Summary: The Council failed to demonstrate how it considered its duties under the Equality Act through its highways policy. This fault caused Mr X uncertainty and distress about whether his rights were being upheld by the Council. The Council accepted fault, apologised to Mr X, and is reviewing its highways policy to demonstrate how it has met its equality duty. The Council has sufficiently remedied the injustice caused by agreeing to review its highways policy. It has agreed to provide us with evidence of this remedy being carried out.

The complaint

1. Mr X says has a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
2. He complains the Council failed to demonstrate how its highways policy took account of its equality duties. He said this caused him distress and uncertainty about whether his rights had been properly considered.
3. He also complained that the Council failed to keep the highways in a good condition which caused him personal injury and damage to his vehicle.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. Mr X complained that the Council failed to keep its highways in decent condition, and this caused him personal injury and damage to his vehicle.
7. I have not investigated this complaint, as the Ombudsman already investigated this in a previous investigation and decided we would not investigate these issues. We decided it was reasonable for Mr X to take these matters to court.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered the information provided by Mr X and the Council.
9. I considered the relevant law and guidance as set out below.
10. I considered comments made by Mr X and the Council on previous draft decisions before coming to a final decision.

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What I found

Law and guidance

Equality Act 2010

11. The Equality Act 2010 provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. It offers protection, in employment, education, the provision of goods and services, housing, transport and the carrying out of public functions.
12. The Equality Act makes it unlawful for organisations carrying out public functions to discriminate on any of the nine protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010. They must also have regard to the general duties aimed at eliminating discrimination under the Public Sector Equality Duty.
13. The protected characteristics referred to in the Act are, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Public Sector Equality Duty

14. The Public Sector Equality Duty (the equality duty) was created under the Equality Act 2010. The duty requires all local authorities (and bodies acting on their behalf) to have due regard to the need to:
• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act;
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and
• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
15. The broad purpose of the Public Sector Equality Duty is to consider equality and good relations into the day-to-day business and decision making of public authorities. It requires equality considerations to be reflected into the design of policies and the delivery of services, including internal policies, and for these issues to be kept under review.

What happened

16. Mr X complained to the Council that its highways policy did not demonstrate how the Council had due regard to its equality duties, for instance by specifying how it had assessed any risks to protected groups.
17. As a person with a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, Mr X said he was caused distress and uncertainty that his rights were not being upheld by the Council’s highways department through this policy.
18. Ms X also complained that the Council’s poorly maintained highways caused him personal injury and vehicle damage. However I have explained in paragraphs 6 and 7 why I have not investigated these matters.
19. The Council said it had considered groups with protected characteristics when evaluating risks posed to highway users and when deciding on policy. However, it accepted it was at fault for not recording this in its highways policy.
20. The Council apologised to Mr X. It also said it would review its highways policy to ensure it showed how the Council had considered equality impacts through its work on highways and maintenance.

My findings

21. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires councils to consider equality issues as part of its decision making.
22. The equality duty does not set out a specific process for how councils should do this but it should be able to demonstrate that it has given consideration to protected groups when making its decisions.
23. I agree with the Council that it failed to demonstrate this through its highways policy and this was fault. The Council has partly remedied injustice to Mr X from this fault by apologising to him. It has also agreed to ensure the review of its highways policy will set out how it has considered the equality duty through its decision making. I have asked the Council to provide evidence that this has happened. This will appropriately remedy remaining injustice from the fault and prevent future injustice from similar fault.

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Agreed action

24. Within six months of the date of the final decision, the Council should:
1. Demonstrate that it has reviewed its highways and maintenance policy to show how it has considered the equality duty and assessed risks to protected groups as part of its decision making.

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Final decision

25. I have completed my investigation and found fault leading to injustice. The Council has already put forward a suitable remedy for the injustice caused. I have asked for evidence of this remedy being carried out.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman