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Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

This took over the role of the Disability Rights Commission from 1st October 2007. It also replaced the other equality bodies and took on new strands of discrimination, making it a 'single equality commission'. Its website is www.equalityhumanrights.com.

The new body takes over the former roles of the Disability Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission (sex discrimination), and the Commission for Racial Equality. It also covers discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, religion and belief, and age, and has a brief to promote human rights.

The EHRC helpline can help on disability discrimination under the DDA. There are phone numbers for England, Wales and Scotland, or you can submit a web enquiry - see www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/Pages/Contactus.aspx#Helpline.

The Commission will sometimes help individuals take legal action under the DDA (s.28 Equality Act 2006), though it is likely to take on only a relatively small number of cases.

The Equality Act 2006 creating the Commission includes:

a requirement that at least one person who has, or has had, a disability be appointed to the EHRC Board (Sch 1 para 2(3)(a));
a Disability Committee within the EHRC, with disabled people making up at least half its members (Sch 1 Part 5). This committee is to have wide delegated powers in various areas of the EHRC's work that are unique to disability, and must be consulted as regards disability in the EHRC's cross-cutting work on employment and the new public sector duties. The Disability Committee will be subject to review after five years.

Text of Equality Act 2006: www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2006/20060003.htm
Explanatory note: www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/en2006/2006en03.htm

The Commission relates to England, Scotland and Wales. The equivalent body in Northern Ireland is the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

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