Joint Committee on Human Rights and Women and Equalities Committee endorse appointment of Baroness Falkner as Chair of EHRC

The Government named Baroness Falkner as their preferred candidate for the role and on the basis of the hearing both the JCHR and WEC have endorsed her appointment. The Committees believe that an initial appointment of two years would give sufficient opportunity for the candidate to show how she intends to achieve her aims for the organisation, and to address the concerns set out in this report.

The Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Harriet Harman MP, said:

“The EHRC is vital for pressing forward to ending inequality and strengthening the protection of human rights. We are content to endorse the government’s appointment of Baroness Falkner but we re-emphasise that as chair of the EHRC she’ll need to be more than a neutral regulator but rather a visible and determined champion of equality and we remind the Government that the EHRC needs more resources to be able to carry out its important work.”

Women and Equalities Committee Chair, Caroline Nokes MP said:

“The issues that the Committees identified through the pre-appointment hearing are critical to how the Commission uses its duties and powers to meet the significant challenges that Britain faces at this time. I hope that under Baroness Falkner’s leadership the EHRC will be a bold, independent champion of equalities and human rights, not just advising Government but also holding it to account and challenging it where necessary.”