By Tom Pottrill, Policy Officer at Resolve Poverty
A new national anti-poverty agenda is on the horizon, with the Labour government committing to enactment of the socio-economic duty in England. Contained within Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010, but never enacted by central government, the duty would require public bodies to consider how their decisions impact people experiencing socio-economic disadvantage. Since 2010, local authorities have gradually begun voluntarily adopting the socio-economic duty and, despite their commitment, the government has not yet outlined a formal timescale for its enactment. Our new report examines the scale of voluntary adoption in more detail.
New research published today by Resolve Poverty, Socio-economic duty adoption across England, explores the extent to which the socio-economic duty has been voluntarily adopted by local authorities in England. Our latest report follows the first in our series, Anti-poverty strategies in England, on the scale of anti-poverty efforts in England. As with our first report, local authorities are turning to the socio-economic duty as a key lever to pull in response to rising poverty rates. However, with only 22% of councils in England having adopted it, many are yet to do so. In our report, we find that:
- 47 councils have adopted the socio-economic duty – this is a 21% increase since our 2022 report
- Across the North West of England, over half of respondent councils have adopted the socio-economic duty, the highest regional figure in the UK.
- Greater Manchester councils lead on socio-economic duty adoption across England, with Resolve Poverty having influenced effective implementation in 8 out of 10 Greater Manchester councils over several years
- Councils in areas with more concentrated child poverty rates are more likely to adopt the socio-economic duty
- Councils with a current anti-poverty strategy, or plans to implement one within 12 months, are significantly more likely to adopt the socio-economic duty at any given child poverty rate
- Councils where the Labour Party hold the most seats are more likely to have adopted the socio-economic duty.
The socio-economic duty is a critical component of strengthened efforts to strategically resolve poverty. Public bodies’ adoption of the duty requires them, in making strategic decisions and policies, across all departments to consider the way their decisions increase or decrease the inequalities that arise from socio-economic disadvantage. Resolve Poverty has shown in a previous best-practice case study briefing, the duty “in action” has immediate, tangible benefits.
At Resolve Poverty, as a member of the 1forEquality Campaign, we are leading advocates for national enactment of the socio-economic duty, having lobbied government over several years to bring it into law. We welcome the 2024 manifesto commitment by the Labour Party to formally enact it but, with no formal timescale for mandatory implementation, now is an opportune time for local authorities to set this process in motion and ‘get ahead’ of statutory implementation.
We encourage councils to implement the socio-economic duty, and we are pleased to offer consultancy work to the public sector to support its effective implementation and evaluation across England. Our offer includes training staff, reviewing organisational policies and procedures, and ensuring the duty is fully integrated into all aspects of public sector organisations’ work. We likewise offer support to organisations for collection and analysis of data on the duty, measuring and evaluating its efficacy.
If you are interested in working with us, or learning more about how we can support you, please email Tom Waring at thomas@resolvepoverty.org.uk or click here to book a free initial conversation.
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This article is featured in our 13 November newsletter.
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