Governing bodies carry specific responsibilities in relation to certain elements of law, the most important of which are summarised below:
Equality, diversity and disability legislation: In recent years institutions have been faced with new requirements focused on the national equality and diversity agenda, in particular the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the Special Education Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA), and regulations relating to sexual orientation and religious belief. In addition, legislation on age discrimination and preventing incitement to religious hatred have recently come into force. This legislation put the responsibility for compliance on governing bodies, which must ensure that their institutions are non-discriminatory and have action plans in place to implement the legislation and monitor progress against targets.
The Equality Act 2010 replaces much of the previous legislation and strengthens the law in this area. A concise overview can be found in issue 25 of In Practice. The Equality Challenge Unit has also prepared information on the key changes.
A special edition (Vol 16, No.1, 2012) of Perspectives, the journal of the Association of University Administrators (AUA), explores the likely impact of the Equality Act 2010 on the higher education sector.
A briefing paper by the Leadership Foundation and the Equality Challenge Unit provides an update on recent changes in legislation and reviews governors' responsibilities in relation to equality and diversity.
A range of materials can be found in the Equalities section of the Home Office web site and guidance is also available from the Charity Commission.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has announced (April 2012) that it will not now publish statutory codes of practice on the public sector equality duty for higher education. The draft codes will remain as non-statutory guidance.
The 
Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires public authorities there to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between persons of different religious beliefs and political opinions, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and those with or without dependents.
The 
Welsh Language Act 1993, amended by the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 requires that the Welsh language has a status equal to English within Welsh institutions.
The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 requires public bodies in Scotland to prepare a Gaelic language plan. See the plan for the Scottish Funding Council.
Powerpoint presentations:
Implications of the Equality Act 2010, Ellen Pugh, Senior Policy Adviser, Equality Challenge Unit.
Equality and Diversity: Where are we Now, Dr Diane Bebbington, Diversity Adviser, LFHE
Health and safety legislation: The governing body is ultimately responsible, under health and safety at work legislation, for the health and safety of staff, students and visitors. It must ensure that the institution has a written health and safety policy, and that there are management systems in place to implement it, and generally to manage health and safety matters. Most governing bodies place the managerial responsibility on the chief executive (who in turn will identify a senior officer to be operationally responsible), and require regular reports - at least annually - on the operation and success of the policy.
Procurement: Procurement for services has to comply with both UK and European law, and governing bodies will need to assure themselves that their institutions are complying with relevant legislation.
Bribery: The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. PWC have prepared an analysis of the implications for higher education institutions.
Freedom of Information: This gives a general right of access to information, and applies to all institutions. All institutions should have a publication scheme in place and have published it, together with procedures to deal with requests under the Freedom of Information Act. The Act will also give access to governing body papers and minutes if they are not already published. In general, it will be wise for governors to assume in future that all governance documents are for public access unless otherwise stated. The Information Commissioner has published a plain English guide to the requirements of the Act and guidance has been published by JISC InfoNet.
The Ministry of Justice has announced an extension of the scope of the FOI legislation
Data Protection: The Data Protection Act 1998 requires institutional compliance with a number of principles, and gives data subjects the right to find out what personal information is held on computer and systematic paper records, to require removal if it is not necessary to hold it for the purposes in question, and to require amendments to rectify inaccuracies. The Act is often invoked by staff or students with a grievance, which may ultimately find its way to the governing body.
The Information Commissioner has published a statutory code of practice on the sharing of personal data.
The potential risks and financial implications of breaching data protection law is illustrated by the penalty levied on a Welsh health authority.
Charity law: Almost all universities and colleges have charitable status, which means that members of governing bodies are also charity trustees and subject to the requirements of charity law.
The Charities Act 2011 received Royal Assent in December 2011 and came into force on 14 March 2012. The Act consolidates all the provisions of the Charities Act 1993 and most of the those of the 2006 Act.
Powerpoint presentation:
How to Stay out of Jail, Nicola Bennison and Diane Gilhooley, Eversheds LLP