The Equality and Human Rights Commission takes its independence incredibly seriously. This will not change under my tenure (EHRC undermined by pressure to support No 10 agenda, says ex-chair, 18 January).
As David Isaac knows, there is a rigorous process to appoint the chair and commissioners, all carried out under the public appointments code. His confidence in the system was evident in his valedictory interviews, where he called for all those interested to apply for the role. For the commissioner appointments, both the acting chair and a member of the EHRC board were involved in the recommendations as part of that process. The new intake of commissioners joining since Isaac’s time as chair have increased the minority ethnic representation on our board by a total of three, and we all bring a wealth of experience in other areas that will make a great contribution to our effectiveness.
I do agree that a focus on ethnic minorities in the post-Covid world is extremely timely, and our programme of work supports this. For instance, I will be leading an inquiry into racial inequality that affects minority-ethnic workers in lower-paid roles in health and social care. I look forward to delivering this and many other projects in our role to improve equality for all and as an independent regulator of equality law.
Kishwer Falkner
Chair, Equality and Human Rights Commission
