Iwas three weeks into this job when the Prime Minister announced his commitment to end racial inequality in the labour market by 2013. I’m worried this crucial pledge may fall off the government’s agenda. One way of locking this into Labour’s programme would be to pledge to reduce the ‘ethnic penalty’ pay gap – over £5,000 per annum on average earnings – by £1,000 each and every year of Labour’s third term.
The government has set itself the task of eliminating child poverty. But for ethnic minority children, almost every encounter with public services is worse and different. Yes, create a children’s commissioner but, alongside, launch an action programme to give every child in Britain a childhood to remember – for the right reasons.
And finally, why not grasp a really difficult nettle: In 1998 the Better Regulation Task Force said that if, by 2003, the private sector hadn’t delivered on race equality, the government should make public reporting on their race equality performance compulsory. Do it now. And alongside that, make every major company merger subject to an equality and diversity impact test: would the merger serve a multicultural, multi-ethnic Britain better? The bosses need to prove it before they get the big bucks.
Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall
Lesbian and gay equality has come a long way. However, there is still more work to be done. First, the creation of a Single Equalities Commission – a joint body, bringing together existing bodies on race, gender and disability as well as new protections for sexual orientation, age and religion – would send a message that equality is for everyone.
Second, public bodies already have an obligation to promote race equality – a similar duty should be extended to sexual orientation. This would help provide fair and accessible services and provide equal opportunities in employment. Third, extend new anti-discrimination laws on employment to goods and services. Lesbian and gay people are still charged more for household insurance by many providers than married heterosexuals. They can still be refused a restaurant or hotel booking, and are.
As the equalities agenda moves forward, the disparities between different areas becomes starker. Levelling up as detailed above would not only be ethical, but would mean greater simplicity and understanding, not just for individuals, but also for businesses, employers and service providers.
Sarah Jones, campaign manager of Shelter
The last few years have seen the biggest-ever increase in the number of homeless families enduring the misery of temporary housing. Levels now exceed those at the height of the 1990s recession, when families were crippled by negative equity.
Despite very welcome measures to tackle rough sleeping and get homeless families out of bed and breakfasts, 100,000 homeless children are testament to the widening inequality in housing. This gulf is threatening to torpedo the government’s pledge to end child poverty. And the housing crisis, which splits the country between the problems of low demand in the north and housing shortages in the south, is also undermining Britain’s economic performance.
Shelter’s three top manifesto pledges would be: first, an ambitious new programme of house-building to deliver the 90,000 affordable homes we need each year to address chronic housing shortages; second, a new pledge to dramatically reduce the use of temporary accommodation over the lifetime of the next parliament; and, third, a radical package of reforms to rejuvenate the private rented sector and maximise its potential for providing decent housing for key workers and people on low incomes.
Julie Mellor, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission
People want a better quality of life. Families are under stress juggling parenting and elder care responsibilities. A universal system of good-quality, affordable childcare would give parents real choice and much-needed support. But Labour must also recognise other caring responsibilities. Recently acquired flexible working rights should be extended to carers, with credits for time out from the workplace.
But the law must go further than it does at present, redressing individual injustice. If the public sector were required to promote equality for women and men, policy makers and service providers would have to ensure equal treatment. Family support services would need to become father friendly as well as meeting the needs of mothers. Local authorities would have to prioritise domestic violence.
In addition, 64 percent of pensioners are women yet their average retirement income is 53 percent of men’s. We have to make the pensions system work for the majority of pensioners. Recognising combined contributions from part-time work and an improved system of awarding credits for unpaid caring work would respond to the reality of women’s lives.
Martin Barnes, director of the Child Poverty Action Group
At the last election Labour’s ambitious pledge to lift a further one million children out of poverty was hidden away on page 27 of the manifesto. Child poverty, despite the historic goal of eradication, was curiously absent from Labour’s campaign. The commitment to halve child poverty by 2010, as yet unmatched by any other party, should be trumpeted prominently and consistently at the next election. The opportunity to win over hearts and minds – seeking an explicit mandate for eradicating child poverty – will give momentum for a third term.
A priority should be to tackle the persistence and depth of poverty. Children in larger families, ethnic minority groups and those with or living with someone with a disability are more likely to live well below the poverty line. The child tax credit is one vehicle for better financial support.
An independent poverty commission or agency to advise, monitor and hold government to account will help deliver and then lock in the goal of child poverty eradication.
Professor Sally Tomlinson, research associate in the department of education, Oxford University
Increasing overt and covert selection of children at eleven for different kinds of schools are increasing social and educational inequalities. There are 36 LEAs in England that have full or partial selection at eleven. The existence of 164 grammar schools affects the intakes of over 500 ‘comprehensives’. And there is a permitted ten percent selection by ‘aptitude’ for nearly 1,000 specialist schools.
Grammar schools continue to educate predominantly middle-class children. Research shows that selection lowers standards overall by polarising high- and low-achieving schools. Non-selective systems produce higher educational performance. Scotland and Wales have successful comprehensive systems. Ending all selection will both raise standards and reduce inequality.
Private schools, the main source of selective education, are still subsidised by charitable status. The sector’s significance is disproportionate to its size because of the continuing association with privileged access to the ‘best’ universities and jobs. Ending charitable status for private schools would be an equitable move.
The current drive to increase access to higher education is impeded by the dominance of middle-class students from private and selective schools. Reducing the attractions of the private sector and ending selection would give fairer chances overall to all higher education applicants.
Bert Massie, chair of the Disability Rights Commission
The disability bill, to be published this year, must include a duty on the part of public authorities to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, thus moving the onus for tackling discrimination from individuals seeking justice after the event to institutions proactively removing barriers.
All public transport should be accessible and serve disabled people. At the moment, drivers of accessible buses can refuse to allow a disabled person to board for no other reason than their disability, and have done so.
The next manifesto should reflect some of the recommendations of the review by the Disability Rights Commission of the Disability Discrimination Act. These should include tax breaks for businesses to ensure their services can be used by disabled people; a commitment to ensure that disabled people enjoy the same employment opportunities as non-disabled people and a commitment to end the current outrageous situation where disabled people do not receive vital support based on their need, but on their postcode.