By Megan Isaac, Research and Policy Intern at Just Fair

Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010, the socio-economic duty (‘the duty’), is intended to reduce socio-economic disadvantage. If enacted, it requires local and public authorities to consider the ways in which their decisions increase or decrease inequalities that result from socio-economic disadvantage. We campaign on the socio-economic duty as a tool to address inequality and discrimination in the UK.

Today we launched our new report ‘The socio-economic duty in action: case studies from England and Wales.’

Jointly written and produced with our partner Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA), the report brings together case studies from local authorities and public bodies in England who have voluntarily adopted the socio-economic duty, and from the Welsh Government who implemented the duty in Wales in 2021.

The report finds that, across England and Wales, the duty is being used to tackle inequality in a wide range of areas, including recruitment, addressing the cost-of-living crisis, preventing increases in school meal prices, and responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Below are two examples of case studies profiled in the report.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service – driving licence bursary scheme

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) voluntarily adopted the duty in 2021.

As a result of using the duty in their decision making, MFRS realised that individuals experiencing socio-economic disadvantage were underrepresented in firefighter applications due to the requirement to have a driving licence.

MFRS removed the driving licence requirement for prospective firefighters and now offer bursaries for successful applicants from 20 deprived areas of Merseyside. This led to an additional 195 applications in 2022, 48 per cent of which came from the 10 per cent most deprived areas of Merseyside.

Welsh Government – Covid-19 Statutory Sick Pay Enhancement Scheme

Following the adoption of the duty at national level in 2021, the Welsh Government conducts Integrated Impact Assessments for strategic decisions which now includes considerations of socio-economic disadvantage.

During Covid-19, an assessment of financial support offered to social care workers highlighted that most of the social care workforce were women, with high levels of socio-economic disadvantage and most not receiving occupational sick pay.

The Welsh Government therefore introduced a Statutory Sick Pay Enhancement (SSP) scheme which ensured that social care workers who were unable to work due to exposure to Covid-19 received their full pay, without delay.

The scheme contributed to longer-term changes in social care working conditions, which included the introduction of the Real Living Wage for all social care workers in April 2022.

Benefits of the duty

The report highlights some of the varied and innovative ways in which the duty can reduce the inequalities that result from socio-economic disadvantage.

From more inclusive recruitment practices to increased social security payments, the duty is a powerful tool for addressing inequality.

By requiring local authorities and public bodies to pay due regard to socio-economic disadvantage, equality is centred in strategic decision-making, an important step on the road to realising everyday human rights.

Read the full report here.

By Daniel Oliver, Head of Programmes at GMPA

One of GMPA’s strategic aims is to embed the voices of people with lived experience in the decision-making structures of Greater Manchester.

We know that people who are living in poverty, or who have lived in poverty, bring unique experiences and expertise to designing anti-poverty solutions. As an organisation we have actively encouraged the role of lived experience in decision-making, including by running the Tameside Poverty Truth Commission and recommending that anti-poverty strategies are created in partnership with communities affected by poverty.

In 2021 we brought together a temporary Poverty Reference Group, composed of local people with lived experience of poverty, to inform the Greater Manchester Independent Inequalities Commission. This group recommended that “a new Panel should be established for people with lived experience of poverty, to complement the existing panels based on communities of identity.”

We are pleased to announce that a new Poverty Reference Group (PRG) will be established by GMPA later this year, with a view to this group becoming a permanent part of the Greater Manchester infrastructure. The PRG will bring together people from across different communities and demographics of Greater Manchester on a regular basis, to inform and influence policy and practice across the city region. The group will build positive relationships with key stakeholders across all sectors to ensure that the voices of people with lived experience of poverty are heard across relevant organisations, forums and networks.

This is an exciting step in amplifying the voices of lived experience of poverty in our city region, and we are looking forward to supporting the PRG to encourage positive change. To learn more about our plans, get in touch.

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By Daniel Oliver, Head of Programmes at Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA)

GMPA recently hosted focus groups with local people to influence our future programme delivery, as part of our commitment to meaningful engagement with people with lived experience of poverty.

