Public Sector Equality Duty needs to be strengthened, not removed, say disability charities

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has advocated repealing the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), a legal requirement in Great Britain that obligates public authorities to consider the needs of various groups, such as disability, when developing policies, providing services, and recruiting staff.

She said in a speech that repealing the PSED would be the “best way” to “remove discrimination from the law while still protecting equality under the law”.

Badenoch said this would be the first step in a programme to “restore common sense”, as the PSED has resulted in some groups being “preferred over others” and public bodies have “spent so long worrying about institutional racism that they have become institutionally incompetent”.

She added, “Equality law properly designed should protect us all in the same way. It should be a shield, not a sword. It should protect people from discrimination. It should protect people from being treated differently because of their race, sex, religion, sexuality, disability or age. This understanding, and this principle, are being perverted. Treating people equally and fairly will not deliver equality of outcome because sometimes a difference in outcome is fair.”

Equality Duty enhances the rights of disabled people

In response, Disability charities are urging the Government not just to keep, but to strengthen the legislation which enhances the rights of disabled people.

Disability Rights UK said that systemic discrimination by public bodies is still very much with us, and disabled people continue to be failed by schools and locked out of employment. Far from going too far, public bodies have actually done very little to create a fairer society.

It added: “These and other forms of discrimination are embedded in our society and require government institutions to act, to change policies, services and practices. The Public Sector Duty doesn’t need to be abolished; it needs to be strengthened.

“We need a Public Sector Equality Duty which works: where the responsibility is on institutions to change ways of working; where there are co-produced and transparent plans to bring about change; where there are sanctions if the Duty isn’t met; and where the burden of challenging discrimination doesn’t fall on the individuals who are discriminated against.”

Common sense safeguard for disabled people

Disability charity Sense also said that legislation needs to be strengthened and is a common-sense safeguard that ensures public bodies consider the impact of their decisions on disabled people before those decisions are made.

Harriet Edwards, Director of Influencing at the national disability charity Sense, said: “For disabled people, that can mean the difference between being able to access school, healthcare, transport or housing, and being shut out of those services altogether. For example, Sense research found that over half of disabled people with complex needs struggle to access healthcare, demonstrating how far we have to go to make society accessible and fair for all disabled people.

The speech came following the debate surrounding the murder of Henry Nowak and how much the police’s response was influenced by its anti-racism guidance, which is now under review.

Disability Rights UK said, however, that pointing to tragic events where innocent people have lost their lives and saying that this is due to equality laws is a narrative with no basis in truth.

It added: The underlying causes of the majority of these incidents fall squarely at the feet of successive governments, primarily Conservative, where investment in public services such as education, mental health and social care have been cut to the bone. Society no longer has a safety net to catch people who are at risk of harming themselves or harming others, and with under-funding of public services continuing, the likelihood is that we will see more tragic events unfold.”

Alison Bloomer

Alison Bloomer is Editor of Learning Disability Today.

See Full Bio