Rights at the heart of Davies' agenda

By Sunil Peck

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been lambasted for failing to champion disability rights.

But the new chair of its Disability Committee, Alun Davies, insists that disability equality is at the heart of the EHRC’s vision and that he feels privileged to be taking up his new role.

“The Disability Committee is key to bringing all the equality strands together to make sure that cross-issue work is a reality.”

Educated in special schools, Davies has been a trade union activist, has managed the West of England Coalition of Disabled People and has written a newspaper column about life as a disabled person.

Davies says the EHRC’s priorities are to continue to press the government to ratify the UN Convention promoting disabled people’s human rights as soon as possible, support court cases where disabled people have been discrimated against and seek to protect disability rights in the Single Equality Bill.

In particular, he wants the Bill to redress the House of Lords judgement that said because the London Borough of Lewisham would have treated any other tenant in the same way, the borough did not discriminate when it evicted a man with schizophrenia for subletting his council house, even though he said he’d only sublet the flat because he’d stopped taking his medication.

“What is important about the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is that it says that there are occasions where disabled people should be treated differently in order to address the barriers that exist.

“It is vital that we work to make sure that those key principles are maintained in the Single Equality Bill.”

Davies is a carer for a disabled child. He says that becoming a carer has increased his understanding of the issues facing carers and the importance of allying with strands outside the disability movement to achieve greater equality.

He says he has no right to pass judgement on disabled people who have criticised the Commission in the past, but he does add that a lot of the important work the Commission has been involved with has received little media coverage.

As an example, he cites a report into the bullying of disabled people at work, published in 2008.

He is keen that any disabled person unhappy about the EHRC should contact him to discuss their concerns.

“I do genuinely believe that we can demonstrate that we are working a lot on disability issues, that disability issues are as important to the Commission as all the other strand issues are, and that the Commission is as committed to disability rights and the disability equality agenda as the Disability Rights Commission was.”