In response to a request from the Women and Equalities Committee for supplementary evidence as to whether section 14 of the Equality Act (the combined discrimination/dual discrimination provision) should be introduced, the DLA produced the attached document in July 2022.
The Government’s written submission to the WEC's inquiry did not address section 14, and ultimately the WEC wrote to the Minister for Women to clarify the position. The Minister’s response has been published and can be seen here. Part of the Government’s justification in paragraph 3 of the letter dated 25 May 2022 for not enacting s14 is that it would introduce “unwelcome regulatory complexity and place new costly burdens on business and the public sector”.
In its response, the DLA contended that the administrative or regulatory burden is sufficiently substantial to justify not enacting s14, and furthermore that the Government should consider expanding this to include harassment and indirect discrimination and more than 2 characteristics.