In November 2012, the NHS Equality and Diversity Council (EDC) announced that it was to change its name to the Personal, Fair and Diverse Council in response to the Council’s new responsibilities for health inequalities and human rights as part of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Feedback is important to us and we understand that the name change has met with some concern and debate.

The Council and its members have done some excellent work to ensure that the NHS makes real progress in moving beyond legal compliance and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. This includes the implementation of the Equality Delivery System, which is being used by both providers and commissioners of services. We want to build on this success by using the Council to help us consider equality and health inequalities in line with the NHS Constitution – and we look forward to inviting your views on this.

In light of these considerations, we have agreed to operate as the NHS Equality and Diversity Council whilst further engagement is carried out.

This is an important time for the NHS Equality and Diversity Council since its remit has widened to include health inequalities and human rights. We are developing an on-going programme of engagement and actively seeking to involve patients, staff and communities in equality-related discussions via events such as the inaugural NHS Values Summit, which took place last month. Further engagement opportunities will be publicised early in 2013.

Find out more about the work of the EDC.

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