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Mixed Reception for New
Proposals
By Ben Padley, Community Newswire
Great Britain
November 23, 2004
Voluntary organisations representing disabled people and the elderly have
given a mixed reception to new Government plans to create a new commission
to promote equality and human rights.
The new body will replace the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission,
Disability Rights Commission and Commission for Racial Equality, which has
only recently given qualified backing to the move.
The Commission for Equality and Human Rights will be in charge of existing
legislation and will oversee new laws on age, religion and sexual
orientation discrimination.
But disability organisations are concerned the new body may not be
adequately funded and fear enforcement powers may be watered down.
An Equality Bill setting up the new commission will also provide a single
point of contact where individuals, businesses and other organisations
will get information and guidance on anti-discrimination legislation.
Gordon Lishman, Director General of Age Concern England, said: "The
Equality Bill is a big-win for the thousands of older people who are
forced to fight ageism every day.
"For the first time ever, older people's rights will be recognised and
we have a real chance of defeating discrimination. Age Concern has long
been campaigning for a body with the power to champion older people's
rights.
"The Government must now get the equality champion up and running by
2006 and extend the public duty to promote equality to include age
equality."
Help the Aged senior policy adviser Tessa Harding said the Bill
represented "a landmark in the British human rights movement".
"For the first time ever, there will be a public body charged with
protecting and promoting the rights of older people to live free from
discrimination, prejudice and ill-treatment," she said.
"Help the Aged welcomes the Government's decision to opt for a single
Equality Commission spanning age, race, gender, disability, sexual
orientation and belief."
A new duty will be created for public bodies to promote gender equality,
ensuring they were doing all they could to treat men and women fairly.
But a spokesman for the Disability Rights Commission expressed concerns
over whether the new body would have adequate funding and have adequate
enforcement powers to protect the rights of disabled people in society.
Will Dingli said: "We think the new Commission will need £120m each
year to cope with its remit and ensure it delivers for disabled people.
"We also want to see a statutory disability unit and it is not clear yet
whether the government pledge will deliver this.
"In terms of the Single Equality Act we want this to be a priority. You
need to have this legislation passed before the new commission is set up
in 2007 otherwise there is a danger the new body will not have the
enforcement powers required to help disabled people who face
discrimination."
Bethanne Collins of the Royal Association for Disability and
Rehabilitation (RADAR) gave a cautious welcome to the proposals but
expressed concerns over funding for the new body and expressed fears that
the enforcement work of the commission could be diluted.
She said: "This new commission will be dealing with a huge amount of
work. The enforcement work of the Disability Rights Commission is very
important and we are concerned to see that this is continued.
"Case work is very resource and staff intensive and again this goes back
to funding. We are concerned that government funding for the new structure
will be enough to continue important enforcement work."
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