Race

The DLA's recommendations for a legal framework that would enable the under-representation of ethnic minority MPs to be corrected, prepared in response to the Race Relations (Election Candidates) Bill introduced by Keith Vaz in February 2008. 

The DLA's response to the Govenment proposals to tighten up immigration rules for non-European Migrants

This is a response to the Legal Complaints Service's consultation. While the DLA broadly welcomes the proposal for the publication of solicitor's legal complaints records, it has a number of recommendations that would further improve clients' access to redress in the event of discrimination by their solicitor, and ensure also that BME solicitors are not disproportionately affected by the new measures.

April 2008

 

 

 

 

 

The DLA was not one of the organisations invited to this Borders and Immigration Agency consultation. However, it submitted a response as the equality impact assessment shows that implementation of the new powers described in the consultation document may result in unlawful racial discrimination.

The DLA's main focus was on the ways in which:

• The new procedures that employers will be expected to adopt, and
• The civil penalty regime

may result in unlawful discrimination.

The DLA is concerned regarding the proportionality of scale of the problem weighed against the increased risk of unlawful discrimination and the additional unwanted burden on employers.
The DLA endorses the TUC's recommendations to the response The TUC response can be found on their website : http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-13568-f0.cfm

The DLA nevertheless welcomes the decision by the Border and Immigration Agency to issue a code of practice to help employers avoid unlawful discrimination while seeking to prevent illegal working.

Additional responses to this consultation from the Commission for Racial Equality and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants are included.

August 2007