Advice needs in 2018 – Equality and Human Rights Advice Services Alliance London Conference 24 April 2018 01

Equality and Human Rights Commission Great Britain’s national equality body. Awarded ‘A’ status as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) by the United Nations. Mandate, set by Parliament, to challenge discrimination, promote equality of opportunity, and protect and promote human rights. Statutory non-departmental public body established by the Equality Act 2006. Independent, expert and authoritative organisation. Strategic aim: to ensure an effective and sustainable infrastructure to protect rights in practice. 02

Key points What we heard: main issues from our stakeholder engagement What we did: an update on the Commission’s work to address access to justice issues What can we do together? working in partnership to defend equality and human rights   04

What we heard: main issues from our stakeholder engagement 05

Our research In 2015 the Commission published a literature review exploring the impact of changes that affected access to civil justice in England and Wales. This review: noted a significant drop in discrimination claims to employment tribunals since the introduction of fees raised concerns about possible impacts on cases dealing with issues such as the right to housing, immigration, and, family law. The impact of LASPO – adding to the research base, influencing the review 06

Prioritising action We identified a need to address the problem areas of: Employment – because this is a key site of discrimination, and there have been significant barriers to accessing justice in the employment tribunals. Goods, facilities and services, and public functions – because of the very low numbers of goods, facilities and services (GFS) discrimination cases in the county and sheriff courts; and because there is a significant opportunity to work with public sector ombudsman schemes in all three nations and help address a wide range of issues. Key human rights issues such as immigration, family law or benefits, where changes to legal aid have had severe impacts both on access to courts and tribunals and on the availability of advice. 07

What we did: how the Commission has been working to address access to justice issues 08

Why? (Purpose) How? (Mission) What? 09 Protecting people against discrimination and human rights abuses How? (Mission) Increasing access to justice in equality and human rights disputes What? EHRC Adviser Support: Planning and implementing a helpline for advisers/caseworkers Ombudsman schemes: Ensuring that key ombudsman schemes embed equality and human rights into their handling of complaints Employment Tribunal (ET) fees: Intervening in the successful Supreme Court case to overturn the fees regime Legal Aid: Influencing the LASPO review and policy developments in Scotland to mitigate the impact of restrictions on individuals’ access to justice Commission powers and functions: Calling for restoration of our power to arrange conciliation in GFS, public functions etc. cases, along with resources to deliver this 09

Exchange of expertise We believe that increased exchange of expertise will help to support frontline agencies that encounter equality and human rights issues: delivering a pilot, ‘second tier’ legal helpline to offer specialist advice for advisors in England, Scotland and Wales developing complimentary online resources to assist advisors in addressing discrimination in employment and housing working with ombudsman schemes to embed equality and human rights in their casework, investigations and decision-making.   10

Grant funding Over £700,000 in grant funding awarded to: improve the quality or quantity of discrimination or human rights advice improve information and knowledge sharing about discrimination and human rights in the advice sector, including information about the availability of advice and referral routes 11

What can we do together? Working in partnership to defend equality and human rights 12

Working together Disseminating information on EHRC Adviser Support among your networks Using the service to get specialist support with equality/human rights matters Sharing intelligence on potential strategic cases Identifying trends and systemic issues for potential enforcement Exchange of expertise   13

Thank you Any questions? Karen.Grayson@equalityhumanrights.com 15