Judgment Approved by the court for handing down. R (Bridges) -v- CC South Wales & ors (2) The duty must be exercised in substance, with rigour, and with an open mind. It is not a question of ticking boxes. (3) The duty is non-delegable. (4) The duty is a continuing one. (5) If the relevant material is not available, there will be a duty to acquire it and this will frequently mean that some further consultation with appropriate groups is required. (6) Provided the court is satisfied that there has been a rigorous consideration of the duty, so that there is a proper appreciation of the potential impact of the decision on equality objectives and the desirability of promoting them, then it is for the decision-maker to decide how much weight should be given to the various factors informing the decision. 176. We accept (as is common ground) that the PSED is a duty of process and not outcome. That does not, however, diminish its importance. Public law is often concerned with the process by which a decision is taken and not with the substance of that decision. This is for at least two reasons. First, good processes are more likely to lead to better informed, and therefore better, decisions. Secondly, whatever the outcome, good processes help to make public authorities accountable to the public. We would add, in the particular context of the PSED, that the duty helps to reassure members of the public, whatever their race or sex, that their interests have been properly taken into account before policies are formulated or brought into effect. 177. This is reinforced by the background to the enactment of the PSED. That background is to be found in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report in 1999, which led to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. That Act introduced a new section 71 into the Race Relations Act 1976, to replace an earlier version which had applied only to local authorities. The provision has since been expanded to embrace other protected characteristics and now finds its place in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. 178. The background is explained by Karon Monaghan QC in Equality Law (2nd ed., 2013), at para. 16.06: “The first of the modern equality duties was found again in section 71 of the RRA, but following amendments made to it by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (enacting the General Race Equality Duty). The General Race Equality Duty in the amended section 71 of the RRA required that listed public authorities had ‘due regard’ to the need ‘to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination’ and ‘to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups’. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the General Race Equality Duty within it were enacted to give effect to the recommendations in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report and the Inquiry’s findings of ‘institutional racism’. The purpose of the General Race Equality Duty was to create a strong, effective,