Equality watchdog publishes guidance to advance equality of opportunity through better investment

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published new guidance for local and combined authorities across England, helping them make better investment decisions that can advance equality of opportunity.

The guidance follows previous EHRC interventions, such as working closely with governments and local authorities in Scotland, England and Wales to ensure they keep equality in mind when providing advice, expertise and evidence to local authorities.

This led to the authorities we worked with making robust changes, such as £2bn worth of community benefits now being put towards developing skills in Greater Glasgow.

The new guidance will offer practical hints and tips, and examples of good practice for decision makers to follow, providing a clear pathway to ensure that the local economic policies of the future can help narrow inequalities for different groups that live in their regions.

This is particularly important for groups with protected characteristics such as disabled people or women, who tend to live in greater levels of poverty or have higher levels of economic inactivity.

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said:

'The launch of this guidance will be instrumental in lowering the economic gap between different groups, and will be providing clear, accessible information that will help put equality firmly into the spotlight for local authorities.

New funding streams for local government and combined authorities are presenting major new opportunities to regenerate our towns and cities and regrow our economy.

However, not everyone is starting from the same base, and we at the EHRC hope that with this guide, the playing field can be levelled.

Building on our previous work, we hope to work closely with local authorities to help advance equality of opportunity'. 

Notes to Editors

• Our full guidance can be found on our website.
• The work is based on successful interventions in Scotland & Wales from 2018 to 2022, and current work with Combined Authorities in England.
• In Scotland we have supported all twelve City Region Deals to advance equality of opportunity and narrow gaps in outcomes caused by socio economic deprivation under the £5bn City Regional Deal fund. This work was extended to Wales in 2021 where we have supported a further 3 Regional Economic Partnerships in their City Deal programmes.
• In Liverpool, we worked closely with the mayor’s office to develop a socio-economic duty strategy, which was launched in July 2023.
• The elected members guide is the first of a sequence of four guides we are producing to publicise and support the work of the English Regions focus on investment and Combined Authorities
• The Equality and Human Rights Commission is Britain's national equality body and has been awarded an 'A' status as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) by the United Nations.