Commissioner Working Group for ‘Is Britain Fairer’ 2021/2022 terms of reference

1. The Commission has a statutory requirement to report every five years to Parliament on progress in society towards equality and human rights in Great Britain, including human rights matters for which the Scottish Parliament has legislative competence, subject to the consent of the Scottish Human Rights Commission. The statutory requirement is set out in section 12 of the Equality Act 2006, as amended by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (‘the Act’).
[See End note for full legal wording].

2. The purpose of the Working Group is to advise and oversee the Commission’s strategy to meet its statutory requirement under Section 12 of the Act. This is expected to be completed by the end of the 2021/22 financial year, but may extend to the end the 2022/2023 financial year.

3. The Board has delegated to the Working Group the responsibility to:

a) Agree and provide recommendations to the Board on the overall scope and approach to the ‘Is Britain Fairer 2021’ programme, including the approach to Country specific reports.

b) Provide strategic direction and oversight to the ‘’Is Britain Fairer’ 2021/ 2022 programme’, including seeking assurance from the executive that plans and resources are in place to support effective delivery of the programme in line with the Board’s expectations.

c) Shape strategic choices towards planning the Is Britain Fairer 2021/ 2022 programme, including the approach to publishing and disseminating reports, and the strategic approach to stakeholder engagement.

d) Provide constructive challenge and advice on the Is Britain Fairer 2021 /2022 programme and related matters, including the criteria for selecting particular issues for more in-depth analysis.

4) The Board may vary, revoke or add to these delegations. The Terms of Reference of the Working Group will be reviewed annually.

5. The Board remains responsible for all of its functions under the Act, even those delegated to a Working Group, Commissioner, or a member of staff. The CWG Chair formally reports to the Board on the activities of the Working Group.

6. Where the Working Group is concerned that a decision is outside of its Terms of Reference, or has significant operational or reputational implications or risks, then it must consult the Chair and Chief Executive to determine whether the matter should be referred to the Board.

7. The Working Group must engage the Disability Advisory Committee and consult the Statutory Committees for Scotland and Wales where their decisions relate to issues that fall within their respective mandates. It is expected that Committee Chairs represented on the Working Group will take responsibility for representing and feeding in the views of the respective Statutory Committees and ensuring these are reflected in the development of key products and activities overseen by the Working Group.

8. The minutes of Working Group meetings will be recorded by the Working Group’s Secretariat and shared with the Commission’s Board, Statutory Committees, Disability Advisory Committee and Executive Group (EG).

9. The Working Group consists of serving members of the Board and serving members of the statutory committees.

10. To be quorate, at least two Commissioners must be present.

11. The Working Group may nominate a Commissioner from its membership to be the Chair, or or alternatively it may rotate the chair between the Commissioners on the Working Group. In the absence of the Chair, another Commissioner should be asked to chair the meeting in their place.

12. Lesley Sawers had been appointed by the Board to the chair the Commissioner Working Group.

13. The Lead Officer for the Working Group shall be the Director of Evidence and Human Rights Monitoring.

14. The Secretariat for the Working Group shall be provided by the Commission’s Evidence Team.

15. The following officers shall receive a standing invitation to attend meetings of the Working Group:

• Executive Director, Strategy and Policy and Wales
• Director of Evidence and Human Rights Monitoring
• Director of Policy
• Director of Legal
• Head of Research
• Senior Principle – Communication and Engagement
• The Heads of Wales and Scotland (can be alternating)

16. The Working Group may, in discussion with the Director of Evidence and Human Rights Monitoring, extend an invitation for other officers, stakeholders or experts to attend its meetings, as appropriate.

17. The Working Group shall convene when appropriate (expected to be approximately four times a year) either at the EHRC’s offices or remotely.

18. The Director of Evidence and Human Rights Monitoring must approve all papers to the Working Group, escalating to the Executive Director, Corporate Strategy and Policy and Wales where appropriate. The Secretariat shall circulate the agenda and papers to the Working Group in good time to allow members to prepare at least one week in advance of the meeting.

19. The Secretariat shall minute each meeting, and coordinate communication between the Working Group, officers, non-executives and external stakeholders, as appropriate.

20. On occasion, approval, comments or approval for external submissions by email may be requested where timings for Commission submissions and Working Group meetings cannot easily be aligned.

21. Any member of the Working Group or attendee who becomes aware of a potential conflict of interest relating to matters to be discussed by the Working Group must give prior notification to the Secretariat. If this is not possible, or if the conflict only becomes apparent at the meeting, they should declare this at the meeting and, where necessary, withdraw during discussion of the relevant agenda item.

22. Declarations of interests will be a standing item on the Working Group agenda.

Section 12 of the Equality Act 2006: Monitoring progress (as amended by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013) lays out our statutory responsibility. In summary, we discharge this duty by using our Measurement Framework and associated indicators to report on progress towards equality and human rights in Britain.

1. The Commission shall from time to time identify –

a. changes in society that have occurred or are expected to occur and are relevant to the aim specified in sections 8 and 9*,

b. results at which to aim for the purpose of encouraging and supporting the development of the society described in sections 8 and 9 (“outcomes”), and

c. factors by reference to which progress towards those results may be measured (“indicators”).

2. In identifying outcomes and indicators the Commission shall –

a. consult such persons having knowledge or experience relevant to the Commission's functions as the Commission thinks appropriate,

b. consult such other persons as the Commission thinks appropriate,

c. issue a general invitation to make representations, in a manner likely in the Commission's opinion to bring the invitation to the attention of as large a class of persons who may wish to make representations as is reasonably practicable, and

d. take account of any representations made.

3. The Commission shall from time to time monitor progress towards each identified outcome by reference to any relevant identified indicator.

4. The Commission shall publish a report on progress towards the identified outcomes by reference to the identified indicators –

a. within the period of three years beginning with the date on which this section comes into force, and

b. within each period of **five years beginning with the date on which a report is published under this subsection.

5. The Commission shall send each report to the [Minister], who shall lay a copy before Parliament.

*The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 amended the Commission's duty in section 12 of the Equality Act 2006, to monitor and report on progress towards the aim set out in the general duty in section 3 of the Act, under which the Commission produced its Triennial Review in 2010.  Instead, the Commission is required to report on progress which is relevant to its specific equality and human rights functions (in sections 8 and 9 of the Act). 

**The government extended the reporting cycle from three to five years.

Activities - Commission’s staff activities to fulfil IBF programme. Includes evidence collation and analysis, stakeholder engagement, content production, communications etc.

Deep dive – Product containing subject specific analysis released as a distinct report following publication of final IBF report.

Engagement - Specific organised contact with stakeholders and partners.

Further analysis – subject specific analysis contained within the IBF final report exploring causes, policy and legal context or other issues to define specific policy recommendations.

IBF report – Product containing combination of overview and further analysis for purposes of meeting stator obligation and influencing government. Will be assumed to refer to separate reports for Scotland and Wales for overall programme management decisions unless a distinction is required.

Overview – Product providing summary of trends and change in outcomes to inform the Strategic Plan

Products – Public facing materials containing analysis or findings from the IBF programme including hard copy or electronic reports or alternative presentations of those findings for example web platforms.