| Many thanks for inviting me here
today to speak to you. It is very apt that we back here a year after the
last conference in this very room when we were in the middle of our White
Paper consultation. We’ve come a long way in a year. And it is your
comments and input at the conference last year that have helped us to take
the leaps forward to where we are now.
I would like to start out by thanking the Equality
and Diversity Forum who have organised this event. The EDF, through its
network of organisations on all equality and human rights issues, has
established itself as a leading voice in promoting dialogue and
understanding across so-called ‘separate’ strands.
They have recognised that there is a cross-cutting
nature to equality issues and an intimate relationship between equality
and human rights. And they have recognised there are great benefits in
working together on equality issues to strengthen the message, highlight
the issues and challenge us all to go further.
The EDF has consistently been a critical friend to
Government. They have done this by taking the debate in to the heart of
Government, speaking with one, strong voice, lobbying MPs, Peers,
Ministers and officials, and out, to stakeholders and people more widely,
building a deeper understanding of equality amongst those who these
changes effect.
Today is an opportunity for me to set out for you
our next steps on equality and human rights. These vital steps will help
us to create a Britain where every individual can fulfil their potential
and equality is a widely understood basic moral principle.
The Government has made much progress in all areas
of equality. We have just taken through a new Disability Discrimination
Act, we have outlawed race discrimination in all public functions, imposed
a new duty on public bodies to promote race equality, introduced the
Gender Recognition Act in 2004, outlawed discrimination in the workplace
on grounds of religion and belief, and in October 2006, will are planning
to extend this legislation to cover age discrimination. Added to this, we
are delivering the biggest ever package of support for working parents.
But we believe we need to make further progress on
all these issues and our work on transforming equality and tackling
discrimination continues. That is why today I want to highlight the two
areas of work where we will now be focussing our efforts and energies.
These are, firstly, the Equalities and Discrimination Law Reviews and
secondly, the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, and the Equality
Bill.
On Monday I announced the membership of the
Reference Group that will support both the Equalities and the
Discrimination Law Reviews and the terms of reference for this group and
for the Discrimination Law Review. I welcome the experience and skills its
members will bring. These people will provide support on the two big tasks
we face.
Firstly, the Equalities Review, led by Trevor
Phillips, will report in Summer 2006 on the underlying causes of
inequality. This is about more than legislation - it is about making
recommendations on how to improve significantly the life chances of those
that are most disadvantaged.
Secondly, the Discrimination Law Review, which
will be informed by this Equalities Review, will consider the fundamental
principles of discrimination legislation. We anticipate this will lead to
a single equality bill.
These two pieces of work, one on the root causes
and the other on the legal framework, will inform each other. The package
of changes they bring about will be based on sound evidence that balances
the relative impact that legislation and other action can have in bringing
about meaningful change. Moreover, the outcomes of these Reviews will
provide a strong foundation to enhance the work and agenda of the CEHR.
These reviews will take time, a lot of
consultation with all stakeholders and much work by officials leading, we
expect, to a Single Equality Bill later on in this Parliament which is a
manifesto commitment.
Our immediate and urgent priority on equality in
this session is the Equality Bill that will create the Commission for
Equality and Human Rights, prohibit discrimination on the grounds of
religion and belief and provide a new gender duty on public authorities.
Today, I just want to single out a few points
about our vision for the CEHR, why we are doing this, the benefits it will
bring and address some of the key issues for stakeholders.
The CEHR will draw together the work of the three
current equality Commissions, the Commission for Racial Equality, the
Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission and
support the new areas of law protecting against discrimination on grounds
of sexual orientation, religion and belief, and from 2006, age. It will
also provide institutional support for the Human Rights Act, in particular
to embed human rights effectively into public service delivery.
We should not lose sight that if you believe you
are being discriminated against on the grounds of your sexual orientation,
or your religion or belief or your age or for multiple reasons there is
currently: no institution to go to for advice; no institution to provide
authoritative guidance to those people and organisations who want to do
the right thing; and no institution to promote and champion the benefits
understanding equality can bring.
