Creating a fairer Britain
14 April 2010
As a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) the Commission is bound by Cabinet Office guidance on its conduct and role during election campaigns. The guidance is designed to prevent public bodies from becoming involved in party political controversy.
The Commission has to avoid appearing publicly to criticise any political party's policies, commitments or perceived intentions and avoid any appearance of partisan activity or commentary by staff. This means the Commission is unlikely to be able to comment on individual complaints about party election materials or the activities of candidates.
Prior to the election being called, Commission chair Trevor Philips wrote to the Chair or General Secretary of each of the main parties highlighting our role in promoting good relations and working towards the elimination of prejudice, hatred and hostility.
As stated in these letters, the Commission will pass on complaints to the relevant political party and request that they make an assessment and inform us of the outcome. We will then decide whether to take any further action.
We have set up a specific email address to deal with such complaints: electioncommittee@equalityhumanrights.com
Because the Commission’s work often has implications for the development of policy, during the pre-election period we will reduce the extent of our external communications to avoid the risk that we are perceived to be supporting or promoting partisan views.
It will, however, be ‘business as usual’ for much of our work, including the giving of information and advice to the public, employers and service providers about their rights and duties, and pursuing enforcement and regulatory action where appropriate.
Our website will continue to be updated with factual information, but we will not promote new campaigns or initiatives, nor add news or commentary on matters that could have party political implications. Our social media activity, for example through Twitter and Facebook, will be reduced to reflect neutral or factual news and updates only, rather than encouraging dialogue and interaction as we normally would.