The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has issued a veiled warning to Trevor Phillips, the new chair of the forthcoming ‘super equalities commission’, telling him to focus on all aspects of discrimination, not just race.
Trevor Phillips has been confirmed as the first chair of the £70m Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, which is due to be launched in the autumn next year.
The commission will inherit the responsibilities of the existing equality commissions: the Commission for Racial Equality, where Phillips is the current chair, the DRC and the Equal Opportunities Commission.
It will also have responsibilities for rights in relation to age, sexual orientation, religion and belief, and will ensure that trade unions and organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau have the correct training and information to advise people about these rights.
DRC chairman, Bert Massie, congratulated Phillips, but called for a “clear break from the past”.
“We need… no more special pleading, but equality and human rights acknowledged as intrinsic to Britain’s prosperity, security and wellbeing,” he said.
