26 July 2007
The Prime Minister has today announced the establishment of a new Government Equalities Office.
Read the statement
To strengthen further the Government’s ability to deliver across the entire equalities agenda, I am today announcing the establishment of a new Government Equalities Office.
The Government Equalities Office will be physically located with and supported by staff in the Department for Work and Pensions. It will have its own Vote from the House of Commons. The Women and Equalities Unit, currently based in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), will transfer to the new Office.
Because of the links to the community cohesion agenda, race and faith issues remain located with the rest of the community agenda in DCLG.
My Rt. hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons (Harriet Harman) will be responsible for the Equalities Office at Cabinet level as Secretary of State for Equality. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (Barbara Follett), in addition to her current role, will be Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Equalities Office, with the title Minister for Equality. The Permanent Secretary at DWP, Sir Leigh Lewis will become the Accounting Officer for the new Equalities Office.
As now, there will continue to be lead Secretaries of State and Ministers for individual policy areas:
- my Rt. hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons (Harriet Harman) is the lead Cabinet Minister for women and is supported in this role by the Women and Equality Unit;
- my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Peter Hain) is the lead Cabinet Minister for disability issues, supported by the Minister for Disabled People (Ann McGuire) and the Office for Disability Issues in his department;
- my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears) is the lead Cabinet Minister for race and faith issues. My Rt. hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Stephen Timms) will also play an important role in advising the Government on issues of concern to faith communities.
My Rt. hon. and noble Friend the Leader of the Lords (Baroness Ashton of Upholland) will cover the equalities agenda in the House of Lords.
The Sub-Committee on Communities and Equalities, a sub-committee of the Domestic Affairs Committee, will bring together Ministers from across Government to discuss key policies on equalities. This sub-committee is chaired by my Rt. hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Ed Miliband).
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