Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Government Equalities Office is the lead
sponsor department for the Equality and Human Rights Commission
(EHRC).
The EHRC was set up by the Equality Act 2006
to bring a new, inclusive approach to promoting equality and human
rights and provide more effective support for discrimination
legislation.
The fundamental objective of the Commission as
set out in the Equality Act is to support the development of a
society where:-
- There is respect for the dignity and worth of
every individual
- There is respect for and protection of each
individual’s human rights
- People’s ability to achieve their potential
is not limited by prejudice or discrimination
- Every individual has an equal opportunity to
participate in society
- There is mutual respect between groups based
on understanding and valuing diversity and on shared respect for
equality and human rights
The EHRC assumed the responsibilities of the
legacy commissions - the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), the
Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and the Commission for Racial
Equality (CRE). The EHRC also promotes equality and tackles
discrimination in relation to sexual orientation, age, and religion
or belief – areas that were not covered by the legacy
commissions.
The EHRC is also, for the first time, charged
with the promotion and protection of human rights, providing
institutional support for the Human Rights Act. It will encourage
public and (where appropriate) private bodies to comply with the
principles that underline the Act, levering up standards by
encouraging good practice based on respect for the dignity of each
individual.
The Commission’s work covers England, Scotland
and Wales. In Scotland and Wales there are separate statutory
committees.
EHRC Commissioner Recruitment
We have launched a campaign to recruit a Commissioner to the
Board of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). We are
looking for someone from the commercial sector with a passion for
equality, tackling discrimination and promoting human rights, to
help shape the Commission's strategy and priorities as a regulator
of UK equality and anti-discrimination law and as a national human
rights institution. Applications can be made via the Appointments
Commission and the application closing date is 12 noon on Monday
28th March 2011. For further information please click
here.
Management of the Commission
The Equality Act 2006 sets out the reason for
the creation of the Commission and how it will work with
Government. This is a mixture of flexible management to allow
the Commission to act independently on equality and diversity
matters including advice, action and control; while recognising
that the Commission is government funded. To achieve
this:
- The Act requires government to write to the
Commission from time to time asking for an outline of its
priorities for the coming period. The Commission will take
this into account as it develops its strategic plan.
- The framework document captures the working
relationship between government and the Commission. The
Commission is a grant in aid body and its Acting Chief
Executive Helen Hughes is accountable for how the grant is
spent. However, the Accounting Officer for the GEO is
also be the Accounting Officer for the Commission.
The EHRC Sponsor Team in the GEO is headed
by Lorna Smith (email: Lorna.Smith@geo.gsi.gov.uk).
The Sponsor Team’s remit is to manage the administrative
relationship between the EHRC and the Government, including
ministers. This covers the provision of the grant in aid and
how it is spent – ensuring issues of regularity, propriety and
value for money are met within government guidelines and at the
same time working with the Commission so that it can effectively
discharge its business.