UK Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act came into force from October 2010, replacing all previous anti-discrimination legislation, providing a modern, single legal framework to better tackle disadvantage and discrimination.
It legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in the wider society and makes the law easier to understand and strengthens protection in some situations.
National LGBT Survey 2017
In July 2017 the Office for National Statistics launched a survey with the aim to understand the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people living in the UK. The links below provide access to the results and further information on this survey:
The 9 Protected Characteristics
Protected Characteristics: There are nine protected characteristics in the Equality Act. Under the Act, discrimination which happens because of one or more of these characteristics is unlawful.
Age
A person belonging to a particular age (for example 32 year olds) or range of ages (for example 18 to 30 year olds).
Data on County Durham’s population by age and gender is available through the Population Reports theme.
Related Factsheets:
Disability
A person has a disability if she or he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Most people suffer periods of ill health at some time, but these are usually temporary problems that do not have a sustained effect on day to day activities, such as going to work or socialising with friends and family. However, some health problems and disabilities are long-lasting and reduce a person’s ability to carry out the activities people usually do day-to-day and which most of us take for granted.
Useful Links:
2011 Census Data for County Durham
- In the 2011 Census 26,653 people recorded themselves as having a LLTI that limited day to day activities in County Durham representing 28% of the resident population in the county. This was higher than the 21.6% recorded across England & Wales,
- Within this group 13,878 people of working age (aged 16 to 64) recorded themselves as having a LLTI that limited day to day activities in County Durham representing 22.7% of the resident working age population in the county. This was higher than the 16.2% recorded across England & Wales.
| Area | All People | Day-to-day activities limited a lot | Day-to-day activities limited a little | Day-to-day activities not limited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Durham | 513,242 | 62,875 | 58,411 | 391,956 |
| North East | 2,596,886 | 285,087 | 277,105 | 2,034,694 |
| England and Wales | 56,075,912 | 4,769,712 | 5,278,729 | 46,027,471 |
ONS Crown Copyright Reserved [from Nomis]; QS303EW – Long-term health problem or disability
Gender Reassignment
The process of transitioning from one gender to another.
Marriage and Civil Partnerships
Marriage is a union between a man and a woman or between a same-sex couple.
Same-sex couples can also have their relationships legally recognised as ‘civil partnerships’. Civil partners must not be treated less favourably than married couples (except where permitted by the Equality Act).
| Area | All usual residents aged 16+ | Single (never married or never registered a same-sex civil partnership) | Married | In a registered same-sex civil partnership | Separated (but still legally married or still legally in a same-sex civil partnership) | Divorced or formerly in a same-sex civil partnership which is now legally dissolved | Widowed or surviving partner from a same-sex civil partnership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Durham | 425,258 | 137,980 | 200,826 | 759 | 10,708 | 41,207 | 33,778 |
| North East | 2,134,449 | 734,910 | 972,550 | 3,918 | 55,081 | 201,201 | 166,789 |
| England % Wales | 45,496,780 | 15,730,275 | 21,196,684 | 104,942 | 1,195,882 | 4,099,330 | 3,169,667 |
ONS Crown Copyright Reserved [from Nomis]; KS103EW – Marital and civil partnership status
Pregnancy and Maternity
Pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant or expecting a baby. Maternity refers to the period after the birth, and is linked to maternity leave in the employment context. In the non-work context, protection against maternity discrimination is for 26 weeks after giving birth, and this includes treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding.
Useful Links:
Race
Refers to the protected characteristic of race. It refers to a group of people defined by their race, colour, and nationality (including citizenship) ethnic or national origins.
Data on County Durham’s ethnic population is available through the Population Reports theme.
Useful Links
Religion and Belief
Religion refers to any religion, including a lack of religion. Belief refers to any religious or philosophical belief and includes a lack of belief. Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition.
Data on religion across County Durham is available through the Population Reports theme.
Useful Links
Sex
A man or a woman
Data on population demographics across County Durham is available through the Population Reports theme.
Useful Links
Sexual Orientation
Whether a person’s sexual attraction is towards their own sex, the opposite sex or to both sexes.
The latest bulletin from the Office for National Statistics on Sexual Orientation provides estimates on the sexual orientation of the North East population. The table below provides some detail from this bulletin on the North East and provides percentages. Using these figures and a broad assumption that this distribution is even across all north east authorities, broad estimates for County Durham can been calculated.
| Estimates | North East | County Durham | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Estimate (000’s) | % | Estimate (000’s) |
| Heterosexual or straight | 2065 | 96.4% | 418 |
| Gay or lesbian | 25 | 1.2% | 51 |
| Bisexual | 6 | 0.3% | 1 |
| Other | 7 | 0.3% | 2 |
| Don’t know or refuse | 39 | 1.8% | 79 |