"The big issue is subsidiarity. It is accepted on all sides that the main duty of complying with the European Convention on Human Rights lies on the Government's of the member states"
Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke MP, 2011
The Oxford English dictionary defines 'subsidiarity' as 'the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level'. Intended as a comment on the role of the Euro... Continue reading ...
Posted by Neil Crowther on Thursday, September 15, 2011,
Tomorrow (16th September 2011), UNITE members plan to picket the offices of RADAR in protest at the recommendations of the review by its Director Liz Sayce, commissioned by the government, regarding specialist employment support. Their beef is with the report's proposals for a gradual re-allocation of resources tied up in sheltered employment (and Remploy specifically) towards supporting people to find work in the mainstream jobs market.
The EHRC launched the report of its inquiry into disability related harassment on 12th September 2011. The inquiry followed research into disability related harassment which I commissioned when I was Disability Director at the EHRC and I was involved in setting the Inquiry terms of reference.
From the moment I became involved in this issue (as Head of Policy at the Disability Rights Commission) and no doubt before, the thorny (and persistent) policy and practice of classifying disabled peopl... Continue reading ...
Before going further I should declare an interest - as Disability Programme Director at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) I oversaw the work which led to the Commission carrying out its inquiry into disability-related harassment and I was involved in developing the Inquiry terms of reference and reviewing early drafts of today's report.
Many congratulations to Mike Smith, Hilary Mccollum, Jackie Driver, Kathleen Jameson and many other staff at the EHRC. I know it has been a hard... Continue reading ...
An important and worrying survey by the UK Home Care Associationhighlighting the risks to older people's human rights of ever-shorter home care visits confirms the interim findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's formal inquiry into the human rights of older people receiving care at home.
The survey found that home care clients were receiving shorter visits and losing access to services such as safety checks. 82% of 111 UK Councils and health and social care trusts had cut t... Continue reading ...
Posted by Neil Crowther on Monday, September 5, 2011,
In 2009 the UK Government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Article 19 of the Convention concerns the right of disabled people to live independently in the community and requires government to put in place legal and practical measures to enable disabled people to exercise choice about where and with who they live and to overcome isolation through increased participation in community life.
The banning of last weekend's (3rd September 2011) planned march by the English Defence League (via the means of banning all marches within the vicinity of Tower Hamlets during the period) has prompted much debate concerning where the limits of freedom of expression lie, it at all.
By chance, I happened upon the 'Paradox of Tolerance' by Karl Popper:
"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we a... Continue reading ...
