The Socio-Economic Duty in Action : Case studies

The socio-economic duty (SED) is an under-utilised tool available to statutory bodies, which can support efforts to tackle socio-economic deprivation. It derives from the never-implemented Section 1 of the 2010 Equality Act, which requires public authorities to consider the way their decisions increase or decrease inequalities that result from socio-economic disadvantage. Both Scotland and Wales have now adopted the SED (known as the Fairer Scotland duty in Scotland), while some statutory bodies in England have chosen to voluntarily adopt the duty or otherwise consider socio-economic disadvantage in their equality impact assessments.

Among organisations that have adopted the SED, the benefits for internal working and for local communities are clear; a greater focus on tackling socio-economic inequality, improved decision-making, and an increased ability to address intersecting inequalities together. These benefits are realised differently across statutory bodies, where the duty is being used to attract more applicants for jobs, ease the cost-of-living crisis, decrease health inequalities and make more joined-up decisions, tackling socio-economic disadvantage from all angles.

These benefits are explored in Just Fair and GMPA’s webinar The Socio-Economic Duty in Action: Case Studies from England and Wales, held on Tuesday 25th of July. The webinar will highlight the need for positive examples of the SED in practice and reflect on what can be learnt from these examples. These learnings will be drawn from a wide range of case studies from across England and Wales, for organisations including local councils, a national health board, a regional transport authority and a fire and rescue service, all of which have adopted the SED. Mo Jogi, Head of Culture and Transformation at Merseyside Fire and Rescue, will outline the impacts of the SED on his organisation, and the lead authors of the report, Megan Isaac and Anna Lopez, will speak about its findings. A final speaker is yet to be announced. There will also be time for a Q and A session at the end.

The event will take place on zoom between 6pm and 7pm on Tuesday 25th July.

Please remember to register in advance to receive joining instructions.