Tag: Office for Equality and Opportunity

The press release issued by the Office for Equality and Opportunity on 9 June 2025.

A new steering group will support disabled candidates in elections, advising on a fund for disability-related expenses to level the playing field.

• New Access to Elected Office Steering Group set up to support disabled candidates to enter elected office.
• The group will use their lived experience to ensure disabled people’s views and voices are at the heart of decision making.
• Cross-party members to work closely with the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms MP, to boost representation of disabled people in future elections.

Disabled people will be better supported to compete on a level playing field in gaining access to elected office through a new steering group and fund to support with the disability-related expenses that they might face.

The fund will help break down barriers for disabled candidates and be developed with support from a new government steering group who will advise the government on how to boost opportunity for disabled people in seeking to enter elected office.

Drawing on their lived experience of disability, accessing funding or standing for elected office, members will work with the Minister for Social Security and Disability to ensure the fund is effective in increasing disability representation in future elections.

Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms MP, said:

We want to ensure that disabled people have the right support to pursue a rewarding career in elected office.

I look forward to working with the new steering group to develop a fund which makes sure that having a disability is not a barrier to success in political life, and that disabled people’s views and voices are at the heart of our efforts to achieve this.

The minister will also engage with MPs with a specialist interest in supporting disabled candidates, gathering insights which will further inform the fund and efforts to maximise its uptake.

The steering group will take learnings from the government’s previous Access to Elected Office Fund and Enable Fund, which similarly helped cover the costs of disability-related expenses – including transport support for mobility impaired candidates and the provision of accessible formats and British Sign Language interpretation.

It follows wider efforts to support disabled people to thrive in work – such as our consultation on mandatory disability pay gap reporting, which will inform how government tackles the gap and puts more money in disabled people’s pockets as part of the Plan for Change.

The press release issued by the Office for Equality and Opportunity on 5 June 2025.

• Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson announced as the government’s preferred candidate for the next Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
• Preferred candidate to appear in front of 2 Parliamentary committees – Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) and the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JHCR) – ahead of appointment confirmation.
• Current chair Baroness Falkner’s term is due to end on 30 November 2025.

The government’s preferred candidate for the new chair of the independent Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been identified as Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson. This follows a full and open competition to recruit a new chair, in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.

The current chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner’s term is due to end on 30 November 2025, after being extended an additional year to provide stability while a full recruitment campaign was undertaken.

Dr Stephenson will appear before WESC and JCHR as part of pre-appointment hearings. The committees will provide advice to ministers before she is formally appointed.

The appointment of Dr Stephenson will not impact the timelines or process for the updated statutory code of practice for services currently being developed by the EHRC.

Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson said:

This government is clear that equality and opportunity are at the heart of our programme of national renewal.

With the depth of her expertise in human rights and equality, Dr Stephenson is exceptionally suited to leading the EHRC and ensuring it continues to uphold the equalities framework in this country.

I want to thank Baroness Falkner for her continued work throughout this time.

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson said:

I am honoured to be named the Government’s preferred candidate to be the new chair for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The EHRC plays an integral role in protecting and advancing equalities and I am deeply committed to furthering this work as chair. With over 30 years working on equalities and human rights, I am confident that I will bring a breadth of experience and insight to the role.

I look forward to working with the team in the EHRC as well as stakeholders and the government to ensure equalities are upheld and all people are treated with respect and dignity.

The government is committed to ensuring that people of all backgrounds can thrive. The EHRC plays a vital role in upholding and promoting equality and human rights across England and Wales.

The EHRC is independent of the government and makes its own enforcement decisions, including about any inquiries and investigations it decides to conduct.

The EHRC has launched a consultation on its updated draft statutory code of practice for services, public functions and associations. This opened on 20 May and will close on 30 June. The final draft code will be sent to ministers for approval before laying in Parliament.

Notes to editors

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson has 30 years of experience working on equality and human rights issues within the UK and internationally, over 20 of these at Board and CEO level. She also holds a PhD in equality law.

Positions she has held include:

• Director of the Women’s Budget Group
• Director of the Fawcett Society
• Chair of Early Education and Childcare Coalition
• Board member of Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC)
• Board member of Coventry Police and Crime Board