11/11/2024
Updated guidance in relation to Section 75 and Budgets
The Equality Commission has created three guides to help public authorities and others to better understand the duties under Section 75 in relation to budgetary processes and decisions. The guides are for
- public authorities
- the Department of Finance
- the Northern Ireland Office
For all public authorities
We have developed this short guide to provide guidance as to how the duties under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and their associated equality scheme arrangements, apply to budgetary processes and decisions; that is, to the setting and managing of organisational budgets by public authorities that are duty-holders under section 75.
Section 75 Advice: Budgetary processes and decisions
For the Department of Finance and relevant to all government departments
This short guidance aims to provide guidance to the Department of Finance as to how the duties under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and the Department’s associated equality scheme arrangements, apply when the Department is carrying out its function in respect of the setting of the Northern Ireland Budget and of the management of the ‘in-year’ monitoring process. This guidance has relevance to each of the government departments, in particular to their role in providing the Department of Finance with adequate and timely equality assessments regarding the indicative budget proposals for their departments as part pf the Budget setting process.
Section 75 Advice for DoF: Budgetary processes and decisions
For the Northern Ireland Office
This advice note aims to provide practical guidance to the Northern Ireland Office (‘the NIO’) as to how the duties under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and the NIO’s associated equality scheme arrangements, apply when the NIO is carrying out its functions in respect of the setting of the Northern Ireland Budget in the event that the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Executive Committee and the Northern Ireland Ministers, are not operating.
Section 75 and Budgets: Advice to the Northern Ireland Office