Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

2.12
2.13
discrimination”. However, the Government scrapped the socio-economic duty in the Equality
Act as too ‘bureaucratic’ 15 stating that the proposed specific duties in the PSED “would have
imposed burdens on public bodies which were at odds with Government’s new approach”. 16
There is an ongoing equality ‘Red Tape Challenge’ 17 review which has led to the Government
scrapping “weak and inefficient measures like the Socio Economic Duty and Third Party
Harassment [and reducing] unnecessary bureaucracy and burden on the public sector and
the private sector”. 18 Equality Impact Assessments, judicial reviews and consultations on policy
decisions are also under attack 19 which removes all the mechanisms for holding public bodies
to account and ensuring that they meet their obligations under the Equality Act. A review of
the Equality Duty should have been completed by April 2013. In their Equality Strategy the
Government has acknowledged that “new legislation and increased regulation has produced
diminishing returns, and in recent years the progress on equality has stalled and in some areas
begun to reverse”. 20 However, the focus on reducing bureaucracy is worrying as it connects
this with practices to ensure equalities issues are recognised and upheld along with health and
safety practices which should be improved rather than reduced. We believe this demonstrates
a lack of commitment to equalities and a dilution of existing legislation and obligations on public
bodies which can only lead to more inequality as they are not held to account.
Under the Equality Strategy ‘principles of change’, transparency is seen as giving people
the “tools and information they need to challenge organisations that are not offering fair
opportunities, and public services that are not delivering effectively for all the people they
serve”. 21 However, the tools which formed part of previous legislation have been removed and
there are only voluntary obligations for public bodies, although the Government could lay codes
and statutory guidance on the PSED before Parliament it has declined to do so in this instance.
Equality Impact Assessments are a key part of implementing the Equality Act and although
they are no longer a requirement of the Act and may well be removed altogether, they are the
best method to ensure the obligations of the Act are being enacted. Research by the Centre
for Human Rights in Practice at the University of Warwick found that many impact assessments
carried out by public bodies were poorly resourced, lacked analysis and seemed like a
justification for a decision already taken. 22 This is being used as a justification for their removal
rather than as a reason to improve these processes.
Recommendation:
There need to be authoritative sources of advice and support for government
departments on equality impact analysis and a common model of analysis to predict
the likely equality effects of policy should be developed
15. Government Equalities Office (2010) The Equality Strategy – Building a Fairer Britain. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/
publications/equalities/equality-strategy-publications/equality-strategy/equality-strategy?view=Binary
16. Government Equalities Office (2012) The Equality Strategy – Building and Fairer Britain: Progress report. GEO: London http://www.
homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/equality-strategy-publications/progress-report?view=Binary
17. Red Tape Challenge http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/home/index/ Accessed: 18/04/13
18. Government Equalities Office (2012) The Equality Strategy – Building and Fairer Britain: Progress report. GEO: London http://www.
homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/equality-strategy-publications/progress-report?view=Binary
19. Mulholland, H. (2012) ‘David Cameron axes equality assessments in war on ‘red tape’’, The Guardian, 19th November 2012 http://www.
guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/19/cameron-axe-equality-assessments
20. Government Equalities Office (2010) The Equality Strategy – Building a Fairer Britain. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/
publications/equalities/equality-strategy-publications/equality-strategy/equality-strategy?view=Binary
21. Government Equalities Office (2010) The Equality Strategy – Building a Fairer Britain. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/
publications/equalities/equality-strategy-publications/equality-strategy/equality-strategy?view=Binary
22. Stephenson, M. and Harrison, J. (2011) Unravelling Equality: A Human Rights and Equality Impact Assessment of the Spending Cuts on
Women in Coventry. A Joint Report of the Centre for Human Rights in Practice, University of Warwick and Coventry Women’s Voices http://
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/chrp/projectss/humanrightsimpactassessments/cwv/
Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013 31