Citizens Advice has welcomed the Government's response to its proposals for the establishment of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR). The problem-solving charity believes the new commission will provide a major opportunity to tackle discrimination and promote a culture of rights in the UK. Particularly welcome are the improved proposals that make clear the CEHR's enforcement powers, ensure its independence on casework capacity and extend its legislative duties, including to promote gender equality and to prohibit discrimination in service provision on the basis of religion and belief.

A consultation on the CEHR was launched in May 2004, setting out the Government’s intention to legislate to establish the body. Citizens Advice believes significant progress has been made in key areas since the original proposals were unveiled. But Citizens Advice believes it is vital to the CEHR's success that the currently complex equality legislation is simplified through a Single Equality Act and that the CEHR is properly resourced to meet the challenge of tackling unfair discrimination.

Citizens Advice Bureaux dealt with more than 23,000 discrimination employment issues in 2002/03 as well as dealing with thousands more people facing discrimination in non-work settings.

For example, a female employee sought help from a CAB in Norfolk after being denied the chance to go on an accountancy training course paid for by her workplace. She later discovered the accountancy training of a male colleague on the same grade was being paid for. When she asked her manager about this she was told it was because “she was a young woman who has just married and bought a house”.

In Cheshire, two asylum seekers visited a CAB complaining they were being racially abused in the hostel where they were being housed and on the streets of the local town. Despite injuries caused to them by snooker balls wrapped in towels and damage to the door locks to their rooms, the hostel staff did not take action.

Head of Social Policy Dan Vale said: "Equality and human rights matter to all of us. A fully independent CEHR that is properly equipped to champion equality and human rights on behalf of citizens should be a major step towards ensuring that unfair discrimination and rights abuses become a thing of the past."

However, he added: “The proposals lack much-needed detail on how the CEHR should best work with the voluntary and community sector to make sure people can get the advice they need to make their rights a reality.”

ABOUT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAUX

The Citizens Advice service is a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.

Most Citizens Advice service staff are trained volunteers, working at around 3,200 service outlets across England and Wales. Volunteer hotline 08451 264264 (local rate).

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