SDEF - News Item - Single Equality Bill must give citizens more power to demand fairness

Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has today warned that Britain’s ‘hour-glass’ economy is bringing dangerous social division and that there is a need for a ‘new deal on fairness’ for Britain to be a successful global nation. Economic success for many people should not be bought at the expense of a growing number of people who are ‘shut out of prosperity’, he said.

Calling for a complete over-haul of Britain’s equality laws and a new contract with the public on fairness, he also said that power should be put in the hands of citizens and not remote bureaucracies, and that people by local petition or referendum could test local public services such as schools and hospitals on how fairly they treat the people who use them.

Trevor Phillips said:

'Our growing hour glass economy is the issue of the 21^st century, the division between the haves, the have nots and the never-will-haves. The great danger is that economic trends are pushing our country towards the entrenchment of greater and more divisive inequality.'

‘Whatever your background, this now matters, just like climate change or the threat of extremism matters. How can we ensure that everyone is able to use their talents and flourish in a society that respects their aspirations and ambitions, regardless of who they are?'

'While we are used to talking about inequality between different groups based on race, gender, disability and age, we need to think much bigger than that. We need to regain the habit of talking about vertical inequality -- or, in other words, that taboo subject, economic class.'

'The gap between those who have access to prosperity and those that are shut out has increased in the last decade. Are we in danger of shaking public confidence in the fairness of the distribution of the rewards of economic success? The divide between rich and poor has widened to its highest level for 40 years, according to recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.’

Mr Phillips’ comments chime with the recent British Social Attitudes Survey, which found that 76 per cent of people considered the gap between rich and poor to be too large.

Mr Phillips said that any new equality laws should allow all to release their talent through being able to work in a modern, encouraging environment. Examples include allowing mothers back to work successfully after they have a child, protecting people who have caring responsibilities so that they can still work and contribute economically, easing the journey into retirement with flexible working plans and giving more young people the chance to be a success in education.

Mr Phillips’ comments on a modern approach to equality come in the Commission’s first formal response to the Government's proposals for a Single Equality Bill. Mr Phillips said the new bill should be welcomed and that it should be joined together with other moves on disability, flexible working and education to make a ‘big argument’ for fairness.

At the launch in London today, Mr Phillips will suggest citizens’ petitions could engage people in the creation of a fairer Britain, shifting power to scrutinize and challenge unfairness away from centralized organizations and directly into people's hands.

The Commission said that if individual citizens can hold organizations to account through their ability to access high-quality, up-to-date information alongside the power to demand action, the move to a fairer Britain could be hastened.� Where public bodies are providing services to communities, the users could decide if they are doing a good job and act if they think they are being let down.�

Examples that local people could consider for a petition or referendum could include whether schools, hospitals or the police are serving the different parts of their community well - whether men or women, the elderly or different racial groups. For example, questioning whether meals on wheels services are offering food suitable for certain religious groups. Or if health authorities provide enough cardiac care for Afro-Caribbean communities with high incidences of hypertension.

Mr. Phillips added:

'The Single Equality Act will be the cornerstone of a new assault on inequality. At the heart of this movement, we propose a new contract with the public on fairness -- a contract between the state and the individual, but also crucially between the individuals who make up our society.'

'And to give that contract force, we propose that we embrace the most innovative developments, which do not leave the process of scrutiny, challenge and sanction solely in the hands of remote bureaucrats but use the tool of citizen power to enforce action and exert continuous pressure towards greater fairness and equality. In the words of Edmund Burke, we need to harness the power of little platoons to drive change.’

'The role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in this is to play a supporting role to the public, helping them achieve their aspirations.'

Download a full copy of the Commission's response to the Single Equality Bill. Fairness: A new contract with the public (PDF 465kB)

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21/07/08 - Single Equality Bill must give citizens more power to demand fairness