Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As some of you might know the UK Government is conducting a public consultation on plans to reform the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The plans include slashing the commission’s budget and reducing its powers, removing funding for its grants programme, and asking the private or voluntary sector to take over its national helpline.
We believe that the changes proposed by the UK government pose a threat to the independence and power of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Within the Welsh context there are great opportunities to drive the equality agenda forward offered by the government’s unique “absolute” duty to promote equal opportunity, the strong specific equality duties introduced by the Welsh Government and the new legislative powers. Proposals that would allow the government to impose financial sanctions if the Commission is shown to have “mis-spent taxpayer’s money” and other plans allowing for increasing government control over EHRC’s internal systems will weaken the Commission’s power to challenge the government.
We know that due to budget cuts and structural changes these are challenging and difficult times for public, third sector and equality organizations like ours. There is growing evidence of the disproportionate impact that recent reforms and the economic climate have had on groups such as disabled people and ethnic minorities. Stigmatization fuelled by media, increasing reports of discrimination, hate crime and harassment are just a few examples of this impact.
We believe that the proposal to remove EHRC grants funding and outsource the advice helpline will have a strong negative impact on those communities in Wales, which are most vulnerable to discrimination.
Race Equality First is one of four organizations in Wales currently funded by EHRC legal grants programme to provide legal advice, assistance and representation to individuals who have suffered unlawful discrimination on any equality grounds. The 2003 Snakes and Ladders report and the subsequent 2009 EHRC “Responding to Discrimination...” report describe Wales as an “advice desert” and make a number of recommendations with regards to developing discrimination advice in Wales. The proposed changes will not only block these developments, but make the situation worse by getting rid of the scarce sources of advice and assistance already in existence.
We know that other organizations share our concerns and we know that in some cases there is a real threat that they will cease to exist as the loss of funding may make it unviable for their services to continue.
Therefore we would encourage you to read and consider the attached briefing and use it in your own responses to the consultation.
I have also attached a full copy of our response. Online copies are available on our website: www.refweb.org.uk
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact myself [email protected] or my colleague, Hodan Hersi, on [email protected] or 029 2022 4097 (between 10am and 4pm)
UK Government’s Consultation document: http://www.equalities.gov.uk/what_we_do/ehrc_reform.aspx
Deadline: 15th June 2011.
Race Equality First: Briefing on “Building a fairer Britain: Reform of the “Equality and Human Rights Commission”
Our response: PROFORMA FOR EHRC REFORM CONSULTATION RESPONSES