To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of Clause 1 of the Equality Bill on the allocation of local funding (a) by central government to local government and (b) by local authorities to individual wards and neighbourhoods. [319626]

I have been asked to reply.

The Government Equalities Office leads on the Equality Bill.

The public sector duty regarding socio-economic inequalities will apply to decisions of a strategic nature. As we made clear in our guide to the duty, we would expect central government departments to have regard to the duty, alongside other considerations, when making strategic funding decisions.

The guide also makes clear that we would expect local authorities to have regard to the duty when drawing up their key plans and strategies. However, whether the duty is relevant to any particular local funding decision will be for the local authority to decide.