14th May 2012
The Equality and Human Rights Commission published its equality assessment of the Government's 2010 Spending Review.
The Commission's report considers the extent to which the decision-making by ministers and Treasury officials met legal obligations to consider the impact on equality when completing the Review.
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty, public bodies are legally obliged to demonstrate they have considered the potential effects of decisions on women, ethnic minorities and disabled people
The report commends Ministers and officials for "serious" efforts to meet the requirements of their obligations. However, in three cases the Commission says that it was unable to establish whether or not the decisions were in full accord with the requirements of the duty.
This was due to a lack of clarity as to where the true site of the decisions lay and whether or not some decisions were the responsibility of other government departments or of the Government as a whole.
These cases included the introduction of a £26,000 total Household Benefits cap, which comes into effect in April 2013. The report finds that there was no evidence of any gender analysis or equality screening of the measure provided to HM Treasury ministers prior to the announcement of the measure.
16th May 2012.
Brain injury could affect almost half (48%) of homeless people and may contribute to the risk of people becoming homeless in the first place, says a new study launched by national charity The Disabilities Trust through its Foundation.
These injuries, unless properly diagnosed and treated, can bring communication, memory and behaviour problems leading to increased risk of family breakdown and loss of employment.
It is hoped the research will raise awareness among health, housing and care professionals about how someone's support needs will differ if they have a brain injury.
Unveiled in Leeds, the study asked 75 homeless men and 25 homeless women in the City whether they had experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI) and, if so, when the blow to the head occurred and how severe it was.
The findings were then compared to data from a group of people from Leeds who were not homeless.
Of the homeless people interviewed, 48% said they had had a TBI - over twice the number in the non-homeless group (21%).
Of the homeless people who said they had experienced a traumatic brain injury:
The study reflects the findings of a 2008 study of homeless people in Toronto, Canada, which found that 53% said that they had sustained a brain injury.
