Recommendations & Conclusions
13 items
54
Conclusion
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
Since 2019, the Government has referred to an Equality Hub within the Cabinet Office but to date the Hub has not published any corporate documents. Its structure remains unclear, and it lacks transparency and accountability. This is unacceptable. The Cabinet Office must publish annual information on staffing and funding of …
Government response. Accept in part. The Equality Hub currently publishes annual information on staffing and funding as part of the Cabinet Office annual report. The Equality Hub will continue to comply with Cabinet Office requirements on publication. To support the Committee’s scrutiny …
Government Equalities Office
55
Conclusion
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
We welcome the Equality Hub’s understanding of our central role in parliamentary scrutiny of its administration, policy and expenditure, and that of its constituent units, including the Government Equalities Office, the Disability Unit, the Race Disparity Unit and its latest addition, the Social Mobility Commission. We readily accept responsibility for …
Government Equalities Office
56
Recommendation
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
We recommend the Government bring forward a revised Standing Order, to make the Women and Equalities Committee a cross-cutting Select Committee of the House of Commons, appointed to examine cross-government policy on pan-equalities issues, and socio-economic inequality, geographic disparities and social mobility.
Government response. Reject. The Women and Equalities Committee’s role, as set out under Standing Order 152, to examine the “expenditure, administration and policy” of the GEO “and associated public bodies” already allows the Committee significant flexibility. Committees are able to interpret their …
Government Equalities Office
57
Conclusion
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
It is deeply disappointing and unacceptable that officials and ministers were unwilling to be openly scrutinised in this inquiry, which is at the core of our remit. We hope this inquiry and Report can be a watershed in the Government’s approach to open scrutiny of its equality policies. We ask …
Government response. Accept. The Government commits to engaging fully with the Committee and continuing to build a constructive relationship.
Government Equalities Office
58
Conclusion
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
The Government Equalities Office’s move into the coordinating centre of government, in the Cabinet Office, and the potential expansion of its coordinating role with the inception of the Equality Hub, is positive but the benefits are yet to be fully realised. We strongly welcome the intended permanence of the move, …
Government Equalities Office
59
Recommendation
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
We welcome the Government’s intention to focus more on socio-economic and geographic inequality and look forward to the publication of its Levelling Up White Paper. While enactment of the socio-economic duty, section 1 of the Equality Act, is unlikely to be a panacea, we recommend the Government commission a pilot …
Government response. Reject. We do not believe that a pilot to establish the costs and benefits of different approaches to voluntary adoption of Section 1 of the Equality Act in England is necessary at this time. Before considering the usefulness of a …
Government Equalities Office
60
Recommendation
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
Given some of the Minister for Women and Equalities’ comments in her “new fight for fairness” speech about not focusing on groups, we are concerned about a risk of going backwards on important, long-established equality issues for groups of people protected by the Equality Act. The Equality Data Programme should …
Government response. Reject. As the Equality Hub is a component of the Cabinet Office, its aims and objectives form part of the Cabinet Office’s wider Outcome Delivery Plan. The Outcome Delivery Plan for 2021-2022 was published on 15 July 2021, and outlines …
Government Equalities Office
61
Recommendation
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
In 2018, our predecessor Committee found that allocation of the Minister for Women and Equalities role as an additional responsibility of a Cabinet Minister was sub-optimal. The role was susceptible to Cabinet reshuffles and its allocation seemed like an afterthought. Any benefits from policy synergies with a Secretary of State’s …
Government response. Reject. The portfolios of Ministers and Cabinet Committees are the prerogative of the Prime Minister.
Government Equalities Office
62
Conclusion
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
We note both the current absence of a cross-departmental equalities strategy and strong coordinating machinery to drive it forward. We therefore recommend the Government establish a dedicated Cabinet Committee for Equalities and Levelling Up, to add further drive to both agendas across government. Learning lessons from the Government’s handling of …
Government response. Reject. The portfolios of Ministers and Cabinet Committees are the prerogative of the Prime Minister.
Government Equalities Office
63
Recommendation
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
Our Reports on Covid-19 have demonstrated that the pandemic has had unequal effects on some groups, including women, disabled people and some Black and minority ethnic groups, and exacerbated existing inequalities. The equalities machinery within government has not been sufficient to anticipate and act to mitigate unequal effects across the …
Government response. Accept in part. The Government agrees it is important for the Equality Hub to provide leadership on how best departments can assure themselves that they are meeting their obligations under the public sector equality duty (PSED). The Equality Hub is …
Government Equalities Office
64
Recommendation
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
International conventions, including the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and the UN Convention on the Rights of the …
Government response. Reject. The Equality Hub works effectively and collaboratively with other Government departments, such as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to meet the UK’s international equality commitments and provide timely reporting to the various treaty committees. In the current format …
Government Equalities Office
65
Recommendation
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
Equality for different groups can raise difficult, balanced rights issues, for example race or religion and belief can sometimes conflict with equal rights on the grounds of sex or sexual orientation. There are lessons to be learned from recent delicately balanced rights questions, perhaps most notably Gender Recognition Act (GRA) …
Government response. The Committee rightly notes that equality issues by their nature often require wide engagement and sensitive handling. To support this, effective stakeholder engagement as well as careful communications are required. The Equality Hub interacts regularly with a wide range of …
Government Equalities Office
66
Conclusion
First Report - Levelling Up and equalit…
The Equality Hub should conduct a review of the Government’s communications on, and management of, sensitive and balanced rights issues, drawing in particular on lessons learned from the Gender Recognition Act reform process since 2018 and the Government’s approach to communicating the findings of the Commission on Race and Ethnic …
Government response. Reject. The Equality Hub interacts regularly with a wide range of stakeholders across equality issues, ensuring that it factors in all relevant views to its work. ... Reject. The EHRC wrote to the Committee on this matter. The Government echoes …
Government Equalities Office