Equality and Human Rights Commission

All information will be handled carefully and treated with sensitivity.

Individuals and organisations giving evidence do so on the understanding that it will be used by the Commission for the purposes of the Inquiry. The Commission is aware of its obligations in relation to personal information and privacy under the Data Protection Act and the Human Rights Act. Personal information will be treated as confidential and will not be used except for the purposes of the Inquiry.

Specific legal rules apply to evidence given to Inquiries. These mean that evidence which identifies an individual or organisation can only be disclosed by the Commission in limited circumstances. The Commission will only publish extracts from the evidence it receives where necessary for the purposes of the Inquiry. If we propose to publish evidence identifying you or your organisation, we will contact you beforehand to discuss this. Please highlight any aspect of your submission that you would not wish to be published.

More information about the Commission’s position on confidentiality and disclosure of information is set out below.
If you still have concerns after reading this page and want to discuss these in confidence, please email the inquiry team at disabilityharassmentfi@equalityhumanrights.com

The Equality Act 2006 sets out specific rules relating to information received by the Equality and Human Rights Commission when carrying out an inquiry under section 16 of the Act:

Section 6 of the Equality Act says that information acquired by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the course of an inquiry must not be disclosed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission except where any of the following apply:

• with the consent of each person to whom the information relates
• in the report of the inquiry
• for the purposes of carrying out the Equality and Human Rights Commission's functions in relation to its enforcement powers
• in pursuance of an order of a court or tribunal
• if the information is anonymised so that no one to whom the information relates can be identified
• for the purposes of civil or criminal proceedings to which the Equality and Human Rights Commission is party
• if the information was acquired by the Equality and Human Rights Commission more than 70 years before the date of disclosure.

Section 16 of the Equality Act sets out the rules which apply when the Equality and Human Rights Commission wants to record in its report of an inquiry evidence or findings of an adverse nature about the activities of a specified or identifiable person. These rules include giving that person the right to make written representations on the draft report.

We will not disclose information received from you or your organisation during the inquiry unless it falls within the limited circumstances set out in section 6 (3) of the Equality Act. However, we may include it in the report of the inquiry and this may be in a way which means that you or your organisation will be identifiable. If you do not wish us to include information about you or your organisation in the report of the inquiry then please contact us to discuss this. We will be sensitive to any concerns you have about disclosure and we hope that you will feel confident in reporting any issues to us, including sensitive human rights issues you might have experienced or know about.