Over recent months we have been involving and engaging with people who have direct experience of living in poverty, to inform our approach to programme delivery. This has sought to influence our work around boosting household income and financial resilience, and embedding the voices of people with lived experience in Greater Manchester’s decision-making structures and systems.

While this feedback has reflected national calls, for example around the impact of inflation and ongoing calls for increases to welfare benefits, these conversations also drew out significant points and ideas for change.

Regarding work to improve financial inclusion and resilience, the general feedback from local people has been about the need for organisations to adopt longer-term approaches and solutions, rather than short-term responses to the cost-of-living crisis   that are leaving both families and voluntary sector support services unable to plan ahead.

A central theme was also around the need for improved and expanded advice provision in community settings, as well as more in-depth support – for example, form filling with those who do not have the literacy skills or confidence to submit applications for welfare support.

The value of partnership working and support services being joined up and aware of each other were raised in  relation to this, reflecting the common theme we hear from communities that there should be “no wrong door” for accessing support and advice.

There was positive feedback about GMPA’s Money Advice Referral Tools (MARTs), with people recognising their use in communities, including more than 300 people who have been trained to use the MARTs in Oldham.

With lived experience engagement, the most common theme was around the inconsistency between areas and boroughs of Greater Manchester. Some localities have supported and hosted formal engagement programmes, for example Poverty Truth Commissions, and only a handful of examples were identified of longer-term engagement, such as the Oldham Poverty Action Network. Those we spoke to highlighted that permanent solutions were needed to maintain engagement with people living in poverty, that are meaningful and accessible.

Where these programmes have been successful, people said that they felt heard and that their voice had made a difference. An example is with the Trafford Poverty Truth Commission, that helped to change some of the local authority’s processes to make them easier to navigate for people living on low incomes.

Another important point shared in these sessions was around the need to compensate people for their time, recognising lived experience as valuable expertise. One person stated that:

“We shouldn’t be treated differently just because we don’t have any money.”

Likewise, people wanted organisations and services to continue seeking out and listening to new voices, going to where people are and recognising that everyone brings different experiences and ideas.

At GMPA we are passionate about amplifying the voices of people with lived experience of poverty, and these  recent sessions have been another reminder of the quality that this experience brings to decision-making and discussions. As well as feedback on current systems, there were many practical ideas and suggestions shared to support people living in poverty, particularly around the need for more spaces and networks for people to share their experiences and expertise.

If you are interested in helping to progress some of these themes in Greater Manchester, or would like to share your own experiences, then please contact Daniel Oliver on daniel@gmpovertyaction.org. Thank you.

By Hollie Griss, Communications and Media Officer at Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA)

Next week, GMPA will be launching new data exploring people across the country’s experiences of financial hardship over the last decade.

We have recently undertaken a survey of 2,700 UK residents to gain insight into people’s experiences of financial hardship and seeking support, and the data is worrying.

Questions asked respondents about their financial situation, if they had experienced financial difficulties and if so, how long for, and their experiences of applying for financial support (and success in getting it). We also asked what respondents would do in the event of having to pay an unexpected bill – for instance, whether they would need to go without another expense (e.g. heating) to pay it.

Further questions asked respondents’ opinions on whether they would prefer cash or in-kind support if they were faced with financial hardship, and if they think this support would be there for them.

While we will publishing the full results next week, we want to share a couple of the key findings with you today.

Across the UK, a concerning 60% believed financial support had felt ‘limited for several years’, with more than half (58%) reporting some financial struggles within the last six years.

These findings are particularly worrying as they highlight a problem greater, and much longer term, than UK households struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

Survey results have also shown that nearly one in five people across the UK had to seek support from the job centre, councils and help lines to get access to any cash benefits because the process was so ‘unclear’. Indeed, a common theme across the results is that people in financial hardship don’t know where to turn and often get sent to food banks when they actually need other types of support.

The results serve to show how important tools like the Money Advice Referral Tool (MART) are in helping people living in financial hardship identify the range of support available in their area, from benefits, Universal Credit to debt referrals. In partnership with local authority and councils, we have created and operate the MART in six out of ten boroughs across Greater Manchester.

