Objectius específics

An existing body of work evaluated and summarised the progress of the previous duties. These showed the value to practitioners of the duties in general as enablers for bringing equalities concerns into the mainstream and providing a useful mechanism to address previously hidden disadvantage. Though challenges were identified, and for some the work involved with implementation was a burden, many also saw the advantages in better community relations and more focused decision-making. Research on the previous duties provided evidence of successful implementation, particularly with the disability duty where this involved the direct involvement of disabled people (rather than simply consultation) in policy design. Such involvement, it was argued, led to increased trust in decision-making processes and a greater spread of contact across the population (including hard to reach groups), with decisions which are less open to a risk of challenge or retrospective change.

EIAs, in particular, were perceived to raise quality standards, and practitioners found the Duty overall a useful prompt for change, particularly as the mechanisms for compliance encouraged measurable objectives, monitoring, guidance and inclusion of equalities considerations in quality measures. This positive view was not universal, however, as other public authorities had failed to implement the

261 Conley, H. and Page, M. (2017). Revisiting Jewson and Mason: The Politics of Gender Equality in UK Local Government in a Cold Climate. Gender, Work and Organization, 24(1), pp. 7-19, p.

15.

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Duty, treated it simply as a ‘box-ticking’ exercise, and demonstrated poor internal scrutiny with a lack of leadership, priority-setting and evidence-gathering²⁶². Studies on the subsequent, single Duty have identified similar advantages for organisations and also demonstrate the need for a robust evidence base, widely published data and fair, transparent decision-making to underpin successful implementation. Collecting disaggregated data on all protected characteristics was emphasised as best practice, to provide the widest possible levels of analysis, though production of staff data has been more prevalent than that for service users. Fairness in decision-making is seen as a particularly important organisational priority, given the increasing number of difficult decisions on resource allocation which have arisen because of austerity measures.

Furthermore, consultation is considered a key practice, and the overall process required to conduct a consultative exercise, it is argued, can empower service users to steer resources in ways which best meet their needs.

The varied experiences of public authorities, as revealed by existing research, demonstrated that which, arguably, is a fundamental weakness of the Duty: its over-reliance on local actors. This was evidenced by the failure of implementation in the organisations that lacked leadership or the impetus to set organisational priorities to gather appropriate evidence. This also supports Hepple’s assertion that structures for internal scrutiny are a necessary element for reflexive law to operate successfully. A further potential weakness is the focus of reflexive law on deliberation which does not account for power imbalances within the groups who contribute to consultation and decision-making processes. Practitioners’

suggestions for changes to the Duty may also indicate some weaknesses in the legislation and its supporting structures, ie, where they have identified concerns about: the lack of guidance available for implementation; a need for compulsion relating to data collection and monitoring; the lack of compulsory EIAs; and a need for greater clarity about the meaning of ‘due regard’.

Nevertheless, the Duty has achieved positive outcomes which include more transparent processes for decision-making. These are perceived as fairer and more appropriate due to the involvement of stakeholders and service-users and the requirements to gather and publish supporting evidence. There are conflicting views regarding the effectiveness of the Duty as a way to challenge public

262 Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) (2011), ibid.

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authority decisions. Some argued, and there is strong evidence to show, that because of the weak ‘due regard’ standard and its focus on process the Duty can be used to support imposition of funding cuts. This is countered by a significant number of positive outcomes which have been achieved, some before judicial proceedings have even been initiated, through interest groups and other actors compelling authorities to reconsider their actions.

Finally, much of the empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the duties has focused primarily on processes and organisational procedures, particularly from a practitioner point of view. The 2013 Government Equalities Office (GEO) Review indicated that a lack of hard evidence, particularly around decision-making and whether Duty’s impact on service users undermined the credibility of the Duty as a force for change. Indeed, there is a limited amount of data available to reveal service-user perspectives which would allow us to assess the impact the Duty or understand changes to individuals’ circumstances which in turn can indicate social change on the ground. The outcomes the Duty achieves for service users is clearly a gap in knowledge and this was a key factor in developing the direction of my thesis.

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This chapter explored the legal background to the development of reflexive equality legislation which evolved as a way to address some of the issues with

‘command and control’ law and to bring about social change through embedding equalities in organisational processes. The theoretical rationale for reflexive law was explained, along with the mechanisms which, Hepple and others have argued, must be in place for the legislation to be successful. I use these, along with evaluations of both the previous Duties and the subsequent, single Duty, to develop an evaluative framework which examines and critiques reflexive law and the Duty set within the context of BCC’s organisational structures.

The next stage in developing my understanding of the way the Duty works ‘on the ground’ was to draw in the experiences of single mothers who use local authority services in their daily lives. The methods and methodology used to achieve this are now described in detail, in chapter 3: Research design and methodology.

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Chapter 3: Research design and methodology