Hard-won equality and human rights are at risk of going backwards with clear and long-lasting damage to society and the economy as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, finds a new EHRC report.
Among the report’s findings, are that disabled people, women, young people, and many ethnic minority groups (particularly Bangladeshi and Pakistani) are most likely to have experienced a reduction in earnings through redundancy, a reduction in hours, or being furloughed from a job in a shut-down sector.
The EHRC recommend that the DWP should ensure that the social security system is accessible and effective for all by supporting the right to an adequate standard of living and it does not contribute to increasing material deprivation and poverty by taking steps including:
- a review of the five-week wait for first payments of universal credit;
- a review of the impact of sanctions and conditionality;
- the collection and monitoring of data on the protected characteristics of claimants and claim outcomes; and
- provision of reasonable adjustments where required.
In addition, the EHRC report calls for action to address the most pressing inequalities caused by low incomes, including that:
- the UK Government bring the socio-economic duty under the Equality Act 2010 into force in England at the earliest opportunity (the duty is due to be introduced in Wales from 31 March 2020 and is already in force in Scotland);
- regional and local authorities in England should consider adopting the socio-economic duty prior to its introduction to support more inclusive approaches to strategic decision making;
- to achieve inclusive economic growth, governments across the UK should put equality at the heart of their recovery and investment strategies, taking steps to identify and monitor specific economic impacts of the pandemic on groups of people who share protected characteristics.
The EHRC report - How coronavirus has affected equality and human rights - is available from equalityhumanrights.com.