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Equality impact assessment – Office for Equality and Opportunity & EHRC

As per the Equality Act 2006, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), may issue a code of practice in connection with any matter addressed by the Equality Act 2010.  A Code must contain provisions designed to ensure or facilitate compliance with the 2010 Act or an enactment made under that Act, or to promote equality of opportunity. Before issuing a Code, EHRC needs to submit a draft to the Secretary of State and if approved the Secretary of State will lay a copy before Parliament.

The current Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations was produced in 2011. There have been significant developments in the law since that date which means the Code needed to be updated. The aim of updating the Code is to provide clarity to those providing and using services, those exercising public functions, and those participating in and running associations to help them to understand and comply with the law. Therefore EHRC undertook an exercise in updating the Code. The updates to the Code are primarily where there has been a change or clarification of the law since the original Code was published in 2011.

In updating, EHRC aimed to provide clarity to those providing and using services, those exercising public functions, and those participating in and running associations to help them to understand and comply with the law. The Code seeks to facilitate compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

EHRC completed 2 consultations:

  • October 2024 to January 2025 which received just under 500 responses
  • May to June 2025 following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers  [2025] UKSC 16, which received around 50,000 responses

Duty 

Ministers must ensure that when exercising their functions, they meet the legal obligations placed on them by the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).  This requires the minister to have due regard to the need to:

  • eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
  • advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not
  • foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it

In regard to the updated Code, ministers must have due regard to the above 3 limbs of the duty when making a decision on whether to approve the Code, before laying in Parliament. Therefore this equality impact assessment (EIA) helps ministers consider the equality impact of this decision,  which assists in complying with PSED as set out in the Equality Act 2010. See also EHRC’s Technical Guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty: England.

The duty to comply with PSED is a requirement for both EHRC and ministers. The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) received an EIA for EHRC which captures EHRC’s assessment of the equality impacts of updates to the Code (including those updates made as a result of both the October 2024 to January 2025 EHRC consultation, and the May to June 2025 EHRC consultation) on 13 October 2025 and an updated version April 2026. This EIA has 2 purposes. It both considers EHRC’s equality impact analysis and independently analyses the equality impacts of the updated Code.

This document provides a summary of the key changes to the Code, EHRC position and additional analysis to support ministers in taking their decision on the Code. Analysis is organised into each of the protected characteristics.

Continues with separate sections on each of the Protected Characteristic

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment
  • Marriage and civil partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity (including breastfeeding)
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Religion or belief
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation

Then an Annex – additional assessment

Impact on women

The government’s position is that single-sex services should be protected to ensure women’s privacy, dignity and safety. The government also believes in upholding the Equality Act’s protections for trans people and ensuring suitable provision for them.

The published Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) in the main part of this document sets out that the updates to the Code will overall create benefits on the basis of sex. Overall the EIA deemed that the positive impact outweighed the negative.

The Minister for Women and Equalities commissioned an additional assessment of the impact of the Code on women’s rights and protections. This assessment follows below.

Clarity for service providers

Service providers may consider the Code provides certainty and clarity in terms of restricting access to their women-only services and providing protections to women’s privacy, dignity and safety. The Code makes it clear to them that providing women-only services is on the basis of biological sex and therefore they can plan and deliver their services on that basis.

The Code offers additional guidance to service providers. It helps them to make decisions suited to their specific circumstances which reduces the risk of successful legal challenge. Any form of challenge, even if unsuccessful, can create financial difficulty for small organisations and divert resources from delivery of front-line services. Organisations may also welcome transparency on how to organise associations.

The Code provides information on the legal duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, and we would expect employers to take further action to protect staff accordingly.

The Code provides information on how associations can be formed, and offers clarity that women can legally establish groups with others who have shared interests or lived experiences. Participating in these groups can offer valuable social, physical and mental health benefits and can support positive relations between women.

The Code also provides guidance to help bear in mind the rights of all users, including the  needs of women who need access to single-sex services.

Safety for women

The Code encourages service providers to clearly communicate who services are designed for – for example, via signage – and provides guidance on single-sex provision, empowering women and making them feel confident in making informed choices when accessing services. The Code’s guidance on single-sex provision may also empower women to request women-only services where these are not currently provided, and in circumstances where the conditions for providing such services are met. This could be especially useful for those women who, for cultural or religious reasons, are unable to share some spaces with men. It also particularly supports those women who have experienced domestic abuse or violence from men and feel unable to use services open to those who are not biologically female, including refuges or homeless accommodation.

For pregnant and breastfeeding women the updated Code highlights that harassment relating to breastfeeding may also constitute unlawful harassment on the grounds of sex, confirming that women are protected. The Code also highlights that while the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity is not covered directly under the harassment protections in the Act, it is indirectly covered as it amounts to harassment related to sex.

