The British government wants to make reducing health and other inequalities between richer and poorer people a central consideration in the policy-making process.
The first clause of the UK’s proposed new Equality Bill “sets out a new legal duty on key public bodies, including central government and local authorities, to ensure they consider the impact that their strategic decisions will have on narrowing socio-economic inequalities.” While it is becoming much more common for governments to require that the fiscal and sometimes environmental impact of strategic decisions be considered, the UK move is an important step forward in requiring that governments consider the impact of strategic decisions on reducing inequalities as part of the policy-making process. Research funded by the Wellesley Institute, including Poverty is making us sick, demonstrates the devastating impact of inequality on health.