Creating a fairer Britain
On 3 December 2009, International Day of Disabled People, the Commission announced its intention to conduct a formal Inquiry into the actions of public authorities to eliminate disability-related harassment and its causes.
The Commission's Inquiry powers enable us to compile evidence, call witnesses and make recommendations against which we expect action to follow. The Equality Act stipulates that we have to have terms of reference for formal Inquiries.
The terms of reference tell us what the Inquiry is allowed to hear evidence about so it is important we get them right. We consulted with disabled people and other stakeholders on the terms of reference for the Inquiry and, following an analysis of the responses, published the final terms of reference online.
You can read the latest updates on the Inquiry by following the links below:
On the 17 January we held a major consultation event in Manchester, to discuss implementing the recommendations from Hidden in plain sight.
Over 90 delegates from mostly user-led disabled people’s organisations and across the public sector took part in the day-long event. The consultation gave senior leads from across the sectors - identified in the report - the opportunity to actively listen to disabled people’s organisations about the critical outcomes they want to see happen.
Disabled people’s organisations also learned how the public sector and transport providers intend to overcome the challenges and seize opportunities presented by the current economic climate, to drive the agenda forward.
Lin Homer, in her then role as Permanent Secretary for the Department for Transport, spoke on behalf of Government.
Highlights from her speech included:
Lin Homer’s speech was followed by roundtable sessions between chief officers of disabled people’s organisations and sector leads.
Key discussion points included:
The afternoon session brought delegates from a wider network, across disabled people’s organisations, voluntary sector, private and public sectors. Discussion focussed on: whether a disabled people’s toolkit would be useful in helping disabled people report incidents of harassment; the opportunities and challenges presented by sectors working together and, the attitudinal/societal shift critical to improving responses to disability-related harassment.
The consultation event was very informative and will shape our continuing work on the Manifesto for Change.
We'd like to thank those who have given us their input so far. The consultation has now closed. We will be using those responses to inform our Manifesto for Change - due to be published later this year.
Drawing on recommendations from the inquiry's final report: ‘Hidden in plain sight’, the Commission worked on an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill with Kate Green MP, shadow equalities minister, and supported by Paul Maynard MP (Con), relating to sentencing guidelines.
In the final report of the Disability Harassment Inquiry: ‘Hidden in plain sight’ we recommended changes to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to equalise sentencing for murder aggravated by disability, with murder aggravated by the other protected characteristics of race, religion and sexual orientation.
The amendment was debated at report stage in the Commons on 1 November. The Lord Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke MP, announced that the government agreed with Ms Green’s position and that it will table amendments in the Lords to give effect to the proposal.
Following the launch of the final report of our inquiry into disability-related harassment: Hidden in plain sight, we have begun to engage with public authorities about the inquiry’s recommendations.
Over the next six months we will consult widely with stakeholders from the criminal justice, education, health and social care, housing, local government and housing sectors on whether the recommendations are the right ones and how they can be best embedded into the way that organisations work. In the spring of 2012 we will then publish our manifesto for change, the commitments others have made, the outcomes we expect to see over the next five years, and how we propose to evaluate and regulate the outcomes.
We would like to thank those individuals who have supported us throughout the course of this formal Inquiry and welcome your feedback on the report. You can email your comments/views to: communications@equalityhumanrights.com or you can share the report and your views on Twitter using the hashtag #disbelief.