The socio-economic duty
The socio-economic duty, contained in Section 1 of the Equality Act, is a useful tool for tackling inequality at a local level. However since 2010, successive UK governments have refused to bring the duty into force. Many groups and individuals are calling for this to change.
What is the socio-economic duty?
It has been over ten years since the Equality Act 2010 came into force. This Act brought together 116 pieces of anti-discrimination legislation and requires equal treatment in private and public services, and access to employment, for the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 introduces a socio-economic duty on public bodies that requires them:
‘when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise its functions’ to ‘have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage.’
Public bodies are asked to consider how their decisions and policies could increase or decrease inequality that results from socio-economic disadvantage.
Despite being passed by UK Parliament in 2010, successive UK governments have refused to bring Section 1 into force.
In April 2018, the Fairer Scotland Duty came into force as Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 in Scotland. This duty requires local authorities to actively consider how they could reduce inequalities of outcome in any major strategic decision they make; and to publish a written assessment, showing how they have done this. After extensive consultations, the Welsh Government enacted the duty as part of its programme to help public bodies deliver A More Equal Wales. Read this report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, ‘Evaluating the Socio-economic Duty in Scotland and Wales‘ (March 2021).
Unfortunately, the duty is not yet implemented in England (and the Equality Act 2010 does not apply to Northern Ireland). However, there are a number of English local authorities (see below) who are undertaking activities designed to tackle socio-economic disadvantage and therefore are acting in the spirit of the duty.
What can you do?
If you are a local authority officer, councillor or politician
Check our News and Events page to find out when the next event is or contact our Head of Policy, Research and Campaigns on [email protected]
Read our latest joint publication The socio-economic duty in action: case studies from England and Wales which provides examples of successful implementation of the duty.
Check out our Practical Guide for Local Authority Implementation of the Socio-economic Duty in England here.
Watch the recording of our ‘Ask the Experts’ session from 17 May 2022, including contributions from Just Fair, The Equality Trust, Tai Pawb and the Equality and Human Rights Commission
You can read our briefing on ‘Tackling Socio-economic Inequalities Locally: Good practices in the implementation of the Socio-economic Duty by local authorities in England’.
Find out how we are supporting North East of England local authorities here.
Read this report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, ‘Evaluating the Socio-economic Duty in Scotland and Wales‘ (March 2021). This report cites our evidence on local implementation of the duty in England.
We presented a motion to local authorities in the North East of England in March 2019. The motion asked councils to support social rights activities in their areas. We also asked them to urge the Government to make social security payments reflect the cost of living. Councils supporting this called for an end to the two-child limit and the benefit freeze.
The motion passed in:
Showcase your implementation or support for implementation of the socio-economic duty by sharing the hashtag #1ForEquality and #SocioEconomicDuty when you are using social media.
Useful tools to measure inequality at the local level:
To find out more information about the socio-economic duty and our campaign please contact ‘[email protected]‘.
1ForEquality Campaign
In 2017 we launched the 1forEquality campaign with our partner The Equality Trust. This NGO campaign group now includes members such as Thrive Teesside, Greater Manchester Poverty Action, Amnesty International UK, Equally Ours, Shelter, Runnymede Trust, Royal College of Physicians and Compassion in Politics.
In 2018 the campaign published a report ‘Tackling socio-economic inequalities locally’ which examined good practices in local authority implementation of the duty. An Early Day Motion on the commencement and enforcement of the duty received support from 83 cross-party MPs in the 2017-2019 UK Parliament.
In 2019 we presented a motion to local authorities in the North East of England asking them to support social rights activities in their areas. The motion passed in North Tyneside Council, Newcastle City Council, South Tyneside Council, and Middlesbrough Council.
In 2020 the ‘Lawrence Review’ recommended that the UK Government enact the socio-economic duty in order to tackle structural racism. In addition, Conservative Christian Wakeford MP declared his support for enacting the duty on 10 November 2020. The Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA), urged the UK Government to use the duty to address health inequalities.
In 2021 the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report ‘Evaluating the Socio-economic Duty in Scotland and Wales‘ cited our research. We also published ‘A Practical Guide for Local Authority Implementation of the Socio-economic Duty in England’. Following evidence from members of the 1ForEquality campaign group, the cross-party Women and Equalities Select Committee recommended that the UK Government commission a pilot to establish the costs and benefits of different approaches to voluntary adoption of the socio-economic duty in England.
The Green Paper on Employment Rights published by the Labour Party in 2021 contained a commitment to enact the socio-economic duty.
Debbie Abrahams MP said that in 2022 she will be presenting a Private Members’ bill aimed at introducing the duty into law.
At local level we have been working closely the EHRC and public authorities who are interested in voluntarily implementing the duty. We developed a briefing on the duty and Covid-19 recovery, delivered regional webinars, developed, and communicated a practical Guide for implementation and supported peer learning for over 70 local authorities. With our support, 1 in 7 local authorities have now voluntarily enacted the duty – check out this new research from Greater Manchester Poverty Action for more.
1ForEquality and Local Authorities in England
To address inequality, we are working to encourage local councils to implement the socio-economic duty. Doing so is a positive step towards tackling inequality across the England. Organisations that have taken this important step so far include:
- Rother District Council
- Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
- North of Tyne Combined Authority
- Newcastle City Council
- Southwark Council
- Derby City Council
In addition:
Stroud District Council has recently completed a public consultation on their Draft Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, which included a commitment to implement the duty.
