Budget cuts could break equality laws, Theresa May warned chancellor

The Home Secretary and Equalities minister,Theresa May, warned the chancellor George Osbourne that cuts in the budget could widen inequality in Britain and ran a "real risk" of breaking the law, according to a letter leaked to the Guardian.

The letter was sent on 9 June, less than a fortnight before the emergency budget, and was copied to David Cameron. May wrote "there are real risks" and that people ranging from ethnic minorities to women, to the disabled and the old, would be "disproportionately affected".

The Fawcett Society has filed a legal challenge, arguing that the government failed in its legal duty to assess whether spending cuts would hit women unfairly (see WVON story). A coalition of ethnic minority groups is planning a separate legal challenge.

May, writing in her capacity as equalities minister, said: "This letter is to remind colleagues of the legal requirement to additionally consider how women, disabled people and ethnic minorities are affected.

"I fully share the objective of spending cuts. Equally it is important that fairness is at the heart of those decisions so that all those most in need are protected. In this connection, there are real risks that women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and older people will be disproportionately affected. Women, for instance, make up a higher number of public workers, and all four groups use public services more".

A nice  and worthy sentiment, I'm sure we'd all agree. However maybe she should take her own advice...