Solicitor General to spread equality message at seminar

SOLICITOR General Vera Baird was due in Edinburgh today to highlight the UK Government's Equality Bill.

She was scheduled to take part in a seminar with a wide variety of organisations at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Despite progress in tackling inequality and discrimination, women are still paid around 12 per cent less than men, disabled people are two-and-a half times more likely to be out of work, people from ethnic minorities a fifth less likely to find work and two thirds of over-fifties feel that they are turned down for a job because they are too old.

New measures, announced in June by Minister for Women and Equality Harriet Harman, will streamline and strengthen discrimination legislation including a ban on harmful age discrimination by those providing goods, facilities and services.

Ms Baird said: "Across the UK significant progress has been made on tackling unfairness, but there is still much to do."