30.08.07 -� Scotland Committee members appointed to new Commission for Equalities and Human Rights

Morag Alexander, Scotland Commissioner for the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), today announced the appointments of the first six committee members to the Scotland Committee of the CEHR.

The new Commission, set up to champion equality and human rights issues and eliminate discrimination across Britain, takes on the functions of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), with new responsibilities for sexual orientation, age, religion and belief, and reserved human rights in Scotland from October 2007.

The Scotland Committee is a statutory, decision making committee of the new Commission and will be responsible for overseeing the work of the CEHR in Scotland.

Appointed to the Committee are:

• Di Airey: equality and diversity consultant, and the Director of Diversity Dynamics
• Bob Benson: previously Executive Director, Community Development, at disability charity SCOPE and Scotland Director of the Disability Rights Commission
• Christine Cnossen: Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication, at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
• Rajiv Joshi: the current chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, where he also sits on the Equal Opportunities Committee
• Ronnie McDonald: previously the Deputy General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) since 1998 until her retirement last year
• Angela O’Hagan: previously Acting Head of Oxfam in Scotland and Campaigns and Communications Manager for Oxfam, currently pursuing a PhD in gender budget analysis

Announcing the first six Committee members Morag Alexander said:

“I am delighted to welcome such an excellent range of talented and experienced people to the Scotland Committee of the CEHR. We have an ambitious mission - to create a society built on fairness and respect, to establish a Scotland at ease with itself, a nation comfortable with all aspects of its diversity.

Together and individually the Scotland Committee members bring together a vast amount of knowledge and insight from the public, private, voluntary and trade union sectors in Scotland. They know the key issues and challenges from across the equalities and human rights spectrum.� This will ensure the new Commission delivers in Scotland and for Scotland.

They are committed to creating a fairer society and I look forward to working with them as we embark on our task of making Scotland a better place to live.”�

For media enquiries please contact Alyson Thomson on 0141 245 1831 or 07740 737479.

ENDS

�Notes to editors:

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1. The Scotland Committee is a statutory, decision-making committee of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which was established under the Equality Act 2006. It is responsible for overseeing the work of the CEHR in Scotland, contributing to the strategy of the CEHR in Scotland and for advising the CEHR Board on how its policies and programmes may affect people living in Scotland. It will also work closely with Scottish institutions and civic society, including the Scottish Executive, Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Commission for Human Rights. The CEHR will enforce equality legislation on age, disability and health, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status, and encourage compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998. It will also give advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to individuals.
2. Scotland Committee members will be expected to undertake 8-12 days work per year, covering a range of duties, including attending meetings of the Scotland Committee. Committee members will be remunerated at �250 per day plus reasonable expenses as agreed by the CEHR.
3. Further appointments to the Scotland Committee, which has places for nine members, are expected shortly.
4. Other appointments for CEHR in Scotland include Scotland Commissioner, Morag Alexander, and Scotland Director, Ros Micklem.� For further information on these and other appointments please visit www.cehr.org.uk.
5. Biographies of the six appointees are available from Alyson Thomson on 0141 245 1831 or 07740737479.

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