Policy Response
30th September 2002
Response to The Odysseus Trust
The Odysseus Trust
193 Fleet Street
London EC4A 2AH
30 September 2002
Dear Lord Lester,
Re: Single Equality Bill Consultation
Runnymede welcomes the opportunity to respond to the draft bill and commends its authors on their foresight and commitment to what is undoubtedly a vital development in UK legislation. As you will be aware it has been Runnymede's public policy since the launch of the report of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain to argue for a single Equality Act and commission. We would be happy to work with the Odysseus Trust in campaigning and advocating change in this direction.
Unfortunately we do not have the resources or expertise to respond to the Bill in as detailed a manner as we would like, given that we have no legal experts on staff. Instead, we would like to make a few points where we believe the bill could be strengthened to support the development of equality in the UK.
- We would be keen to see any Equality Act reflect the incorporation of the Human Rights Act into UK law. There are as yet no plans for a separate Human Rights Commission. Is there a way that human rights, which would naturally permeate the work of an Equality Commission, can be given a legislative platform? A similar argument extends to the inclusion of Children's' rights. It would be a shame to miss the opportunity to bring these areas of activity closer and support them through primary legislation.
- The Bill is designed to apply to the UK. Given the development of devolved powers and institutions, is this a realistic aim? The Scotland Act and the Government of Wales Act reserved equal opportunities as a Westminster responsibility. However, they also empowered the new authorities in Scotland and Wales to promote such opportunities. It is unsurprising that communities are confused about where to turn. Would devolved equalities commissions be more relevant to the current political milieu?
- The public duties to promote equality in the bill apply only on the grounds of race, disability and gender. This creates an in built hierarchy of discrimination in a bill that on the whole redresses the balance. This would likely be transferred to the structure of the equality commission. It would also leave groups and communities exposed to a lack of support against discrimination from public authorities. Further the duty to promote equality only extends to the public sector - how could the bill be framed to include the private sector? At the most minimal level it should include those private sector companies which contract with government in terms of goods and services.
- The bill continues the current nefarious situation by granting an exemption from respecting equality in matters of immigration. This year's ILPA report (among others) noted the kinds of behaviours that this allows and argues for this exemption to be rescinded.
With these comments in mind, we wholeheartedly support the efforts of the Odysseus Trust in your work to see this draft bill become law. We look forward to working with you to achieve that aim.
Yours sincerely,
Michelynn Laflèche
Director
