Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith MP

RADAR National Conference

And as the agenda here today shows, RADAR and the disability movement want to address the big issues for the disability movement as a whole. Whether it is the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which I will go on to talk about, or the debate later today about involving disabled people in the heart of the decision-making process in disability organisations.

But before I go on to speak about the CEHR, I want to also say how pleased I am that you will be hearing from speakers such as Ben Summerskill, Trevor Phillips and Gordon Lishman, who work in, what some would like to think, are ‘separate’ fields of equality.

These speakers show in practice how important the disability movement is to all those working on equality issues, that there are experiences to share, links to be made and lessons to be learnt from each other if we are going to put equality issues right at the heart of the changes we want to achieve. The social model of disability, which has at its heart the principle that change is necessary in wider society to ensure disabled people are able to enjoy full participation, rather than placing the onus on disabled people themselves – is a model that applies just as much to all those who experience discrimination. Equality should not be a minority concern – it matters to each and every one of us.

I want also to pay tribute to Bert Massie, Bob Niven and the staff and Board at the Disability Rights Commission. Through innovative approaches, they have helped to put equality on the map. For example, ten years ago, disability was something hardly seen as an issue of discrimination or inequality. Today, thanks to the DRC the equality of people with disabilities is recognised as a major social issue.

Today I want to focus on the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

It is a simple concept: equality and human rights for all in a just and fair society.

But the causes of discrimination and disadvantage are complex. Our search for appropriate and effective solutions – in society, amongst our employers, and in the delivery of services – is constantly evolving. Bringing about lasting changes within wider society is a long-term and difficult endeavour, but one that we must tackle.

In the mid 1970s, we marked a major milestone in passing the Race Relations Act and the Sex Discrimination Act. But it wasn’t until the mid 1990s that we began the long journey towards full civil rights for disabled people.
Let’s not forget that even when we came into office in 1997 only the most outrageous type of direct discrimination against disabled people was outlawed and there was no protection at all for employees of small firms. So some of the worst disability discrimination that blights many people's lives went unchecked.
Much of what we then promised is already on the statute book and making a real difference to people’s lives. And we hope that October 1st 2004, will be remembered as another promise met in recognising the benefits disabled people bring to society.

But we have not yet reached the end of this road on disability legislation. The draft Disability Bill 2003 represents another significant step in extending civil rights and opportunities for disabled people as part of a wide agenda on disability rights

But disability rights is about more than just these legislative changes. It is about respecting people’s equal worth as individuals so that they are not disabled by the pre-conceptions of others. Creating a step-change in public attitudes will require us all to work closely together. Much of this will be in the hands of society as a whole and getting this step-change in place will take more work. This is where the CEHR will make a real difference.

The social and demographic changes we face – as employers, as employees, and as citizens – will be enormously challenging.

That is why I believe that right now we need to mark another milestone on our journey towards healing the discrimination and disadvantage in our ever complex and increasingly diverse society.

· To provide a stake in our society, individuals need to live free from hate, discrimination, and harassment - able to make the most of their lives.

· To mend fractures caused by disadvantage and discrimination, we need to build safe and cohesive communities where we value and respect difference as a way of building on the values we share.

· For our prosperity, our economy needs to maximise the skills of all, especially those who have been unfairly denied opportunities to participate fully.

· And for our nation, we need to develop the narratives that hold us together as individuals and as citizens, that recognise the specificity of our individual experiences and the strength that will inevitably be found in working together.

In this way, equality and human rights become the routes to social solidarity, community cohesion, individual opportunity and prosperity for all.

These changes are not just about altruism – they are not just about disabled people. They are about helping to build a society that maximises the potential of all its citizens and uses all of their talents to create a more prosperous and inclusive society – a society that frees people from unjustifiable treatment and prejudice.

We need the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights as soon as possible as one of the ways in which we are responding to these challenges of the future, a milestone on that evolving journey.

The CEHR will be transformational across the full breadth of equality and human rights issues. Placed at the centre of the key debates that society as a whole needs to address it will be a single authoritative champion, best positioned to drive and maximise the next stage of changes we seek.

The consultation on our proposals for the new CEHR has recently closed, and we are analysing the responses carefully.

But some things are immediately clear, and I would like to take a few minutes to deal with some of the “big” issues that people have raised in the consultation.

