Back in 2010 when the Equalities Act was passed by the last Labour Government, it contained provisions that were passed by Parliament for public bodies like Government departments, local authorities and the NHS, to have a legal duty to consider the need to tackle socio-economic disadvantage in their planning and their policies.
But after the general election of 2010, the clauses were never brought into force by the subsequent Governments since 2010.
Labour (who won a clear overall majority at the general election), promised to bring these provisions into force in their manifesto and indeed it was prominent under one of Keir Starmer’s Missions to ‘Break Down Barriers to Opportunity’.
The statutory duty to consider how to tackle socio-economic inequality will only apply to these public bodies and does not apply to the private sector and nor does it currently apply to regulators. But there is a provision in the Act that allows Ministers to specify that the duty should be applied to additional public bodies.
This commitment in Labour’s manifesto builds on their earlier ‘Financing Growth’ review document which stated that Labour would: “support the first of its kind guidance on diversity and inclusion for financial services led by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and consider opportunities for expanding the focus to include socio-economic diversity.”
Tulip Siddiq MP – now newly appointed City Minister – attended our Progress Pioneers Summit in May, where she said: “If we want to get the UK growing again and ensure that we remain a leading financial centre, we must build on the talents of all the British people, wherever they started in life.”
What she says is right. Our Shaping our Economy report revealed that socio-economic background has a higher impact on career progression that gender and ethnicity. Our members are at the forefront working hard to improve this. If we get this right, greater socio-economic diversity will benefit not only individuals but businesses and the wider economy.
One thing is clear. The new Government takes socio-economic diversity seriously, which is very welcome. Progress Together will be discussing the socio-economic duty and the need for further action in socio-economic diversity in financial services with the new Government and the FCA/PRA in the coming weeks.
