Why does the Society collect ethnicity data?
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2001, which came into force on 2 April 2001, imposed a new statutory duty on public authorities to promote race equality. Although the Society is not strictly a public body it performs functions of a public nature and is bound by the general duty within the Act in respect of its statutory and regulatory functions. Registration is a statutory duty and therefore in order to meet its obligations under the Act the Society has to monitor the ethnic make-up of its register. This concept is not, however, new. Before the enacting of this legislation the Society had in fact collected ethnicity data. A survey of ethnicity was included in the 1999 retention fee collection exercise and ethnicity data has subsequently been collected at the point of entry on to the register. Collectively the ethnicity data will be a powerful tool in assisting the Society in meeting its obligations and in other areas of the Society’s work. If the Society did not comply with this gen
