As with almost every other organisation in the country, work at the Equality and Human Rights Commission has changed significantly over the last six weeks. We started March with our plans for the coming financial year almost finalised, but these required a rapid rethink as we responded to the emerging equality and human rights challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The result is a business plan for 2020-21 through which we will continue important work on our strategic aims, whilst also adapting our plans and responding rapidly to ensure that all of our rights are upheld. You can read our business plan for the year ahead here.

As part of that plan, we have reiterated our pledge to use our unique powers and platform to speak out on the most important equality and human rights issues of our time. So you can keep track of the issues we're working on, we now have a specific section of our website outlining our response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Keep track of this work here. 

Some of our calls for action are detailed below. Over the coming weeks, we'll also be publishing guidance for employers to support them in ensuring they don’t discriminate against employees with certain protected characteristics as they make difficult decisions whilst responding to the pandemic. And we will use our unique enforcement powers to ensure that equality and human rights laws are respected and upheld. 

Following the swift expansion of video and phone hearings in the criminal justice system in response to the coronavirus pandemic, we published interim findings from our criminal justice system inquiry. This interim report highlights the barriers these technologies pose to disabled people and our recommendations to mitigate these risks.

Whilst the overriding concern during the Covid-19 pandemic must be to protect lives, we need to ensure that emergency changes do not place protected groups at further disadvantage and deepen entrenched inequality.

Our interim report covers:

• the use of video-links in the criminal justice system
• how the use of video-links impacts disabled people
• our recommendations to the UK Government

The full report will be published later this year.

The coronavirus does not pick and choose whom it infects. Everyone, irrespective of wealth and status, is at risk and this is why the restrictions on our freedoms apply equally to us all.

This crisis reminds us of the importance of the role of the State, but also the need for national unity to look after the sick and dying, to stop the spread of the virus, to protect our frontline NHS staff and to accelerate work to find a vaccine. The Government has been bold in addressing these concerns, and addressing the immediate financial consequences of the lockdown for employees and businesses in both the private and third sectors.

But it’s becoming very clear that the virus and the restrictions affect various sections of society differently. There is a growing awareness that older people, people with disabilities, people from ethnic minority communities and those who are less well-off, are more vulnerable. What we do know is they are less resilient because of their health needs, their reduced ability to access resources or support, or their greater exposure to hardship.

Our Chair, David Isaac, writes for PoliticsHome on why and how the coronavirus response must protect the most vulnerable in society for the long-term.

Using predicted grades for this summer's exams and assessments could deepen the existing inequality in education and put the future of disadvantaged young people at risk if not correctly implemented. We have warned the exam regulator Ofqual that the there is a risk of lasting negative impact on young people from certain ethnic minority backgrounds as well as disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, who are already often disadvantaged compared to their friends.

Research suggests there may be patterns of conscious or unconscious race bias when predicting grades. With this in mind, there is a danger that predicted grading may have an adverse impact on some groups.

The EHRC has made a number of recommendations in its consultation response, which include:

1. The Department for Education should issue guidance to schools on the approach teachers should take to predicting grades and ranking pupils in order to minimise the risk of conscious or unconscious bias.
2. Ofqual should publish a report evaluating the predicted grades process and outcomes for pupils. If the evaluation reveals higher than average disparities for pupils with protected characteristics, these should be investigated thoroughly, with appropriate remedial action taken. 
3. In the event that pupils are not happy with the outcome of their assessment and awarded grade, they must have a meaningful and timely route of appeal, including on grounds of suspected unlawful discrimination.