The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published research identifying the challenges faced in parts of the UK that have introduced a public sector “socioeconomic duty” under the Equality Act 2010.
Scotland and Wales have both implemented the duty, which requires public bodies to have “due regard” to the desirability of exercising their strategic functions “in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socioeconomic disadvantage”.
England is still working towards implementation, and questions about adopting the duty were broached in a recent consultation for the equality (race and disability) bill.
The EHRC’s research found organisations in Scotland, which introduced the duty in 2018, reporting that tackling socioeconomic disadvantage was well understood and had become part of strategic decision-making. However, duty bearers said the situation “does not always result in organisation-wide understanding or implementation of the duty”.
In Wales, which introduced the duty in 2021, the EHRC said duty-bearing organisations “reported mixed views on whether their organisation finds the duty easy to implement”.
Challenges identified by duty bearers in both nations included financial pressures; a lack of understanding of the socioeconomic duty across their organisation; and a lack senior-level awareness. The latter concern was said to be “exacerbated by a high turnover of senior staff”.
Duty bearers also flagged a lack of clarity over key terms, such as “strategic decision” and “due regard”; overlapping and competing legislative requirements; and difficulty finding data on socioeconomic disadvantage other than the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Organisations covered by the act include the devolved governments, local authorities and health boards. The EHRC sent survey invitations to 104 duty-bearing bodies in Scotland and 39 in Wales as part of its research. A total of 55 responses were received. In-depth interviews were also conducted with five organisations in Scotland.
EHRC chief executive John Kirkpatrick said the research provided “valuable insight” to help inform effective implementation of the socioeconomic duty in England.
“Public bodies in Scotland and Wales have been at the forefront of putting the duty into practice,” he said.
“While the UK government’s plans are yet to be finalised, our findings provide English bodies with the evidence to learn from their experiences, before the duty comes into force in England.”
Kirkpatrick said organisations in Scotland and Wales had stressed a need for additional support to improve implementation. Particular areas of interest were greater training; guidance and resources; better access to good practice; knowledge-sharing networks with other duty bearers; and the collection of reliable data on socioeconomic disadvantage.
The EHRC chief exec added: “As Britain’s equality regulator, we plan to provide detailed advice on the introduction of the socioeconomic duty in England once the UK government confirms its plans, including which organisations the duty will cover, how it will be regulated and enforced and how it will interact with the Public Sector Equality Duty.”