Petition · past parliament · Cabinet Office

Make socio-economic status a protected characteristic

Closed 19 signatures

What the petition asks

The outcome of Ofqual’s formula for calculating A-level results caused widespread outrage due to it disproportionately reducing the grades of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Better protections need to be in place to focus on addressing socio-economic inequalities.

The government needs to add socio-economic status to the Equality Act, making direct and indirect discrimination based on class or social status illegal.

This will require that socio-economic status be clearly defined, so organisations and institutions can measure it affectively.

Timeline

24 Sep 2020 Petition opened for signatures
24 Mar 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 19
Status Closed
Department Cabinet Office
Opened 24 Sep 2020
Closed 24 Mar 2021

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.