| answer text |
<p>The Government has no plans to commence Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 in England.
We have made clear on numerous occasions that this duty would be ineffectual. As merely
a “due regard” duty, it requires no specific action from the public body concerned,
and risks becoming a tick-box exercise, complied with to minimise the risk of litigation
rather than to promote real change in society. The duty is also wrongly focussed on
equalising socio-economic outcomes rather than opportunities.</p><p>The Government’s
preferred approach is to progress specific policies and practical actions that will
deliver real change. Our agenda set out in the White Paper ‘Levelling Up the United
Kingdom’ is key to this and we are promoting social mobility and tackling inequality
through a range of initiatives – for example in education, through reforms to the
welfare system, by giving greater developmental devolution in England and rebalancing
the economy through schemes such as the Towns Fund.</p>
|
 |
