Orkney Health and Care Equalities Outcomes and Monitoring Statement

The statutory duties associated with the Equalities Act 2010 require public bodies to refresh their Equalities Outcomes every four years, and provide a progress report every two years. Orkney Health and Care’s (OHAC) Equalities Outcomes were set in 2016 and renewed in 2018.

Under normal circumstances, OHAC’s Equalities Outcomes should have been refreshed in June 2020. A report on progress against the previous Outcomes was also due in June 2020. However, the Coronavirus pandemic has placed an unprecedented burden on public services, particularly services responsible for health and social care delivery. In recognition of these pressures on services, the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 allows public authorities to postpone the publication of statutory reports, during the period covered by the Act. These postponements will expire on 31 March 2021.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) advises that public bodies subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty have to publish reports that were due during the period covered by the Coronavirus Act, by 30 April 2021.

As a consequence, the Orkney Health and Care Equalities Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report, complete with refreshed draft Equality Outcomes, will be published here on or before 30 April 2021.