Salford City Council announced in March 2021 a commitment to implement the socio-economic duty. To put this ambition into practice, a dedicated toolkit for the incorporation of the duty into the equality impact assessment process was created, as well as a detailed framework highlighting best practice and guidance in using the duty, and an integrated training programme. To support the adoption process, the council implemented a ‘soft launch’ period, followed by an evaluation after six months. This evaluation is currently underway in October 2022, with initial findings suggesting that the duty is having a positive impact on communities across the city.
Please click here for more information about 1forEquality in the North East region.
Click here for examples of Social Rights Council Motions.
Check out this new research from Greater Manchester Poverty Action for more information on voluntary adoption of the duty across England.
Our Research
The socio-economic duty in action: case studies from England and Wales
This report builds on our previous work by providing examples of successful implementation of the socio-economic duty. It seeks to support local authorities and public bodies to voluntarily adopt the duty and expand the reach and impact of the duty for those who have already adopted it. Drawing on the experiences of public bodies across the UK, this report presents a range of case studies to illustrate how the duty can improve decision-making and assist local authorities and public bodies in tackling socio-economic inequality.
A Practical Guide for Local Authority Implementation of the socio-economic duty in England
The extent of wealth and income inequality is of widespread concern in England. The Covid-19 pandemic brought the consequences of socio-economic inequalities into sharp focus, highlighting the intersecting nature of inequalities, and the way socio-economic disadvantage compounds inequalities across gender, ethnicity, disability, and sexuality.
Working with partners Greater Manchester Poverty Action, Thrive Teesside and many others, we have developed a practical guide for local authorities and combined authorities in England to support them to voluntarily adopt the socio-economic duty.
Tackling socio-economic inequalities locally
This research explores how a selected number of English local authorities are tackling socioeconomic disadvantage. It also examines how a legally enforceable duty in the form of section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 would support this endeavour.
This research involved desktop research and interviews with (among others) 20 individuals in seven local authorities: the Metropolitan Boroughs of Manchester, Newcastle, Oldham and Wigan; the Unitary Authorities of Bristol City and City of York; and the London Borough Council of Islington. Contact was purposefully pursued with authorities which would provide examples across council type, geographical location and political control.
What is the socio-economic duty? Watch this short animation to find out
Please note that this animation is intended for local authorities in England
What is the socio-economic duty?
Where can you find the socio-economic duty?
Where is the socio-economic duty legally binding?
Which bodies are legally bound by the socio-economic duty?
A timeline of key dates relating to the implementation of the socio-economic duty across the UK
Why is enacting the socio-economic duty important
We thank Kind Studio for producing the animation on the socio-economic duty.
Socio-economic duty in COVID-19 recovery
Just Fair is urging local authorities to tackle socio-economic inequality in its COVID-19 recovery plans.
This is because all people need to live in security, peace and dignity with a guarantee of physical health and safety.
The socio-economic duty is a powerful tool which public bodies and the UK Government have at their disposal.
Local authority workshops
At a local level we have been working with local authorities to provide information and training of the socio-economic duty and how it can be voluntarily implemented.
If you work for a local, combined, or public authority and are interested in a training session, please get in touch with Helen Flynn, our Head of Policy, Research and Campaigns at [email protected].
On 11 January 2022 we joined staff from Westminster City Council to talk about inequality, how it impacts their communities and what they can do to tackle it.
The participants used the 6 key steps in our practical guide to think about what they could do within their own work to consider the impact of socio-economic inequality. They talked about ways to authentically engage with communities with lived experience, how to make impact assessments more meaningful and how to make raw data available and accessible.
Read more here.
In November 2020, we held an online workshop for Greater Manchester local authorities and politicians to explore how the socio-economic duty is a useful tool for tackling inequalities. The event was hosted in partnership with the Equality Trust and Greater Manchester Poverty Action, with a speaker from England and Wales’ National Human Rights Institution, the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Sixty one cross-party representatives registered for the event, including four MPs.
Read the Greater Manchester Local Authority briefing here.
On 25 November 2021 we were invited along to the London Policy and Strategy Network to discuss inequality, why it matters, and what can be done about it, including the voluntary adoption of the socio-economic duty and how it can help realise people’s rights. As well as providing practical information about the adoption of the duty, the session provided a space for people to work together to think about innovative ways to achieve change and tackle inequality.
Click here to watch a recording of the session.
In November 2020, we held an online workshop for Greater Manchester local authorities and politicians to explore how the socio-economic duty is a useful tool for tackling inequalities. The event was hosted in partnership with the Equality Trust and Greater Manchester Poverty Action, with a speaker from England and Wales’ National Human Rights Institution, the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Sixty one cross-party representatives registered for the event, including four MPs.
Read the Greater Manchester Local Authority briefing here.
On 13 October 2021 we were invited by North East Child Poverty Commission and Thrive Teesside to take part in a panel discussion on, ‘Challenging poverty in the North East: A rights-based approach’ as part of Challenge Poverty Week and Action on Human Rights Week.
In our presentation we examined what inequality is, how it manifested in the UK and specifically in the North East of England and why and how inequality impacts negatively in our society.
Read more here.
In July 2020, and in partnership with the Equality Trust, we held an online workshop for North East England local authorities exploring how the socio-economic duty is a useful tool for tackling inequalities. Attended by 11 out of 12 of the local authorities in the region and 2 MPs, participants heard from Newcastle City Council and North of Tyne Combined Authority about their experiences of implementing the duty.
Read the North East Local Authority briefing here.
Highlights in our blogs
For more information about the socio-economic duty and our campaign please get in touch with us ‘[email protected]‘.