Graham Whitham, Chief Executive of GMPA, said: “We believe that the key to tackling poverty and financial hardship is to maximise household income by ensuring people are referred and signposted to support that best meets their needs.

“With £19billion of benefits going unclaimed across the UK each year, one immediate way of tackling poverty is to ensure people access all the benefits they are entitled to. GMPA’s Money Advice Referral Tool is contributing to that, making the process of supporting people to access everything they are entitled to easier.

“Another means of supporting people is taking a cash-first approach to local welfare – giving people experiencing or at risk of financial crisis money, rather than in-kind support such as food parcels/energy vouchers.”

We’ll be launching our full survey results via email and social media next week.

By Helen Flynn, Head of Policy, Research and Campaigns at Just Fair

On Wednesday 24 May 2023, Rother District Council became the latest local authority in England to voluntarily adopt the Socio-economic Duty, contained in Section 1 of the Equality Act.   

The Duty is an important tool for tackling inequalities resulting from socio-economic disadvantage. With our partners in the 1ForEquality campaign, Just Fair has been campaigning for the government to commence the Duty and encourage and support its voluntary adoption by local authorities across England.

The voluntary adoption of the Duty marks the latest milestone in a very conscious journey by Rother District Council to tackle socio-economic inequality.

Rother’s Anti-Poverty Strategy 

In 2019 the newly elected Rother Labour Group began calls for an Anti-Poverty Strategy, as part of the ‘Rother Alliance‘ coalition, and later that year the Anti-Poverty Task and Finish Group was established. Consultations were held with local organisations and stakeholders, before a strategy was drafted and put out to consultation. A final version of the Anti-Poverty Strategy for 2022-2027 was adopted by Rother District Council in September 2022.

Taking the next step – the Socio-economic Duty  

But the journey towards a fairer Rother was only beginning. In September 2022 the Chair of the Anti-Poverty Task and Finish Group, Cllr Sam Coleman, also proposed that Rother District Council voluntarily adopt the Duty, noting:

“Further work is needed to address more immediate problems that have developed in part because of the financial fall out of the Covid-19 pandemic and the current cost of living crisis, both of which have occurred since the initial remit of the Anti-Poverty Strategy was developed.”

During his time working on Rother’s Anti-Poverty Strategy, Cllr Coleman had taken part in Greater Manchester Poverty Action’s work on anti-poverty strategies, where he was introduced to the Socio-economic Duty.

In seeking levers to compliment the Anti-Poverty Strategy to better tackle socio-economic inequality, Cllr Coleman became an advocate for the voluntary adoption of the Duty by Rother District Council.

Making Rother fairer for all – adopting the Socio-economic Duty 

During the Council session on 24 May 2023, Cllr Coleman noted that in adopting the Duty,

“We are sending a message to our residents that we care.”

In seconding the motion, his colleague, Cllr Bayliss added,

“The Duty is far more than a symbolic gesture. It strengthens our commitment to make Rother fairer for all.”

On Rother’s voluntary adoption of the Duty, Graham Whitham, Chief Executive Officer of GMPA commented:

“GMPA has been working hard with local authorities and other public bodies across the city region on voluntary adoption of the Socio-economic Duty. In the aftermath of the pandemic and in the context of the cost-of-living  crisis, more and more public service delivery organisations are recognising the intersection between socio-economic disadvantage and equalities issues. They want support and tools to ensure policy and practice takes into account the needs of low-income residents. The Socio-economic Duty has an important role to play in this.

“We’ve been pleased to work closely with Just Fair, The Equality Trust and others to increase awareness of the Duty. We were delighted to hear that our conversations with Rother District Council led to them adopting the    Duty. It illustrates the value of sharing local approaches that respond to socio-economic disadvantage.”

In the journey Rother District Council is taking they have shown there are many actions local authorities can take to ensure greater fairness, and tools such as anti-poverty strategies and voluntary adoption of the Socio-economic Duty can complement each other in this regard.

We look forward to seeing the difference the Duty makes for Rother.

For more, read about the 1ForEquality Campaign and/or the Practical Guide for Local Authority Implementation.

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