In this page:

• Why was the practice needed?
• How was it implemented?
• Outputs
• Key success factors
• Technical information
• Contacts

Why was the practice needed?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) produces the report ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ in order to:

• fulfil a statutory duty under the Equality Act 2006 to report to the UK Parliament on how far everyone in Britain is able to live free from discrimination and abuses of their human rights;
• provide clear recommendations for change and set the agenda for policymakers and influencers working in a range of sectors;
• provide a robust evidence base to inform the Commission’s own priorities for the next three years.

How was it implemented?

The report is based on the Measurement Framework developed by the EHRC. This covers all nine grounds of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation). It also contains analysis by socioeconomic groups and by people at higher risk of harm, abuse, discrimination or disadvantage.

Data are presented across six areas of life: education, work, living standards, health, justice and security and participation.

Each area of life includes three core indicators and up to two supplementary indicators:

• Education: Educational attainment of children and young people (core); School exclusions, bullying and NEET (‘not in employment, education or training’) (core); Higher education and lifelong learning (core);
• Work: Employment (core); Earnings (core); Occupational segregation (core); Forced labour and trafficking (supplementary);
• Living standards: Poverty (core); Housing (core); Social care (core);
• Health: Health outcomes (core); Access to healthcare (core); Mental health (core); Reproductive and sexual health (supplementary); Palliative and end of life care (supplementary);
• Justice and personal security: Conditions of detention (core); Hate crime, homicides, sexual and domestic abuse (core); Criminal and civil justice (core); Restorative justice (supplementary); Rehabilitation, resettlement and reintegration (supplementary);
• Participation: Political and civic participation, and representation (core); Access to services (core); Privacy and surveillance (core); Social and community cohesion (supplementary); Family life (supplementary).

For each indicator, the framework specifies the structure, process and outcome evidence to be drawn on:

• Structural evidence comprises: human rights and equality standards, primary legislation and significant case law;
• Process evidence includes: new policies, strategies, action plans and regulations;
• Outcome evidence can be quantitative or qualitative, and reflects the position or experiences of people sharing different protected characteristics.

Sources include social surveys or administrative data, or concerns highlighted by regulators, inspectorates, human rights monitoring bodies or non-governmental organisations.

The report allows for intersectional analysis by key combinations of grounds according to the issue. This could include any combination of two or more of the discrimination grounds covered by the report. For example, the analysis of educational attainment includes intersectional analysis by sex, ethnic group and eligibility for free school meals, the latter taken as a proxy for social deprivation or low socioeconomic group.

Outputs

• The national reports: ‘Is Britain Fairer?’, ‘Is Scotland Fairer?’ and ‘Is Wales Fairer?’ (2018) and ‘Is England Fairer?’ to be released in 2019.
• Supporting information in the form of data tables.

Key success factors

• Clear conceptual framework covering all nine grounds of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, as provided by EHRC’s Measurement Framework, clear structure and consistent presentation across areas of life.
• Selection of a limited number of highly relevant indicators.
• Link addressing concerns highlighted by regulators, inspectorates, human rights monitoring bodies or non-governmental organisations.

Technical information

• Data sources covered: Administrative data; Household or individual surveys; Victimisation surveys; Qualitative research.
• Areas of life covered: Employment; Education; Health; Social Protection; Housing and living conditions; Access to good and services; Hate crime; Others: Poverty, Social care, Justice and personal security, Politics, Privacy, Social cohesion.
• Target audience: Governments, statutory bodies and pressure groups, civil society organisations and think tanks, academics and researchers
• Duration: Since 2010. Separate reports on equality and human rights produced in 2010 and 2012 respectively. ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ first published in 2015.
• Geographical scope: National. Great Britain, England, Scotland, Wales
• Leading institution: Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Other organisations involved/consulted: A wide range of stakeholders was consulted during the development of the Measurement Framework. These include government departments, academics and civil society organisations. They contribute to each triennial review.
• Financial & human resources: Budget: No information provided; Source of the budget: Equality and Human Rights Commission; Staff: No information provided

Contacts

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Email: correspondence (at) equalityhumanrights (dot) com