The Government
today published details about how the socio-economic duty, a key
part of the Equality Bill, will transform the way public bodies
work to narrow the gaps between rich and poor and make society fairer.
The socio-economic duty - clause one of the Equality Bill - sets
out a new legal duty on key public bodies, including central
government and local authorities, to ensure they consider the
impact that their strategic decisions will have on narrowing
socio-economic inequalities. The duty will be debated during
committee stage in the House of Lords on Monday (11 January 2010).
With the average life expectancy in the poorest areas of the
country up to 13 years shorter than in the most affluent areas,
the new socio-economic duty will require public bodies to consider
how they will reduce the barriers that hold people back, block
aspirations and prevent people fulfilling their potential.
Today’s policy statement on how the duty will operate provides
examples of best practice, including:
Education: Knowing that children who eat well perform better at
school, but that children from poorer backgrounds are less likely
to do this, Newham council is running a pilot scheme to provide
free school meals to all primary school children. They take this
approach because a significant number of children in Newham are
from deprived backgrounds and providing free meals for all
children helps them to increase take up by tackling the stigma
that can go hand in hand with free school meals. All families save
money, and all children get a nutritious meal once a day,
benefiting both their health and their behaviour.
Health: After studying data which shows that life expectancy
is lower in the 70 most deprived local authorities around the
country, the Department of Health has taken action. They are
providing tailored, intensive support to the primary care trusts
in those areas, allocating them additional funding and closely
tracking progress.
Ms Harman said:
"A
person’s socio-economic background is still a key factor in
determining their life chances – how they get on at school, the
chances of continuing with their education, their employment
prospects and their health.
"This new legal duty will fall on every strategic body
that affects these life chances and will be a catalyst for change
so that more people have a better chance to enjoy a higher
standard of living.
"Improving opportunities for everyone will be at the
core of all key public services, and is a crucial part of the
Equality Bill.”
Socio-economic factors affect how well people do throughout their
lives. The socio-economic duty is needed because:
· Poorer children (who get free school meals between the ages of
seven and 14) are less likely to go onto higher education;
· Less academically able but better off children overtake more
able, but poorer children by the age of six;
· The income gap between those in work continues into retirement
as those in higher paid jobs are more likely to have company
pension schemes, giving them financial security in retirement;
· Women generally live longer than men, but since the early 1980s
poorer women have been living less long than rich men.
Socio-economic disadvantages can also reinforce and
increase the inequalities associated with disability, gender and race:
· Disabled adults are twice as likely to live in low-income
households as non-disabled adults;
· Half of all lone parents are in low income households, the
overwhelming majority of them being women;
· Only 61% of Muslim men have jobs, compared to 80% of Christian
men, and 82% of Hindu men;
· Around 70% of people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds
live in the most deprived wards in the country.
Many central and local Government policies are already designed
to tackle the corrosive effect of socio-economic disadvantage and
to narrow the gaps between rich and poor. Policies such as the
national minimum wage, Sure Start, tax credits, increased
pensions, rising investment in education and the focus on health
inequalities are just some measures that have made a real difference.
Socio-economic inequality is the central issue examined by the
National Equality Panel, chaired by Professor John Hills. The
Panel has examined how factors like who you are, your family
background and where you live, shape outcomes such as how much
money you earn and how long you live. The Panel will present its
report to Government this month.
Formal guidance on the socio-economic duty will be published by
the Government Equalities Office (GEO) this summer.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Please contact the Government Equalities
Office press office on 020 7276 0988.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
· A fact
sheet on the socio-economic duty is attached to this press notice.
The socio-economic duty policy statement can be found on the GEO
website at www.equalities.gov.uk
· The socio-economic duty will apply to England, Scotland and
Wales. In England, the duty covers strategic bodies and Ministers
including: government departments, RDAs, local authorities, police
authorities, strategic health authorities and primary care trusts.
· The Equality Bill streamlines and strengthens equality law and
includes measures such as:
o A new single public sector equality duty on public bodies to
consider the needs of diverse groups in the community when
designing and delivering public services;
o A new power to use procurement to drive equality;
o Banning age discrimination outside the workplace, for example
in financial services (insurance, credit) and in health services;
o A power to require employers with more than 250 employees to
publish their gender pay gap to assist transparency;
o Extending the scope for employers to use positive action to
recruit someone from an under-represented group when choosing
between otherwise equal candidates;
o Enabling employment tribunals to make recommendations that
affect the wider workforce and not just the victim of discrimination;
o Protecting carers from discrimination;
o Protecting breastfeeding mothers;
o Strengthening protection against discrimination for disabled people;
o Protection against discrimination because of a combination of
two characteristics (known as ‘dual discrimination’)
o Tackling the misuse of pre-employment questionnaires about
health or disability.
· The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is responsible for the
Government’s overall strategy, legislation and priorities on
equality issues. It was established in July 2007 and has direct
responsibility for policy on gender equality, sexual orientation,
and for integrating work on race.
FACT SHEET: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DUTY
Everyone benefits from a fairer, more equal society. The
socio-economic duty is about providing fair opportunities for
everyone, regardless of their background.
INEQUALITY
Inequality may be associated with a person’s age, gender,
disability, sexual orientation or race. But in many cases it comes
from social class – a person’s family background. For example,
less academically able, but better off children overtake more
academically able, poorer children at school by the age of six.
Socio-economic disadvantage still leads to significant
inequalities – your education, your chances of getting a good job,
of achieving financial capability and enjoying good health are
still too dependent on your family background. This impact affects
people’s opportunities from early childhood through to later life.
The socio-economic duty will ensure that Government departments
and key public bodies see tackling this disadvantage as a central consideration.
This duty is not about spending more or running more programmes,
it is about doing things better – planning services better, with a
greater focus on those who are most disadvantaged.
WHAT IS THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DUTY?
The socio-economic duty - clause one of the Equality Bill - sets
out a new legal duty on key public bodies, including central
government and local authorities, to narrow the gaps between rich
and poor. It means that these public bodies must consider the
impact that their strategic decisions will have on narrowing
socio-economic inequalities.
We expect this will involve:
examining evidence on socio-economic inequalities relevant to the
decision;
looking at actions that would reduce inequalities;
giving appropriate consideration to those courses of action,
balancing them against other policy objectives and available
resources.
If a public body makes a decision which will
widen the gap between rich and poor, they will need to be able to
explain their rationale if asked or challenged. Compliance will
monitored by the Audit Commission and inspectorates such as
Ofsted, through existing mechanisms.
Individuals and groups may be able to bring a judicial
review if they think that the public body has failed to perform
the duty.
WORK ALREADY BEING DONE
Many central and local Government policies already recognise the
corrosive effect of socio-economic disadvantage and seek to narrow
the gaps between rich and poor. This duty will ensure that this
approach is considered in a systematic way by all government
departments and key public bodies.
The socio-economic duty will be accompanied by detailed statutory
guidance, which will be produced in the summer. We expect the duty
to come into force in April 2011.
Contacts:
Government Equalities Office press office
Phone: 0207 276 0932
enquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk