A commissioner is set to be appointed by the Government’s new equalities watchdog to ensure that the recommendations from a major probe that found regeneration bodies to be failing their race duty are implemented.
Herpreet Kaur Grewal
A commissioner is set to be appointed by the Government’s new equalities watchdog to ensure that the recommendations from a major probe that found regeneration bodies to be failing their race duty are implemented, Regeneration & Renewal can reveal.
Julia Chain, who was deputy chair of the now-defunct Commission for Racial Equality and led its investigation into whether regeneration bodies were fulfilling their race equality duties, has been lined up to head a group that will aim to ensure that the proposals from last year’s report are followed through.
There has been no confirmation of the appointment by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which has replaced the CRE, but Chain told Regeneration & Renewal: “I am sure it will happen. I have been told the letter of confirmation is in the post.”
The CRE’s investigation found that public bodies such as councils, regional development agencies and housing market renewal pathfinders were persistently failing to fulfill their duty to consider race equality when forming regeneration plans (R&R, 14 September 2007, p1).
Chain said she was “extremely pleased” about her appointment, and added that it showed the investigation and its results have not been forgotten by the EHRC.