Latest news with #equalitylaw
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Kemi Badenoch dismisses Labour plans to introduce new equality law as 'ideological dross' and says public sector could be heading for paralysis
Labour will paralyse public services and hand more power to unaccountable quangos under plans to introduce an equality law, Kemi Badenoch warns in the Mail today. From next year, the Government will force public authorities to give 'due regard' to disparities in income and socio-economic status when making decisions. This 'socio-economic duty' – part of the 2010 Equality Act that has yet to be enacted – could enable public bodies to make spending decisions that penalise middle-class areas. Writing in the Mail, the Tory leader brands the plan 'ideological dross' that could submerge Britain into a 'bureaucratic nightmare'. She warns: 'It means your council obsessing over 'impact assessments' while local roads decay, schools spending money on 'equality training' instead of textbooks, government departments taking more time analysing postcodes than fixing real problems.' She says the Tories blocked the duty for 14 years as it was 'obviously misguided', and accuses Labour of running out of ideas and doing things 'nobody asked for'. It will 'paralyse public services and hand more power to unaccountable quangos', she says. Labour is consulting on how to implement the duty, having pledged to roll it out in its manifesto. The Act was pushed through by the previous Labour government, but the section on socio-economic duty was vetoed by the Tories after the 2010 election. Theresa May, then home secretary, announced the scrapping of the duty, and said the government would fight inequality 'by treating people as individuals rather than labelling them in groups'. Council bosses fear they could be taken to court under the duty if disadvantaged groups claim officials haven't paid attention to their needs, The Times reported. A Government spokesman said the duty was 'part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. This will ensure public bodies consider how their decisions might help reduce inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage. Public bodies can ensure their views are heard by engaging with our call for evidence, which is currently live'.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Tribunal nurse calls for action after Supreme Court gender ruling
A nurse who was suspended by a Scottish health board after she objected to a transgender doctor using a women's changing room has called for action following the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman. Sandie Peggie said she wanted NHS Fife to "immediately stop permitting any man who identifies as a woman" access to female-only single-sex Supreme Court ruled last month that sex is defined by biology under equality Fife previously said it would "carefully consider" the court's judgement. Ms Peggie was suspended in January 2024 after transgender medic Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment against her. This followed a complaint from the nurse about having to share a changing room with Dr Upton at Victoria Hospital in Peggie took the health board and Dr Upton to a tribunal earlier this claimed that being made to get changed beside her transgender colleague amounted to unlawful harassment under the Equality the time, NHS guidance said that trans men and women were allowed to use the changing rooms that aligned with their gender tribunal has adjourned until July. The Equality and Human Rights Commissioner has written to NHS Fife and the Scottish government to remind them about workplace legislation around single-sex spaces - which Ms Peggie has urged them to comply her first statement since the Supreme Court ruling, she welcomed the judgement and pledged to continue litigation against NHS Fife. It said the nurse was "determined to continue with her legal claim in an effort to obtain accountability for the way she has been treated by Fife health board".Her lawyer added: "She now expects NHS Fife to immediately stop permitting any man who identifies as a woman access to female-only single-sex spaces in the workplace."NHS Fife has been asked for a comment. New guidance The Supreme Court ruling marked the culmination of a long-running legal battle, after the Scottish government argued that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate are entitled to the same sex-based protections as biological bodies have called for the Scottish government to update its guidance on single-sex spaces in light of the judgement. The government said earlier this week that it was working towards a "state of readiness" for an update from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the body in charge of regulating the Equality Scottish Parliament announced last week that transgender women would no longer be able to use the women's toilets at Holyrood. Facilities designated as male or female-only would now be interpreted as meaning biological sex, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) parliament said it was installing new gender neutral toilets which will be open to anyone.
