Stakeholder Position: Disability Rights Commission

The Disability Rights Commission warmly welcomes the Equality Bill which establishes a Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR). The CEHR is the new body which will eventually take over our disability rights remit and that of the Commission for Racial Equality and Equal Opportunities Commission.

 

It will also have responsibility for: promoting equality and combating unlawful discrimination on grounds of sexuality, religion or belief and age; the promotion of human rights, and good relations between and within communities. It marks a new approach to equality and human rights which we believe has great potential to transform the life chances of disabled people and other marginalised groups in our society.

 

The DRC has played a positive and influential role in the development of plans for the future Commission, alongside the many other stakeholders, to secure the best possible deal for Britain’s 10 million disabled people and ensure that it operates effectively for all the strands it is due to serve.

 

Disabled people have a right to expect continued strong advocacy and a real voice in an effective enforcement body which is able to deal with the specific discrimination they face as well as multiple discrimination and with a mission to establish a culture of respect for human rights. Subject to further progress in the areas set out below - some of which may involve limited changes to the Bill - this is the kind of Commission we believe the Bill will deliver.

 

We particularly welcome:

• The distinctive governance and organisational arrangements for the delivery of disability rights – at least one disabled Commissioner and a Disability Committee (for at least the first five years) with delegated powers and a sufficient share of CEHR resources to exercise these powers. These provisions are vital to disabled people’s confidence in the ability of the CEHR to work effectively to eradicate the widespread discrimination and exclusion they face.
• The wide enforcement powers at the disposal of the CEHR in relation to equality.
• The remit to promote and investigate human rights.
• The new provisions to counter discrimination on grounds of religion or belief in relation to goods, services and facilities and the new duty on the public sector to promote gender equality.

 

To ensure the future CEHR maximises its potential for disabled people we will be seeking:

• Further clarification and strengthening of the vital ‘Disability Guarantees’ in the Bill including: Changes to the provisions for review and dissolution of the Disability Committee – with a requirement to consult disabled people on the face of the Bill, the provisions clarified to ensure a truly open-ended review which can look at a range of options for the future of the committee (not just dissolution) and full parliamentary scrutiny over any future decision to dissolve the Committee or extend its life.
  
  Confirmation by ministers that the DRC’s work on independent living will indeed be taken forward by the CEHR. Independent living means disabled people having the same choice, control and freedom as other citizens – at home, at work, in education, and as equal members of society. 

 

• Activation of the power to bring stand-alone Human Rights Act cases on behalf of disabled people.  As the Bill stands the CEHR will be able to talk about disabled people’s human rights but will not be able to enforce them.

 

• A smooth and effective transition – we seek parity for the DRC Transition Commissioner with the EOC and CRE Transition Commissioners in terms of length of tenure. Also we will be working to ensure the CEHR is set up as a best practice body in relation to the employment of disabled people and the accessibility of its premises and services in line with the DRC’s record in these areas.

 

• Inclusion of disability within the mainstream community relations provisions so as to ensure effective action against hate crime and to tackle social exclusion.

 

Amendments on all these issues have been tabled for debate at committee stage of the Bill and we urge peers of all parties and of none to support them.

 

Finally the DRC has long argued that a future CEHR must be accompanied by a Single Equality Act or equivalent harmonising legislation to upgrade and simplify current equality law, strengthen disability rights (preserving the distinctive aspects of disability rights such as the concept of reasonable adjustments) so that all enjoy comprehensive protection against discrimination. We therefore welcome the recent announcement of Equalities Review (chaired by Trevor Phillips) and the DTI Discrimination Law Review. The former will investigate the root causes of discrimination while the latter will assess how anti-discrimination legislation can be modernised. We need a clear timetable for the development and enactment of single equality legislation.