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New equality landscape

28 October 2010 / John Wadham
Issue: 7439 / Categories: Features , Public , Human rights
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The Equality Act provides firm foundations on which to build for the future, says John Wadham

By rolling over one hundred pieces of legislation into the one practical, common sense law, and extending protection to all 61 million citizens of Great Britain, the Equality Act 2010 will help to create a firm foundation for a fairer society in which everybody has the chance to fulfil their potential.

For over 40 years British legislation has driven forward equality and enabled some of those who are mistreated at work or overlooked by public services to pursue justice through the courts. We have made some good progress in tackling the most acute examples of discrimination because individuals and organisations now know that they can be brought to account.

However, as the Commission’s recently published landmark report, How Fair is Britain? shows, chronic disadvantage and inequality persists. A child’s postcode at birth is a reasonable predictor of their lot in life as an adult and our choices and chances in life are still, to a great extent,

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NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
County court cases are speeding up, with the median time from claim to hearing 62 weeks for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims—5.4 weeks faster than last year

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured £1.1m in its first use of an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO)

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