Bodies for the promotion of equal treatment (Article 13 Directive 2000/43)

• Author: Vickers, Lucy
• Pages: 59-63

59

7 BODIES FOR THE PROMO TION OF EQ UAL TREATMENT (Article 13 Directive

2000/43)

a) Bodies designated for the promotion of equal treatment irrespective of racial/ethnic

origin according to Article 13 of the Racial Equality Directive

The Equality and Human Rights Commission

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (E HRC) was established by the Equality Act

2006. It is a single equalities and human rights body for GB. It has responsibility for

promoting equal treatment on the grounds of race/ethnicity in GB and is the design ated

body for GB in relation to Article 13 of Directive 2000/43/EC. The Commission has devolved

authorities in Wales and in Scotland and there is a Scottish Human Rights Commission

which shares the human rights remit of the EHRC in Scotland.

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI)

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland ( ECNI) was established under the Northern

Ireland Act 1998 (Section 73) to take over the functions of the predecessor bodies. This

meant that the ECNI has duties and powers comparable to the EHRC in relation to race,

religious belief and political opinion, sex and disability and, now, since the NI Sexual

Orientation Regulations (Regulations 30–32) and Part 5 of the Age Regs, many of the same

powers and duties in relation to sexual orientation a nd age. It therefore has responsibility

for promoting equal treatment on the grounds of race/ethnicity in NI and is the designated

body for NI in relation to Article 13 of Directive 2000/43/EC.

b) Political, economic and social context of the designated body

There is generalised political support for equality, with a House of Commons Women and

Equalities Select Committee created in 2015 to examine the Government’s performance

on equalities. The committee has recently undertaken enquiries on sexual harassment of

women and girls in public places and in the workplace, older people and employment,

fathers and the workplace, and tackling inequalities fa ced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller

communities.

However, th e Government commitment to equality is not reflected in terms of financial

support for the EHRC and ECNI. Al though the cut s can be seen in th e context of cuts to

many public services, these cuts are disproportionate compared to other public bodies.

In terms of popular debate, there is a mixed picture. Some elem ents of the press are

critical of public spending on organisations such as the Commission, and the political

context of austerity shows that those with certain protected characteristics are significantly

adversely impacted by policy decisions taken between 2010 and 2017.171 At the same time,

there is considerable public support for equality and diversity. Many workplaces are

governed by the Public Sector Equality Duty as well a s sectoral equality standards, which

means that many organisations operate in an environment in which equality concerns are

formally recognised.

171 See EHRC report: Distributional results for the impact of tax and welfare reforms between 2010 and 2017,

modelled in the 2021/22 tax year, available at:

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/impact-of-tax-and-welfare-reforms-2010-2017-

interim-report_0.pdf.