Farewell to the DRC
The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) finally closed its doors on 28th September 2007, after seven years of campaigning and advocacy on behalf of disabled people.
Agnes Fletcher, Director of Policy and Communication commented:
“In 2000, disability was then seen as a marginal concern of interest to a small fixed group…whereas now there is a far greater recognition that the disadvantage associated with disability affects a far greater number of people, their families and society”
The DRC’s finest hour was undoubtedly their lobbying behind the updated Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) which came into force in 2005. This act enforced the Disability Equality Duty (DED) upon public bodies, bringing parity with former race discrimination laws, and extended the definition of disability so that people with cancer, HIV/AIDS and Multiple Sclerosis are covered by that definition from the point of diagnosis.
Sir Bert Massie, DRC Chair, agreed:
“We proved [the DDA] had teeth and won a series of ground-breaking legal cases which clarified the act”, adding “We must all ensure that the CEHR stays on course and builds on the DRC legacy.”
The new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) took over the work of the DRC on 1st October 2007. Groundbreaking information on the implementation of the Disability Equality Duty produced by the DRC has been stored on an interim website: http://www.dotheduty.org and will remain active for the next two years.
Trevor Philips, chair of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights, has called this new organisation “The next great adventure in social justice”. At this current transitional stage, the CEHR is concentrating its activities on the transference of new and existing personnel to new offices in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow. There is also a strong likelihood that they will also open smaller offices elsewhere throughout the country in the mid-term. One of their first tasks will be to capture as much information as possible from their outgoing staff, especially in legal and policy areas, and is in the process of procuring knowledge-capture services to record such experiences.
A more detailed report on the activities and early achievements of the CEHR will be included in a forthcoming edition.
Daniel Park