Firstly, the relationship between human rights and equality. Human rights and equality are intimately connected.

One – human rights – provides a baseline of rights and fair treatment for every individual, and gives us a framework for understanding how to tackle potentially conflicting rights. The other – equality – provides us with the framework to ensure that groups of people do not experience disadvantage and discrimination relative to others. They are two sides of the same coin. Without the two, together, our public services could be in the paradoxical situation of potentially promoting equality by treating different groups of people equally badly. That is why we have included both in the new Commission. And why we are looking to build upon the pioneering work of organisations such as the DRC which has so effectively drawn upon and applied human rights standards and principles in various aspects of its work.

Secondly, the single equality act. Almost all respondents to the consultation recognise this is an important issue, and there is a strong desire to harmonise protection across all strands. I have said before that Government recognises the strength of feeling, and that we fully envisage one of the important first tasks the CEHR should be to review the discrimination legislative framework to ensure it meets current needs and produces effective outcomes.

But let us be honest. This will be a complex endeavour. It will require deeper and shared understanding of the commonalities and differences between different types of discrimination. The CEHR provides exactly the sort of forum to play a leading role in this review. The work, the thinking – and frankly sometimes the arguments that we have about establishing the CEHR can be the gateway to the benefits of a single equality act.

Thirdly, the resources available to the CEHR. Many of you are concerned that the establishment of the CEHR is an attempt to cut costs. Let me say again that this is not, and has never been, our intention.

Of course we recognise that there will be opportunities for efficiency savings – corporate services, accommodation, IT. But we also accept that if the CEHR is to have a wider remit than our existing arrangements, with a role in the new areas of discrimination and human rights, it must have more than the amount available to the existing three equality Commissions. And my colleagues and I are in the process of agreeing not just how much that should be, but also how it should be shared fairly across Government.

But we also accept that the CEHR cannot possibly have enough resources to meet all of the demands that will be placed upon it. So the CEHR must develop innovative approaches and smarter ways of working with organisations to ensure it is able to help the maximum number of individuals and organisations it can.

Fourthly, many respondents commented on the perception that the White Paper emphasised promotion over enforcement. Let me be absolutely clear. We do not envisage any downgrading of the existing powers to support individuals taking cases or to use its suite of enforcement powers to tackle discrimination. On the contrary, as with our existing Commissions, it will play its full part as a strong regulator, bringing its authority and expertise to bear in ways that effect real change.

Finally, we have been heartened by the comprehensive and thought provoking responses from the disability movement and the support for our proposals to guarantee the appointment of at least one disabled person to the CEHR’s Board, the diversity of which we will ensure is addressed in the legislation itself, and to make provision for a Disability Committee, with at least 50% disabled membership and, with decision-making powers on issues specific to disabled people. A lot of the progress on this can be put down to the leadership of Bert Massie and Bob Niven in taking such a hands-on and involved approach to these issues at an especially important time for the disability movement.

We remain alive to the concerns of disability stakeholders that there need to be clear ways of ensuring that specific resources are dedicated to deliver the disability as well as other equality agendas. These are issues we are looking at closely. I know it will be an area of continuing interest to the Steering Group we have set up, on which the DRC are members, when they look at how we make sure the CEHR is fit for purpose in practice as well as principle.

Encouragingly, the great majority of respondents support the establishment of a CEHR, recognising the potential benefits it will bring and understanding the need to respond to the challenges of the future.

There was strong support for placing the CEHR under a duty to consult stakeholders, which we do not have in our present Commissions. This will ensure that it takes full account of the specific issues for specific strands, and we received lots of interesting ideas about how this might be done.

There was also strong support for its human rights role, and for providing full institutional support to new areas of discrimination.

As well as strong interest in the proposals for regional arrangements.

Of course, there is much still to be done. Not least of all to look carefully at how each of the strands can be properly served within one institution, and the sorts of structures that would make this possible. This will be one of the first tasks we must now embark upon.

We must, and will, draw on expertise, experience and knowledge outside Government, and I look forward to ongoing dialogue with the disability movement on these and other issues.

I have no doubt that the journey to equality and human rights for all, to a fair and just society, will be complex. There will be many challenges along the way. But we are more likely to find the right solutions working together rather than separately. More importantly, however difficult, frustrating and complicated it may feel at times, I have no doubt that this is the right journey and one that we must make together.