Welsh Government rapped by regulator for serial breaches of equality law

Martin Shipton

The Welsh Government has failed to comply with equality laws on multiple occasions, according to the UK’s equality regulator.

Such a ruling by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a serious embarrassment for an administration that regularly proclaims its commitment to equality issues.

A decision taken in 2023 to stop providing food during school holidays for children who qualified for free school meals during term time was unlawful because the Welsh Government did not consult with the Children’s Commissioner, did not obtain the views of any children or young persons or any persons with protected characteristics, and did not undertake a Children’s Rights Impact Assessment.

Holiday free school meals had been introduced during the pandemic to ensure that children from poor families were fed.

Lawyers acting on behalf of two unidentified children pursued a judicial review of the decision, and in February 2024 the Welsh Government conceded the case without a hearing. The High Court then declared that the decision to end holiday free school meals was unlawful.

The EHRC subsequently established that the Welsh Government had also failed to conduct and publish Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) for many of its policies which were likely to have a substantial impact on its ability to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), a legal requirement.

The law also requires the Welsh Government to publish an annual equality report by March 31 each year. For the reporting period January to December 2023, the Welsh Government failed to publish the report by the deadline of March 31 2024, publishing 11 days later. This represents a breach of statutory regulations.

As a result, the EHRC has taken formal enforcement action in the form of a Section 23 legal agreement with the Welsh Government to improve its compliance with equality law.

The legally-binding agreement between the two parties sets out the actions the Welsh Government will take to ensure that there are no further breaches.

Under the action plan, the Welsh Government will:

* review current procedures and guidance relating to the PSED and EIAs;

* deliver training on the PSED and EIAs to ministers, senior civil servants, special advisers, policy officials and other relevant staff;

* improve governance of PSED compliance, including the development of a quality assurance monitoring process for EIAs ;

* develop guidance to help staff to complete EIAs and ensure PSED compliance;

* implement an internal communication plan to drive cultural reform and improve knowledge of equality law requirements.

Action plan

The agreement was signed on behalf of the Welsh Government by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Andrew Goodall.

The action plan begins on Friday November 21 2025 and is expected to conclude by Sunday November 21 2027. The EHRC will monitor the Welsh Government’s compliance with the action plan.

The formal enforcement action comes after extensive private engagement between the two parties. The regulator first wrote to the Welsh Government to express its concerns about PSED compliance in 2020 and monitored the issue in the following years.

In 2023, the regulator held regular discussions with the Welsh Government regarding its failure to conduct and publish Equality Impact Assessments for many of its policies. In 2024, the EHRC recommended the Welsh Government enter into a Section 23 legal agreement which the Welsh Government agreed to do.

John Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive of the EHRC, said: “We have engaged with the Welsh Government about instances of non-compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty for several years. We recognise the hard work Welsh Government have put into this legal agreement so far. Once completed, it will ensure full compliance with the law and that the breaches we identified will not be repeated.

“The Public Sector Equality Duty exists to make sure public bodies are not treating people with protected characteristics differently because of their protected characteristics. It means that policy decisions or services can be put in place fairly for everyone with a full understanding of how different groups may be affected.

“Compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty is not an optional afterthought for public authorities. It is the law and we will not hesitate to act when it is breached.”

Duties

The PSED requires public authorities to consider equality issues in their day-to-day business. It consists of a general duty which applies across Great Britain, and specific duties which vary across England, Scotland and Wales.

The general duty means public authorities must have due regard to the need to:

* put an end to unlawful behaviour that is banned by the Equality Act 2010, including discrimination, harassment and victimisation;

* advance equal opportunities between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not;

* foster good relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.

In Wales, specific duties include the need to carry out equality impact assessments and to produce an annual equality report by a certain deadline.

The Welsh Government failed to comply with both the general duty and some specific duties.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said: “We are proud of our record in driving increased equality in Wales over many years. We welcome the signing of this agreement in partnership with the EHRC and are committed to continuing to improve our approach to Equality Impact Assessments as an organisation.”