Welcome to the May edition of the Commission's email newsletter, Equality and Human Rights News.
The Commission has entered into a binding agreement with Thames Valley Police and Leicestershire Constabulary regarding their disproportionate use of stop and search powers, following the publication of our Stop and Think report last year.
Read more
In response to the Independent Police Complaints Commission report into the Pilkington case, a Commission spokesperson said: 'Sadly, this is far from an isolated case. Evidence from our inquiry into disability-related harassment shows that many disabled people are experiencing harassment and abuse.' We will report on our findings in the autumn and make recommendations for public authorities, including the police, and transport providers to help them better protect disabled people.
Read more
We have issued our first response to the Government’s consultation on the reform of the Commission. It summarises our view that whilst the Government is right to take steps to learn the lessons of our start-up period, its proposals may carry several significant unintended consequences which run counter to its own equality strategy and approach to de-regulation and de-centralisation. We will publish a longer and more detailed response to the specific proposals later in the consultation period which runs until 15 June.
Read more
This month we published Human rights at home - new guidance for social housing providers on implementing human rights. This will take its place within a new collection of human rights guidance also launched this month. Drawn from a range of sectors from healthcare to criminal justice, this resource aims to support good practice and decision making.
Read more
Following on from the Triennial Review report How fair is Britain? - launched in October 2010 - the Commission is now producing a review on the the state of human rights in England and Wales. We will feature updates on this in future newsletters.
Read more
In response to the retrial of two men suspected of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, Trevor Phillips, chair of the Commission said 'A resolution from this hearing may help bring some peace to the Lawrence family and remove a stain on Britain's record on tackling racism.'
Read more
We are pleased to announce the publication of our Business Plan for 2011/12. This year's plan focuses on fewer but higher impact activities to make best use of our reduced resources.
Read more
On 18 May, the Supreme Court handed down a decision on the holding of DNA data. John Wadham, Group Director, Legal said: 'There have to be clear and justifiable reasons for holding onto the DNA data from people who have not been convicted of a crime. Our view is that the current guidelines for the police are not in keeping with the law and the Supreme Court has confirmed this.'
Read more
On 16 May the Office for Disability Issues released a draft government report on the UK's implementation of the United Nations Convention on Rights for Disabled People. We will be commenting on the report along with many disabled people's organisations. You can read and comment on the draft report until 20 June 2011at: http://www.odi.gov.uk/un-report
Read more
Following a test case in which the Commission intervened, a Supreme Court ruling has reinforced the state's legal obligation to investigate deaths in which it may have been involved. John Wadham, Group Director Legal, said: 'Our interest in this case is about the general principles involved. Where the state may have had a hand in the deaths of people, then the circumstances should be properly investigated and lessons learned where necessary.'
Read more
Following a High Court ruling which stated that Birmingham City Council's plans to cut its adult social care budget were unlawful, a Commission spokesperson said: 'Not providing care to those who clearly need it fails to protect some of our most basic human rights. We are investigating if councils are protecting these rights in delivering home-based care and support, and we will be reporting on our findings before the end of the year.'
Read more
Following the publication of our new report on identity-based bullying in schools, videos of our launch event debate are now available to view on our website.
Read the latest guidance on the Equality Act and the public sector equality duty.