Inequality is plainly both a cause and result of failures in human rights protection.
This is according to the June 2018 report by Just Fair on socio-economic inequality and local authorities.
The report states that there are widespread concerns about the extent of wealth and income inequality in England, but there is no national policy agenda focused on tackling disadvantage caused by socio-economic inequality.
The report gives 5 prerequisites for local authorities to successfully tackle socio-economic disadvantage and case studies for each. These include:
- Visible leadership
- Creating a cultural shift
- Meaningful impact assessments
- Using data effectively
- Engaging with residents, civil society and voluntary and community sector organisations
The research for this report found that authorities were voluntarily tackling socio-economic inequality not only on ethical or moral grounds, but also because they saw longer-term financial benefits of doing so.
Just Fair concludes that section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 (the socio-economic duty) should be in force across the UK because ‘it would contribute positively towards a reduction in the extent of disadvantage being experienced on the grounds of socio-economic inequality’.
Read the report in full (pdf).
