Government response

Marine policy and equalities legislation: myths busted

Defra officials had already concluded that the Marine Policy Statement complied with the Equalities Act 2010.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 24 January 2011

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The myth - The Mail on Sunday and Daily Express claim that Defra paid £100,000 to consultants to test whether the draft Marine Policy Statement discriminated against minorities.

The truth - A number of assessments were carried out across a range of policies, as required under environmental legislation.

Defra officials had already concluded that the Marine Policy Statement complied with the Equalities Act 2010 and did not require a full equalities impact assessment. Defra did not spend £100,000 to find this out.

Published 24 January 2011