Would the last person to leave the EHRC switch off the lights of equality across the UK?

The Commissioners of the Equality & Human Rights Commission [EHRC] are due to meet on 10th October to consider the future of the EHRC.  It appears the government has managed to put the fear of death into them as they are contemplating cuts further and deeper than government has asked for.  And this from people charged with defending the equality rights of so many people who live with discrimination on a daily basis.

I have copied below a statement issued by the PCS union on behalf of the staff left working at the EHRC.  It invites readers to make their views known on this shameful plan.  It needs no more from me :

The Olympic opening ceremony was deservedly hailed as a masterful summary of Britain past and present. In what has been generally accepted as a celebration of the ‘peoples' history’ of our country it also successfully interpreted the strengths of a culturally diverse nation. From the rendition of the National Anthem by disabled singers, to the inclusion of the Suffragettes and the Windrush generation, it harnessed a strong theme that equality and diversity and human rights are part of our national identity.

It is therefore unforgiveable that at the very moment that the country is reflecting with pride on this redefined self image that the very existence of the body with responsibility for promoting and protecting these ideals, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (the Commission), is threatened.

Plans to reduce the powers and resources of the Commission are an even greater threat to disabled people given this Government's plans to reduce disability benefits and the denigration of disabled people in the tabloid media.

Some of you may not be aware of the important powers that the Commission has with regard to the rights of disabled people and why you should be concerned about its future. The Commission replaced three legacy commissions in 2007; the Disability Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality. It is the body responsible for promoting equality and diversity and human rights. It is also responsible for enforcing the equality laws that protect people from disability discrimination. The Commission has produced a statutory codes of practice on employment and services, public functions and associations. They provide guidance and good practice for employers, service providers, public authorities and associations on achieving disability equality. These codes are the authoritative, comprehensive and technical guide to the Act’s provisions and can be relied on by people taking discrimination cases in courts and tribunals.

The Commission is also empowered to conduct statutory inquiries. For example, the Commission recently conducted an inquiry into disability-related harassment: 'Hidden in plain sight'. The findings of the inquiry showed that hundreds of thousands of disabled people regularly experienced harassment or abuse but a culture of disbelief is preventing public authorities from tackling it effectively. Consultation events have been held in the wake of the report to given disabled peopled the opportunity to identify the critical outcomes they want to see happen.

The Commission, which is Britain's National Human Rights Institution, is also one of the UK bodies designated by the Government to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This convention reaffirms disabled people's human rights and signals a further major step in disabled people's journey to becoming full and equal citizens. The Commission has made a number of statements and submissions in support of convention rights.

The Commission also used its grants programme to fund organisations providing advice and representation to the victims of disability discrimination. It also provides a conciliation service to help people with disabilities negotiate settlements rather than having to go to court. You can read more about the Commission's disability work at http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/about-us/vision-and-mission/our-business-plan/disability-equality/ or phone our helpline for advice - numbers at the end of this letter.

I am sure you will agree that the Commission must be properly resourced to continue and build on this good work. However, the Commission's very survival is at stake following devastating cuts to its budget. In the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review the Government decided to cut the Commission's budget to £26 million by 2014/15. This represented a 62% cut to its original budget and heralded the closure of its grants programme and the outsourcing of its helpline which moves to a private sector provider this autumn.

The Commission has already lost over 200 skilled and experienced staff due to the cuts and many who left were experts in disability discrimination Already reeling from the impact of these cuts, staff were astonished when the Commission presented proposals in June which anticipates a further cut of 30% to its budget by 2014/15. The Government have made no such announcement.

These proposals are now subject to a statutory consultation with the trade unions before they are approved by the Commission's Board on 10 October. These proposals would mean the loss of an additional 100 posts, leaving 150 posts to cover all of Great Britain and only 11 legal posts in total. The new structure will have virtually no staff providing frontline services such as advice, casework and mediation and there are only 11 legal posts in the proposed structure - copy attached. More posts are scheduled to disappear following a review of shared services such as the finance and human resources. This will reduce the overall number of staffing to approximately 120 since there are no plans to recover the posts lost through shared services. This will mean that the Commission will have less staff than the DRC and considerably less money than the three legacy commissions it replaced, despite have a much wider remit.[1]

The proposals also recommend the closure of our biggest site in Manchester and our Birmingham office. The remaining regional offices in Edinburgh, Bangor, Leeds, Newcastle, Cambridge and Guildford are also earmarked for closure, removing a key contact point for organisations delivering disability related services around the country.

The ending of the grant aid system for discrimination cases, coupled with the reduction in the Commission's enforcement functions means that access to justice for disabled people will be increasingly denied. This is a huge concern particularly when Government plans to cut the legal aid budget by £350 million comes into effect next year and it introduces fees for taking cases in the Employment Tribunal (this is currently free).

The Unions representing staff in the EHRC, PCS and Unite, are pledged to fight these dramatic reductions in services. This is not only about trying to protect peoples' jobs but also about upholding the fundamental principles of equality and human rights in our society. The advances we have made in making equality and human rights a reality comes from challenging discrimination. These values have been won at great cost and it is very possible that progress will be reversed if we become too complacent.

The real legacy that should emerge from the spirit of the London Olympics is that the body charged with promoting equalities in our society should retain the muscle to do its job.

What you can do

As we have said earlier, the Commission's Board have to approve these proposals on 10 October 2012. If approved they will be implemented later this year. We think the proposals are fundamentally flawed as they are based on an assumption that the budget will be reduced to £18 million by 2014/15. It is unlikely that the Government will impose a further cut of 30% following the hugely disproportionate cuts made in the last Comprehensive Spending Review.

We would therefore like you to:

• demand that the Commission is properly resourced and staffed so that it can provide the services to disabled people intended by Parliament.
• write to members of the Board asking them to reject these proposals and to commence a meaningful consultation with staff, their trade unions and disabled stakeholders

With your help we can have a Commission fit for the 21^st Century; one that disabled activists fought for when they succeeded in establishing the DRC and the Disability Discrimination Act.

Board Details and areas of special interest. Michael Smith is Chair of the Disability Committee.

Trevor Phillips OBE (Chair, departs 7 September)
Baroness Margaret Prosser of Battersea OBE (Acting Chair) - ex president of the TUC
Sarah Anderson
Stephen Alambritis - private sector
Ann Beynon OBE - Wales Commissioner
Professor Geraldine Van Bueren - human rights
Kay Carberry CBE - Assistant General Secretary of the TUC
Baroness Sally Greengross OBE - age
Baroness Meral Hussein Ece OBE
Dr Jean Irvine OBE
Kaliani Lyle - Scotland Commissioner
Angela Mason - LGBT
Michael Smith - Disability Race
Simon Woolley - Race

at 3 More London, Riverside Tooley Street, London SE1 2RG

or via email at commissioners@equalityhumanrights.com

If you want to raise issues particular to Wales you should direct your letter to the Wales Commissioner Ann Beynon OBE and for Scotland Kaliani Lyle who is the Scotland Commissioner. Both can be reached at the address above