A1.13 Equalities impacts should be taken into account and the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), created under the Equalities Act 2010, requires that public sector bodies have due regard to advancing equality. Consideration of equality issues must influence the decisions reached by public bodies and decision makers should be informed of the potential effects of intervention on groups or individuals with characteristics identified by the Act.
A1.14 The need for equalities analysis will apply at the long-list stage and throughout the appraisal process. The results should be visible to decision makers. The PSED covers 9 protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. In addition, since October 2014 there is also a requirement to consider the impact of decisions on Families.