Kemi Badenoch, Conservative Party leader and Secretary of State for Business and Trade, plans to scrap the Public Sector Equality Duty [1].
The proposal targets a legal requirement that mandates public bodies to consider equality when making decisions. If abolished, the move would fundamentally change how government agencies, healthcare providers, and law enforcement operate by removing a statutory obligation to proactively address inequality in their daily processes [1, 2].
Badenoch detailed her position during a speech on Tuesday [2]. She said rules requiring police officers, nurses, and teachers to consider equality issues when they carry out their day-to-day work should be scrapped [3].
The Conservative leader said the current framework has become a "minefield that exposes almost every significant public ..." [2]. She said the duty diverts resources and weakens public services [1].
According to Badenoch, the existing equality legislation already provides sufficient protection against discrimination [1, 2]. By removing the PSED, she said the government can reduce the bureaucratic burden on frontline workers, allowing them to focus on core service delivery rather than regulatory compliance [2, 3].
Critics of the proposal suggest that removing the duty could lead to a decrease in accountability for public institutions. Without the legal requirement to consider equality, public bodies may no longer be forced to analyze how their policies impact different demographic groups before implementation [2].
Badenoch said the removal of the duty does not remove the prohibition of discrimination. She said the legal safeguards already in place are enough to protect citizens while eliminating the administrative overhead associated with the PSED [1, 3].
“"The duty diverts resources and weakens public services"”
The Public Sector Equality Duty is a cornerstone of UK administrative law, requiring public authorities to advance equality of opportunity. Removing it shifts the legal burden from a proactive requirement—where the state must prove it considered equality—to a reactive one, where individuals must prove they were discriminated against. This represents a significant pivot toward deregulation in the public sector.
