They will be obliged to monitor the composition of their workforces to ensure they reflect the ethnic make-up of local communities and will have to assess the impact on racial equality of proposed policies and services. The rules will be enforced by the Commission for Racial Equality, which will have the power to conduct formal investigations. If you thought this array of law and charter provided enough rights already, you d be wrong. To go with them, say left-leaning rights campaigners, we also need a human rights commission. The idea was touted recently by Lord Irvine, the lord chancellor.
Some observers believe so and others counsel caution.
We have the Human Rights Act and I would have thought seeing how the courts work it out is the best thing to do. Allan Levy QC, a leading liberal lawyer, supports the idea of a commission but accepts there may be difficulties in getting its balance right. You must appoint representative people, he said. They should not be a pressure group or partisan group. They should act in the public interest.