Home Office Broke Equality Law by Pursuing ‘Hostile Environment’ Immigration Policies

London: It has emerged that the Home Office breached its duties under equality law in implementing its ‘hostile environment’ immigration policies. A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”) has stated that the Home Office pursued its policies to reduce net migration numbers in the UK without having due regard to the fact that people of certain race and ethnical background would be disproportionately affected, including the Windrush generation of migrants. This resulted in the failure by the Home Office to ensure that an adequate assessment was carried out to reduce any negative consequences associated with a particular policy before it became law.

In accordance with Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, the Home Office as a government department is under a public sector duty to promote the principles of equality. In developing its policies, it must ensure that a policy does not breach equality law by assessing its potential impact against relevant criteria. In doing so, it is essential to consider the likelihood of the policy to be discriminatory against, or having an adverse impact on, a particular race or group, and if so, whether there are ways of reducing its discriminatory or negative effect and improving adherence to equality principles. The Home Office is therefore required by law to make an informed decision at the development stage as to whether any given policy promotes equality by carrying out an impact assessment and consulting groups which may be affected.

Read more: Gherson Immigration, https://is.gd/v3X1n8