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News from the Equality and Human Rights Commission
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Welcome to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s latest stakeholder newsletter, featuring updates on our equality guidance for schools consultation, new workplace harassment research, and our latest report on racial discrimination. We also cover our latest scrutiny session with the Women and Equalities Committee, recent senior engagements, events from our Uniformed Services programme, and updates in relation to the draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations. |
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Consultation launched on schools technical guidance | We have launched a consultation on updates to our technical guidance for schools in England and Scotland, alongside new guidance for schools in Wales. The guidance explains schools’ legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and supports them to prevent discrimination, harassment and victimisation across areas such as admissions, exclusions and access to education.
We are seeking views to help ensure the guidance is clear, practical and reflects the latest developments. Feedback will play an important role in strengthening the final guidance and supporting schools to meet their responsibilities. | | Read about the schools technical guidance |
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New report examines progress on racial discrimination | We have published a new report assessing progress by the UK and Welsh governments in tackling racial discrimination, as part of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) monitoring process. The report examines three key areas identified by the CERD Committee: the right to peaceful protest, the Windrush generation, and counter‑terrorism measures.
Our analysis highlights where progress has been made and where further action is needed to ensure people are protected from racial discrimination in practice. The report identifies gaps in evidence and implementation, including the need for stronger oversight mechanisms, improved data collection and greater support for affected communities. | | Read our report and recommendations |
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Giving evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee | Our Chair, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson and Chief Executive, John Kirkpatrick, attended the Women and Equalities Committee for its annual scrutiny session, sharing evidence on key equality and human rights issues and responding to questions from members of the Committee.
In the session we highlighted our role as Britain’s equality regulator, including our work to enforce the law, support compliance, and advise government and Parliament. | | Watch the Committee Session |
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New research on preventing workplace harassment | We have published new commissioned research exploring what works in preventing workplace harassment. The findings from the Open Innovation Team (OIT) highlight that while policies are important, lasting change depends on building a positive workplace culture where good behaviour is consistently modelled and reinforced.
The research identifies practical actions organisations can take, including strengthening leadership capability, effective reporting systems and regular review of approaches. It also highlights that low levels of reporting do not necessarily indicate a safe workplace. | | Read the full research report |
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Meetings and engagements | Our Chair, Dr Mary‑Ann Stephenson, has continued to meet officials across government, Parliament and civil society, to develop relationships and a collective understanding of equality and human rights issues. This includes meeting with the Charity Commission, the Minister for Sentencing, Youth Justice and International, More in Common, and attendance at a parliamentary reception hosted by Stonewall. Dr Stephenson additionally took part in an Accessible Transport Policy Commission roundtable providing insights from our Access to Public Services programme.
Through June our teams continued supporting delivery of our strategic priorities by attending a parliamentary event hosted by Galop, which launched their latest conversion therapy report. Teams also worked with regulators, public bodies and government partners, including the Department for Transport, Scottish Government and Care Quality Commission. In our capacity as a National Equality Body, we took part in Equinet’s Extraordinary General Meeting. These engagements support our work to influence policy, share insight and drive progress on equality across Great Britain. |
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Understanding the draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations | Following the laying of the draft Code of Practice in Parliament, we will continue to support understanding of how the Code was produced and what the laying process means.
Our Chair, Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive hosted two information sessions in early June for civil society organisations and parliamentarians. We thank everyone who attended the sessions. Updates on the Code’s status will be shared on our website. | | Read about the Code of Practice |
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Webinar series continues for fire and rescue services | We continue to support senior officials in the fire and rescue sector to understand the implementation of the preventative duty under the Worker Protection Act. Our latest webinar series focuses on practical tools which services can use to prevent sexual harassment before it occurs, using insights and examples from across the sector. Recent sessions have explored further steps in our 8‑step guide, including how to develop policies and engage effectively with the workforce; what to consider when developing a risk assessment and how to improve reporting. | | Read our 8-step guide on preventing sexual harassment at work |
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Our 2025 to 2028 Strategic Plan | Read more about our strategic plan to safeguard and promote equality and human rights. |
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