Harman outlines planned socio-economic duty for local authorities

What is to be expected of local authorities and other public sector bodies when it comes to implementing the new socio-economic duty contained in the Equality Bill became a little clearer this week after the government published a policy statement on the issue.

Under the duty councils will have to ensure they consider the impact that their strategic decisions will have on narrowing socio-economic inequalities.

The government said it expected this to include examining evidence of socio-economic inequalities relevant to the decision, looking at actions that would reduce inequalities and then giving appropriate consideration to those courses of action, balancing them against other policy objectives and available resources.

The duty will help “reduce barriers that hold people back, block aspirations and prevent people fulfilling their potential”, the government said. “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 be monitored by the Audit Commission and inspectorates such as Ofsted. Individuals will be able to bring a judicial review action if they believe the public body has failed to perform the duty.

The policy statement provides examples of best practice. In education, it cited the pilot scheme set up by Newham Council to provide free school meals to all primary school children – this was established in the knowledge that children who eat well perform better at school, but that children from poorer backgrounds are less likely to do this.

In health, the Department of Health studied data showing that life expectancy is lower in the 70 most deprived local authorities around the country. It has provided tailored, intensive support to the primary care trusts in those areas, and allocated additional funding.

Deputy prime minister Harriet 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.”

The new duty, which is expected to come into force in April 2011, is one of a range of measures contained in the Equality Bill. Other key proposals include:

• A new power to use procurement to drive equality
• A power to require employers with more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay gap to assist transparency
• Extending the scope for employers to use positive action to recruit someone from an under-represented group when choosing between otherwise equal candidates
• Enabling employment tribunals to make recommendations that affect the wider workforce and not just the victim of discrimination
• Strengthening protection against discrimination against disabled people
• Protection against discrimination because of a combination of two characteristics (known as ‘dual discrimination’)
• Tackling the misuse of pre-employment questionnaires about health or disability.