A lot has been done by Government and other
organisations to support the sexual orientation and religion and belief
regulations since they came into force: Government has run a national
press campaign; Acas have produced practical workplace guidance; and
dozens of voluntary and community organisations across the UK have
received Capacity Building funding to support awareness raising activity
and embed understanding.
But, we recognise there is still a lot to do to
ensure there are support arrangements paving the way towards the CEHR,
helping to develop the knowledge, capabilities, networks and relationships
that the CEHR will need to deliver for these areas.
That is why I am delighted to announce today a
£2.5 million two-year programme of funding to support sexual orientation
and religion and belief employment regulations for 2005-07.
This funding will support vital work to ensure
that: advice providers are enabled to provide high-quality advice on
discrimination, on a sustainable basis, with a view to future partnership
with the CEHR; employers are aware of their responsibilities under the
Regulations; and regional partnership networks are developed.
But our ambitions and vision for the CEHR are
about much more than supporting these new “strands” of equality, important
as they are. The CEHR is being established to bring a new, inclusive
approach to promoting equality and human rights and provide more effective
support for our discrimination legislation. It reflects our commitment to
creating a Britain in which every individual can fulfil their potential.
We believe promoting equality and diversity is vital to securing both
individual opportunity and potential, and to the prosperity of our society
as a whole.
This is fundamentally about a new approach to
equality and achieving a fairer society. It recognises the importance of
both human rights and the need to ensure good relations between
communities. Bringing human rights and equality together will help build a
culture of respect for individual rights and the worth of each person,
raising awareness of human rights in society at large. Focussing on good
relations between communities will build trust and dialogue across all
sections of society.
The CEHR will build on the work of the existing
bodies, but it will also be a new body with a new ethos. We want it to be
transparent, agile and expert, open to its stakeholders and committed to
partnership working. That is why our Bill includes innovative new duties,
such as a ‘fundamental duty’ to use its powers work towards a fairer
society, and duties to map society’s progress towards equality through a
“state of the nation” report and a duty to consult stakeholders on its
plans.
I’d like to highlight just four of the many ways
in which this will mean the CEHR will be different. These are through:
Greater legitimacy: being the guardian of equality
and human rights for the whole of society and not any sectional group.
Maximising expertise: putting the expertise in one
place – providing a single point of access on equality and human rights
legislation.
A stronger voice: being a strong advocate and
influencer for equality and human rights, both with key decision makers
and the public at large.
Evidence based action: building up a powerful
evidence base on the causes of inequality to help identify goals and
priorities.
Our stakeholders have made it clear to us the
benefits they believe this approach will bring about. These include:
Being a strong, authoritative voice for equality
and human rights, pushing them up the public and policy agenda.
Working more effectively for individuals through
providing advice and support on all discrimination issues and avoiding
pigeon holing.
Meeting the strong demand from business for a
single, consistent source of advice on all discrimination and equality
matters
Raising awareness in public authorities of human
rights standards and values, leading to better public services.
I know many of you here today will have questions
to ask about Equality Bill and will continue to ask searching questions
today.
Let me reassure you, we will continue to develop
and improve our proposals as we go along – just as we have done throughout
this process. Let us not under-estimate our achievements in getting to
this point. It has been a challenging journey so far with extensive and
careful consultation with a whole range of stakeholders. On many occasions
we have listened to the strength of arguments put forwarded and been
persuaded to change our views on how the CEHR should work.
A few words about a steering group of senior
external stakeholders, that includes, amongst others the Commission for
Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal
Opportunities Commission. They are working with us on all the practical
issues to make sure the CEHR is ready when it opens its doors in late 2007
and when the CRE joins in 2009 and I’d like to thank them for their
continued work and input.
Clause 3 of the Bill summarises our vision for a
society, towards which the CEHR should contribute.
It states:
“The Commission shall exercise its functions with
a view to the creation of a society in which—
(a) People’s ability to achieve their potential is
not limited by prejudice or discrimination,
(b) There is respect for and protection of each individual’s human rights,
(c) There is respect for the dignity and worth of each individual,
(d) Each individual has an equal opportunity to participate in society,
and
(e) There is mutual respect between communities based on understanding and
valuing of diversity and on shared respect for equality and human rights.”
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