The appointment of a new chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) must be followed by major reforms to the institution which has been the centre of recent contentious political debates, according to a report by The Future Governance Forum (FGF).
FGF’s ‘Vital institutions 01, Reform and renewal of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’ report found the EHRC has recently run into trouble because of identity based conflict, austerity cuts and perceptions of political bias. While the EHRC has taken on a highly visible position in recent gender recognition debates, it has been publicly absent on contentious issues from institutional racism to Islamophobia. And concerns were raised about the EHRC’s credibility as a defender of trans rights after its policy positions were cited in the Supreme Court case on trans individual’s access to single-sex services.
The report’s recommendations for the EHRC include:
- Remaining politically neutral but not passive, and leading public debates in sensitive areas within its remit.
- Returning to its more outward facing role and making greater use of its powers to collaborate with regulators in the housing, welfare and health sectors, where human rights concerns often go unaddressed.
- Shifting its focus away from reactive enforcement and towards proactive norm-setting, with improved use of evidence and enhanced strategic litigation.
The report’s recommendations for the government include:
- Giving the EHRC multi-year budgets rather than annual budgets.
- Considering giving parliamentary committees more of a lead role in the appointment of future chairs of the EHRC, including through a binding or advisory veto (as has been proposed for other constitutional bodies).
Nathan Yeowell, FGF’s Executive Director, said, “Our work has found the Commission’s credibility as Britain’s independent equality and human rights regulator has been undermined over time by identity based conflict, austerity-era cuts and conflicting perceptions of political bias. The Commission must be reformed if it has any hope of making the UK a fairer country for all of its citizens. The Commission’s future is under threat if it isn’t strengthened, potentially setting back generations of equality and human rights protections for the British public.
“Our recommendations for how the Commission can restore its credibility include: being politically neutral, leading public debates in sensitive areas and making greater use of its powers to work with housing, welfare and health regulators, where human rights concerns often go unaddressed. And we have called on the government to support reform of the Commission by giving it multi-year budgets rather than annual budgets and giving parliamentary committees a bigger role in the appointment of future Commission chairs. These changes will enable reform of the state to renew the nation, and we urge the Commission and government to make our recommendations a reality.”
To prepare the report’s detailed findings and recommendations, FGF organised an all-day workshop and interviews with a range of experts. This enabled FGF to develop a strong set of proposals for the incoming EHRC chair and the government.