To read the guidance in full go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-code-of-practice-for-services-public-functions-and-associations-2026/equality-impact-assessment

See also:

Equality Act 2010: Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, 2026 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-code-of-practice-for-services-public-functions-and-associations-2026/equality-act-2010-draft-code-of-practice-for-services-public-functions-and-associations-2026

August 26, 2026

First UK-wide clinical guidelines for paediatric non-fatal strangulation launched to transform the clinical response – IFAS

The Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) has recently published the UK’s first Guidelines for clinical management of paediatric (under 16) non-fatal strangulation, closing a significant gap in clinical practice and providing dedicated guidance for healthcare professionals for the first time.

Building on IFAS’s previously published adult clinical guidelines for emergency and acute care settings, the new guidance responds to the clear need for dedicated recommendations for paediatric patients. Until now, clinicians caring for children following suspected or confirmed non-fatal strangulation had no dedicated UK guidance and often had to rely on protocols developed for adults. The new guidelines have been developed by a UK-wide Intercollegiate Working Group convened by IFAS, bringing together more than 60 senior clinicians, Royal Colleges, professional bodies and frontline professionals from across the UK to develop evidence-informed, consensus-based recommendations.

The guidance arrives against a backdrop of increasing concern. Home Office data shows recorded non-fatal strangulation and suffocation offences against under-18s in England and Wales increased from 2,130 in 2022–23 to 4,888 in 2024–25 (IFAS Police Report Data, 2023–2025). Evidence also shows that hanging/strangulation is the most common method of suicide among children and young people in England, accounting for 69% of deaths in 2019–20 (National Child Mortality Database Programme, 2021).

The guidelines provide practical recommendations covering clinical assessment, imaging, safeguarding, mental health, admission and discharge planning, while recognising that children who have experienced strangulation may present with little or no visible injury despite the potential for significant harm.

Alongside the clinical guidelines, IFAS has also published a new information leaflet for children, young people and their families following a medical assessment for non-fatal strangulation. The leaflet has been developed to help children, young people and their families better understand non-fatal strangulation, what to expect following a medical assessment, and where they can access further support and information.

Dr Catherine Hayhurst, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Co-Chair Quality in Emergency Care Committee, Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said:

“RCEM is pleased that a review of the evidence has shown that there is no need to routinely do a CT angiogram in young people given the radiation exposure. This update of the guidance continues to have an emphasis on safeguarding and also highlights mental health issues for patients presenting with non-fatal strangulation.”

Professor Cath White, Medical Director, IFAS, said:

“There simply wasn’t a UK guideline for managing non-fatal strangulation in children, so clinicians were doing their best with guidance written for adults. We brought together more than 60 clinicians from across the UK – including Royal Colleges, specialist organisations and frontline professionals – to build something better. We listened, challenged one another and developed guidance that addresses a real need. These are the first UK guidelines, but they won’t be the last. As the evidence grows, we’ll continue to learn and refine them to ensure children receive the best possible care.”

Bernie Ryan OBE, Chief Executive of IFAS, said:

“Our adult clinical guidelines helped establish a more consistent response to non-fatal strangulation across the UK. Children deserve that same standard of evidence-based clinical and trauma-informed care. These new guidelines, together with the new information leaflet developed in partnership with SafeLives Changemakers, survivors and Beyond Equality, are the result of extraordinary collaboration across the healthcare community and represent an important step forward in improving outcomes for children and young people.”

About IFAS

The Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) is the UK’s leading authority on non-fatal strangulation, established in October 2022 with Home Office funding. IFAS works across research, training, policy and survivor engagement, alongside partners in government, healthcare, criminal justice, and specialist services, to improve the UK’s understanding and response to strangulation. Since 2022, IFAS and its partners have trained more than 22,000 frontline professionals, including through its partnership with SafeLives.

https://ifas.org.uk/blog/https-first-uk-wide-clinical-guidelines-for-paediatric-non-fatal-strangulation-launched-to-transform-the-clinical-response/

 

August 26, 2026

Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to the conclusion of the early release scheme review

Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said: “The decision to not exclude domestic abuse perpetrators from this scheme is wrong and puts victims lives at risk.

“As I told the Lord Chancellor just last week, the danger perpetrators pose to their victim should not be underestimated. These are individuals who are fixated on their victim and will stop at nothing to control and cause harm.

“While ministers have rightly recognised the need to improve communication with victims impacted and given a welcome injection of funding to specialist services, measures that will keep domestic abuse victims safe still appear to be an afterthought.

“It is critical that no abuser is released in October unless I am confident that victims’ safety is not being compromised. This means gathering information about the risk perpetrators pose to victims as part of a thorough risk assessment before they leave prison and providing probation the resources they need to manage more offenders rigorously in the community.

