Section 31 of the Equality Act 2006 allows the Commission to carry out an assessment to determine to what extent or in what way an authority or a company complies with the duties.

This power allows the Commission to determine the approach of a specific authority in the implementation of public duties. This includes procedural guarantees set out in Annex 2 of the Equality Act, which the Commission must comply with while carrying out an assessment. This includes respecting the preparation and publication guidelines of the targets before the Commission even begins to assess it - Better Policy, Better Lives: Section 31 Assessment into Scottish Ministers' Progress in Meeting the Public Sector Equality Duties - Report of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, published in November 2011.