Together with JustFair and the Equality Trust, Compassion in Politics has urged the government to adopt Section 1 of the Equality Act in an attempt to reduce the levels of inequality in the UK.

Our recommendation was made as part of a combined submission to the parliamentary consultation on 'Ethnic Disparities and Inequality in the UK.'

In short, our submission said:

• The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted and worsened socio-economic disparities in the UK
• There is no national policy agenda focused specifically on tackling disadvantage caused by socioeconomic inequality
• Both the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)14 and the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have called on the UK Government to bring the socio-economic duty into effect.
• The socio-economic duty in Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 offers a powerful tool for public authorities to actively consider the way in which their policies and decisions can address economic inequalities and therefore make a vital contribution to reducing inequality in the UK.

You can download a full copy of our submission here.