Links to its website containing guidance on the new duty are provided in Appendix 3.

1.18 Our draft Single Equality Scheme, setting out how we fulfil our current equality duties, has been published and is available on our website.10

1.19 We are committed to consulting equality groups in the development of our policies and practices. As part of this commitment, we manage two consultative panels focused on equality and diversity:

1. The Access Consultation Forum, which brings together disability groups and awarding organisations to promote disability equality in qualifications.
2. The External Advisory Group on promoting equality and inclusion in qualifications and assessments through regulation which we have established to provide expert advice to us from people who have themselves, or who have an understanding of, protected characteristics.

1.20 We are also a member of the Access to Assessment and Qualifications Advisory Group (AAQAG). This group, which is managed by DCELLS on behalf of the qualifications regulators in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, focuses on strategic issues affecting disabled learners taking general and vocational qualifications. The group has been set up to ensure that the work on access to assessment and qualifications across the four regulatory jurisdictions is planned and co-ordinated effectively.

1.21 We are also currently reviewing our regulatory framework and we have published major consultations in relation to this.11 The consultation document, From Transition to Transformation, set out proposals on conditions of recognition that aim to embed equality within our regulatory function.

1.22 We recognise the need to ensure that our regulatory framework is regularly reviewed, and that there may be issues arising from this consultation which could form part of a future review.

9. Protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010 are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, marriage/civil partnership, race, religion/belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
10. http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/single-equality-scheme
11. http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk