The prime minister claimed on 19 November that he is going to axe equality impact assessments (EQUIAs). But he can’t – they were axed over two years ago by the Equality Act 2010. Theoretically he could abolish the requirement in Section 149 of the Act that public bodies should have ‘due regard’ for equalities. But it is extremely unlikely that he would dare to try. His speech on 19 November was therefore empty rhetoric – http://leftcentral.org.uk/2012/11/20/tory-hate-and-red-tape-equality-impact-assessment-and-analysis/#comments.
