"Red Tape" and the Equality Act

Submitted by Kathryn Busby on 12 April 2011

Last week the government launched their Red Tape Challenge website which invites businesses and members of the public to "help us cut unnecessary regulations."

The website includes a section on the recently passed Equality Act 2010, asking whether it should be scrapped, merged, simplified, improved or left as it is.

A number of people have already posted comments on the Red Tape Challenge website supporting the Equality Act. Some are questioning its inclusion in a review of red tape and many have made suggestions for how it could be strengthened.

The Equality Trust recommends that to improve these regulations, the government should reinstate and strengthen the socio-economic duty, which was part of the original legislation, but dropped by the Equalities Minister in November 2010.

The socio-economic duty recognised the importance of reducing the income gap - and the role of public bodies in bringing about that change - and we were extremely disappointed when it was abandoned.

If you would like to respond to the Red Tape Challenge by giving your view on the Equality Act 2010, you can do so here.