Campaigners call for public duty on equality

A coalition of trade unions and equality bodies is calling for an update to the Equality Act.

The Make Equality Real campaign fronted by the Equality Trust and the General Federation of Trade Unions is asking political parties to implement section 1 of the 2010 law, a duty that requires public bodies to consider the socio-economic impact of its decisions and policies.

Introduced 14 years ago, the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition chose not to include that section of the Act. According to the Equality Trust, the duty would “encourage governments to make tackling inequality a priority, although it wouldn’t be enforceable”.

“Reducing inequality and the impacts of inequality should be a dedicated and primary focus of all governments,” said the Equality Trust’s co-executive director Priya Sahani-Nicholas. “The UK is the fifth-richest country in the world, so we know money is available.”

The campaign’s petition to party leaders says “the socio-economic duty should be written into the Equality Act 2010 as part of a campaign to end austerity and make equality real … ensuring everyone in Britain can live secure and fulfilling lives.”

The campaign is supported by eight trade unions as well as Black Activists Rising Against Cuts, the Equality Trust and GFTU.