The proposed public sector socio-economic equality duty in Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 was intended by Labour to address the issue of socio-economic inequality in the UK. However, this section of the Act has now been axed by the Government.
Theresa May, the Home Secretary and the Equalities Minister, announced this week that the Government have decided to scrap this part of the Act after the consideration of its implementation. The Conservatives had always criticised this section of the Bill when Labour were in power.
Labour introduced this provision as they felt that socio-economic inequalities are evident in the UK, especially in relation to the education of young children.
During her speech, May discussed the fact that the introduction of the socio-economic duty would have an adverse affect on public spending and also stated that "You can't solve a problem as complex as inequality in one legal clause."
The Government are still considering whether to implement the provision on gender pay gap reporting. It was not confirmed in May's speech whether this would be introduced or not, but will be announced in due course.
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