Conservatives would scrap Public Sector Equality Duty, says Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch pledged to scrap the PSED in a keynote speech given at the Institute for Government on Tuesday (9 June), in which she described the duty as "subjective with no clear rules", adding: "Whatever its intention in practice, it has become a minefield that exposes almost every significant public decision to legal challenge."

Local authorities are subject to the PSED under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which requires councils to consider how they promote equality in their decision-making, internal and external policies, procurement exercises, recruitment, and the services they provide.

Speaking on Tuesday, Badenoch claimed that the duty had caused authorities to be "conditioned to see minority status as victimhood", and had resulted in local authorities ignoring certain crimes "because they were too scared to point out the obvious".

She also criticised its impact in relation to policing, claiming that "the police's own guidance now explicitly says that people should be treated differently based on their protected characteristics" and that "equality under the law... is being thrown away".

Commenting on its effects on public bodies, she added: "They withhold information, they avoid difficult conversations and they allow reputational concerns to dominate their decision-making.

"They have spent so long worrying about institutional racism, that they have become institutionally incompetent.

"They are systematically failing to fulfil their role, to do what they are there to do."

The party took advice from Andrew Dinsmore of Twenty Essex on its approach to the PSED and the Equality Act, according to the speech.

Responding to the speech, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said the PSED does not impede public bodies' work and is designed to support good decision-making.

A spokesperson for the equalities watchdog said: “The PSED is not a barrier to these organisations doing the job the public expects them to do.

"Most take it seriously and use the requirements of the PSED to design the best possible services for everyone. It’s there to help them make good decisions, based on an understanding of the impact those decisions have on everyone that they affect."

Adam Carey