“I will continue to work with ministers to ensure victims and survivors of domestic abuse do not continue to bear the brunt of this crisis.”

Notes

  • When the Labour government – under Keir Starmer – introduced the Standard Determinate Sentence 40% (SDS40) early release scheme to alleviate the prison capacity crisis it included specific protections for victims of domestic abuse.
  • This included exempting offenders serving sentences for sex offences irrespective of sentence length; serious violent offences with a sentence of four years or more; specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length (including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation); as well as offences concerning national security.
  • During the passage of the Sentencing Act 2026 these protections were not carried forward meaning these offenders will now be released early.
  • Government figures show that prison recalls in England and Wales have increased to over 51,000 per year, with most recalls resulting from breaches of licence conditions, up 28% on the previous 12 months.
  • Domestic abuse perpetrators are often released with license conditions which can include not contacting their victim or visiting certain areas, however they are known to frequently breach these conditions to carry out their campaign of abuse. Additional measures included in the Sentencing Act mean that the vast majority of offenders recalled to prison will now be re-released automatically after 56 days (around eight weeks). A breach of license condition against their victim will not prevent a perpetrator from being automatically re-released.
  • Research into domestic homicide reviews found that over half of all victims who die at the hands of a partner or family member were subject to coercive control in the lead up to their death. Offenders convicted of coercive control are now set to be released early.
  • Non-fatal strangulation is one of the strongest indicators of high-risk, potentially lethal domestic abuse behaviour. IFAS analysed 396 published Domestic Homicide Reviews and identified 74 cases with a history of non-fatal strangulation (NFS). In 49% of the DHRs with a history of non-fatal strangulation, the perpetrator of the non-fatal strangulation went on to kill the same victim.
  • Recent figures suggest around 30% of people being managed by probation are current or former perpetrators of domestic abuse, although the true figure is likely to be higher.

https://www.domesticabusecommissioner.uk/domestic-abuse-commissioner-responds-to-the-conclusion-of-the-early-release-scheme-review/

August 26, 2026

Rape, serious child sex and grooming offences barred from sentencing changes – Downing Street & Ministry of Justice

The Prime Minister has ordered that rape, serious child sex and other grooming offences will be barred from upcoming changes to prison sentences, protecting the public from these dangerous criminals.

This follows the Prime Minister halting planned changes to sentencing and demanding the policy be reconsidered within days of coming into office.

After listening to victims’ concerns, rape and serious child sex offences, including vile grooming gang offences, will now be blocked from the upcoming sentencing changes, meaning these dangerous criminals will see no change to their custodial sentence and stay locked up for longer.

The changes mean rape and child sexual offences will be added to the exclusions that were already in place for 18,000 offenders, including those who have been found by a court to be the most dangerous or anyone serving a life sentence.

The Prime Minister wanted to go even further, and he recognises that people will be worried about other offenders being released. The significant changes he is making go as far as possible without putting the prison system at risk of collapse, which would put the public at greater risk.

The Prime Minister has insisted that offenders face tough new surveillance after leaving prison. There will be a presumption that all offenders are tagged, tougher periods of supervision and robust new rules, including restriction zones for offenders. He has also been clear that victims must be placed at the heart of the justice system, announcing a new package of victim support – backed by £10 million – to provide better, trauma-informed contact. This is alongside a new national helpline and efforts to contact all affected victims to offer information and support.

A lack of investment in the prisons estate for over a decade has led to a situation where adult male prisons are now at 98% capacity. That’s why the Government will take decisive action to fix the broken prison system, with prison building moving at the fastest rate since the Victoria era, with 14,000 new prison places expected by 2031.

The Prime Minister has also asked the Justice Secretary to move rapidly on scoping and accelerating the next generation of prisons, providing a long-term shift in capacity to resolve this crisis. He has also asked the Justice Secretary to look at how we can remove foreign offenders from our prisoners faster and in greater numbers, review outdated Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences and free up space in the women’s prison estate.

Ministers are also delaying wider releases from prison under the Sentencing Act from September to October, giving probation staff have time to plan for releases and that victims can have a say in the restrictions placed on offenders.

The Sentencing Act will restore order to the prison system and make sure we have cells available for dangerous criminals. This will put an end to the use of repeated early release schemes prior to July 2024, which were emergency, temporary measures forced upon successive governments because of repeated capacity crises.

The changes also introduce a new progression model which will end automatic release for badly behaved offenders. Those who break the rules or are violent behind bars face spending 100% of their sentence locked up.

To read the press release in full go to https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rape-serious-child-sex-and-grooming-offences-barred-from-sentencing-changes

 

August 5, 2026