Wales
18.Under the Welsh devolution settlement the subject matter of equal opportunities is not devolved to Wales. Section 2 of the Act provides a power for the Welsh Ministers to add any relevant Welsh body to the bodies subject to the duty in section 1 to consider socio-economic inequalities and to make consequential amendments. The Act also confers powers on the Welsh Ministers in relation to the public sector equality duty. Sections 153 and 154 give Welsh Ministers power to impose specific duties on relevant Welsh bodies and section 151 gives them power by order to amend Part 2 of Schedule 19 which specifies relevant Welsh bodies subject to the general public sector equality duty. A procedure is specified in relation to the imposition of specific duties on cross-border Welsh bodies added to Schedule 19 by a Minister of the Crown. The procedure enables the Welsh Ministers to impose specific duties in relation to the devolved Welsh functions of the cross-border bodies or provide for specific duties to be imposed by a Minister of the Crown only after consultation with the Welsh Ministers.
