Reform tell its councillors to consider equalities – despite pledging to rip up the Equality Act

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Reform UK councillors have been advised by the party to use equality impact assessments despite the party’s pledge to scrap the Equality Act 2010. An official booklet, distributed at Reform’s annual conference in Birmingham last month and produced for councillors in charge of adult social care, advocates for equalities to be embedded in “understanding how decisions affect local communities”. It also says “whenever significant decisions are made, the council should consider how different groups within the community may be affected”. In February, the party’s equality spokesperson Suella Braverman unveiled plans to repeal the act “on day one” if it wins the next election, claiming that Britain is being “ripped apart by diversity, equality and inclusion” policies. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (Gareth Fuller/PA) ( PA Wire ) The document notes that “Reform UK has stated that it would seek to abolish the Equality Act 2010.” It adds: “Regardless of the future legislative framework the principle of understanding how decisions affect local communities remains fundamental to good governance”. It later adds that considering equalities issues can help “form the evidence base upon which good decisions are made”. Labour’s minister for women and equalities Bridget Phillipson said: “Reform chase headlines by pledging to rip up hard-won equality rights, yet they are issuing contradictory guidance to their own councillors. “They are desperate hypocrites – and this proves that Farage and Reform will say anything to stoke anger and division. Even their own councillors can see the dangerous consequences their policies would have, and are rejecting them. "It was the last Labour government that delivered the Equality Act to protect the rights of women, disabled people and other groups, and it is Andy Burnham ’s Labour government that will safeguard and strengthen them.” A Reform UK spokesman said:“Reform UK councils take their legal obligations incredibly seriously, particularly when it comes to the provision of social care, which impacts many vulnerable users. “This booklet is guidance on the law as it currently stands but is perfectly compatible with Reform UK policy. Whilst we seek to reform the Equality Act 2010 and end enforced discrimination and equality of outcome, new legislation will maintain many of the same workplace protections and guarantee the rights of individuals.” The Equality Act , which replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single act, legally protects those with protected characteristics, including pregnancy and maternity, from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. Protected characteristics under the Equality Act also include age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. An Equality Impact Assessment is a tool to evaluate how a policy will affect people differently based on protected characteristics. Reform has said it would introduce a new “Workplace Fairness Act”, saying it would “restore fairness, protect women, and rebuild public trust in the law by treating people as individuals rather than separating them into competing groups”. But they have not provided details on what protections this legislation would include. Earlier this year, The Independent revealed that analysis suggested that half a million pregnant women could lose workplace protections each year under the plans to scrap the Equality Act .