Section 71C
37.Section 71C gives the CRE the power to issue Codes of Practice to provide practical guidance to public authorities in relation to carrying out their duties to promote race equality provided for at sections 71(1) and 71(2).
38.The procedures for preparing and issuing draft Codes, and consulting on them, are based on the existing procedures in the 1976 Act for Codes on employment and housing. So too are the procedures for Secretary of State approval of the Codes, and for laying the Codes before Parliament. The only difference is that the Secretary of State will be under a duty, in view of devolution, to consult with the Scottish Ministers and the National Assembly for Wales in deciding whether to approve or reject such Codes.
39.A breach of a Code would not be actionable as such, but a Code would be admissible in evidence where it is relevant to any issue in proceedings before the court.