The event will bring together public bodies (including local authorities, Regional Development Agencies, and Government departments) who will implement the duty to address socio-economic inequalities, and public service inspectorates (including the Audit Commission and Ofsted)who will monitor how these public bodies will implement the duty.
Professor John Hills will also provide an update on the work of the National Equality Panel, whose findings will help inform the implementation of the new socio-economic duty.
Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, said:
"We have put in as clause one in the Equality Bill a duty to narrow the gap between rich and poor.
"The independent National Equality Panel, which we set up last September to carry out an in-depth analysis of economic inequality, will present analysis on inequality that will inform the implementation of the new duty to address socio-economic inequalities.
"Evidence reviewed by the Panel underlines that whether its educational attainment, income, or housing, those from the most deprived backgrounds tend to do worse. This is what the socio-economic duty is designed to challenge.
"So the new duty will attack one of the most fundamental and stubborn of all the determinants of inequality and ensure public bodies take the action they can to tackle it."
By the age of six, bright children from poor families are overtaken by less able children from wealthier families.
People's social class also affects their life expectancy. For example, women generally have a longer life expectancy than men, but research shows that on average poor women now live less long than rich men.
Professor John Hills said:
"The National Equality Panel hopes to provide an authoritative account of the inequality that persists in Britain today.
"We hope our report will provide public authorities and others with a robust evidence base to help them tackle social inequality and in doing so improve outcomes for people from the most deprived backgrounds."
The new duty will require Government Ministers, departments and keypublic bodies (such as local authorities, Primary Care Trusts, and Regional Development Agencies) to consider what action they can take to reduce socio-economic inequalities when making strategic decisions about spending and services. It will not affect front line decisions about individuals.
For example, poorer people tend to suffer greater ill health, so a Strategic Health Authority could target health advice or smoking cessation services at deprived areas. However a hospital would not for example have to prioritise an operation on a person just because they were from a deprived area.
Many public bodies already focus on these issues; but this duty will mean the others will now have to catch up. Data collected by the key public service inspectorates (such as Audit Commission) will help the Government monitor compliance with the duty.
Professor Hills will report to Harriet Harman in January 2010.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Please contact the Government Equalities Office press office on 0207 276 0932.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
* The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the Government's overall strategy, legislation and priorities on equality issues. It was established in July 2007. The Office also has direct responsibility for policy on gender equality, sexual orientation and transgender equality.
* The National Equality Panel is independent and consists of academic experts in inequality. It is chaired by leading academic Professor John Hills and will provide the Government with an authoritative analysis of inequality in Britain.
* The National Equality Panel is gathering and examining data over the last 10 years, as well as commissioning new research. The panel will:
o provide a factual analysis of how equality trends have changed over the last ten years and map out exactly where gaps have narrowed and widened in society.
o investigate how people's life chances are affected by gender, race, disability, age and other important aspects of inequality such as where they were born, what kind of family they were born into, where they live and their wealth; and
o show how these factors inter-relate and reinforce one another.
* Professor John Hills is Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion and Professor of Social Policy at the LSE.