Given current threats to the Human Rights Act, the Equality and Diversity Forum (EDF) sees an urgent need to advocate for respect for human rights in the UK, including those of minorities who are particularly likely to be the focus of popular and media hostility. (more…)

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is hosting a major consultation event with disabled people’s organisations, third sector advice and support organisations and public sector organisations.

The focus of the ‘Manifesto for Change’ consultation event is to develop pragmatic approaches for public authorities to tackle disability-related harassment with the strategic input of disabled people’s organisations. (more…)

GCVS and CRER are currently developing an Equality and Human Rights Framework for the Third Sector on behalf of a consortium of organisations including the Equality and Diversity Forum, Shelter, Age UK, Macmillan Cancer, Campaign for National Parks and Action for Children, funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

They want to hear from organisations with experience of the benefits and challenges of mainstreaming equality and human rights to make sure this competency based, outcome focussed performance measurement Framework meets the needs of Britain’s diverse Third Sector. (more…)

The Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) will be holding a series of briefing seminars for the Voluntary and Community Sector during January and February 2012 on Human Rights and its relationship to equalities.

 The 2 hour seminars will focus on the Human Rights Act and how it can be used to tackle inequality and disadvantage. (more…)

In July 2010, the Public Sector Pensions Commission, led by right wing think tank ‘The Institute of Economic Affairs’ and private bosses club ‘The Institute of Directors’ published their findings into the funding of public sector pensions. It’s no surprise, given the membership of the Commission, that they found a raft of so-called problems with public sector pensions. But take a closer look and you’re forced to ask – do these problems really exist?

As the TUC response to the Commission states ‘The government’s own figures for projected expenditure on public sector pensions shows that it is neither an unsupportable burden on future generations, nor that it is out of control.’ On the contrary, public sector pension schemes are neither “gold plated” nor short of funds. (more…)

The Home Secretary recently announced that the Government will be looking at what more can be done to ensure that women are fully able to use their talents to contribute to economic growth.

As part of this work, the Government announced that it will be funding the recruitment and training of 15,000 new mentors to support those setting up and growing their businesses.

To ensure that the Government gets the best advice on how to support women in business, we will be setting up a Women’s Business Council to look at a range of issues including:

• Supporting more women to become entrepreneurs
• Tackling obstacles to making best use of women’s skills
• Road testing existing policies and programmes to ensure relevance for women in business. (more…)

Big Society doesn’t do enough to help ‘the little society’: Without a coherent implementation plan, there is confusion over message, whilst smaller charities face barriers in contracting and commissioning policies, says Public Administration Select Committee (PASC). (more…)

For International Human Rights Day EHRC Chair, Trevor Phillips, has written an article about human rights which was published in the Sunday Times on Sunday 11 December 2011.

‘Almost every morning, I am confronted with examples of how the Human Rights Act is being used which any reasonable person would describe as thoroughly bonkers: prison service vans that travel ninety miles to take a prisoner 90 yards; paedophiles freed to leer at children in the very parks where they have committed horrific crimes. If I were to believe it all I would be inviting Sunday Times readers to join me at my protest encampment on the nearest available site under the banner: “What About Our Human Rights?” (more…)

Lynne Featherstone, the Minister for Equalities launched the first ever Government transgender action plan-Advancing transgender equality: a plan for action http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/lgbt-equality-publications/transgender-action-plan .

It lays out the vision and focus for the commitment to deliver equality for transgender people and includes firm actions across the breadth of social policy aimed at making a real difference to transgender people’s lives.

The action plan was shaped and developed through active engagement with the transgender community. As part of this engagement the GEO launched a series of online surveys to ensure they reached the widest possible number of people. In total they received an amazing 2,172 responses – making the surveys the largest form of engagement with the transgender community ever to be conducted in the UK.

Click on the following link to view Lynne Featherstone talking about the action plan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi1mdqUevWU. The video also includes a message from Harri Cole-Weeks talking about his personal experiences of being transgender and why he thinks it is so important Government takes action.

[Source: GEO]

The Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, is today delivering the Scarman Lecture, hosted by the People Can charity, to an invited audience in Brixton.
In his speech, the Deputy Prime Minister will give a frank assessment of the race debate in Britain since the Brixton riots in 1981:
A great deal has been achieved in the last thirty years.
“We have moved forward on a number of fronts: legal rights – where we have seen the most success. Political representation is better – though of course there is still a very, very long way to go. I say that as a leader of a political party that is still too male and too pale. A problem we are working very hard to fix.

(more…)