Doncaster Council

Race Equality and Procurement

The Race Relations Act 1976 as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 gives councils a legal duty to:

Have due regard to the need to:

a) Eliminate unlawful discrimination
b) Promote equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial groups.

This duty applies to procurement and functions delivered by private or voluntary sector firms through contractual arrangements. Responsibility for meeting this duty remains with the council regardless of the provider. The Commission for Racial Equality has produced a guide for councils explaining what this means in practice. The guide suggests how councils should ensure their general procurement policies and practices are in line with legal requirements and what they should do at each stage of the contracting process.

The basic principle is that Councils should promote equality of opportunity for their own staff and local businesses regardless of the ethnicity of ownership and ensure services are designed and delivered in a way that meets the needs of all users.