Regional Equality & Diversity Partnership

The "socio-economic duty", which was stalled when the coalition came into power, was rubbished by May who said the coalition would instead enforce an approach to equalities that rejects "political correctness and social engineering".

These plans according to May include a measure in the Freedom Bill, which will allow people who were prosecuted for having consensual gay sex at a time when this was illegal to apply to have their convictions deleted from criminal records.

May said: "Equality has become a dirty word because it has come to be associated with the worst aspects of pointless political correctness and social engineering. 

"Just look at the socio-economic duty. At its worst, it might have meant badly needed services directed away from some areas and directed towards others regardless of practical need. At its best it would have been just another bureaucratic box to tick, more time filling in forms and less time focusing on policies that will make a real difference to people’s life chances.

"Government will no longer dictate how people should behave. Instead we will put in place an architecture to support business and wider society to do the right thing."

But Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said the move would jeopardise fairness. "This is an extraordinary decision that axes future fairness in one fell swoop," she said. "Far from being a box ticking exercise, the duty would have given power to the powerless, making sure the voices of the most disadvantaged have a say in how government at all levels makes decisions that affect their lives.

"The message now is that government and public bodies can ignore the powerless and dispossessed, and the bureaucrats can carry on regardless."

Source: Children & Young People Now