<<&company>> Dear <<&firstname>>, In order to protect your business from the threats and increased costs poised by the pending caste legislation, ACLC has made the process of responding to this caste consultation as easy as possible. Please complete the form at the bottom titled " ACLC's questions to businesses for a more qualitative response to the caste consultation" and email it back to me BY THE ACLC DEADLINE OF SUN 17.9.17 the GEO DEADLINE is Mon 18.9.17 NOON. . Mukesh To GEO - Please note ACLC has the consent from the business below to forward this consultation response on their behalf and also to represent them in any matters we deal with the GEO on this consultation. Please respond to them in the normal way you would but cc ACLC in ALL communications. Mukesh Naker, Communications Officer for ACLC. CASTE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND EQUALITY LAW: A PUBLIC CONSULTATION Section 1 – Your details Contact details Title <<&dear>> First name <<&firstname>> Last name <<&lastname>> Address <<&address1>> <<&address2>> <<&address3>> <<&city>> <<&state>> Postcode <<&zip>> Email address <<&emailaddress>> Your organisation <<&company>> Do you want is your response to be treated as confidential? Yes No If yes, please explain why (please refer to notes below on confidentiality) Confidentiality Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004). The Government may publish responses received from organisations. If you want other information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, under the Freedom of Information Act, there is a statutory code of practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals, among other things, with obligations of confidence. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the department. The department will process your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. Section 2 – List of consultation questions Please refer to the consultation document before completing the survey below, as it provides further background to all of the questions. Questions for you to consider on Option 1 - Prohibiting caste discrimination through developing case-law: Q1. To what extent do you agree or disagree that protection against discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin provides an appropriate level of protection against caste discrimination? £ Strongly Agree £ Agree £ Disagree £ Strongly Disagree £ Don’t know Q2. Why do you think this? Please explain your answer to Q1. Extension by case law to include caste as an aspect of race should be repealed by the government together with the government’s obligation pursuant to Section 9(5) of the Equality Act 2010 as amended. It is not necessary, appropriate and proportionate to have caste as an aspect of race whether by case law or by legislation. The research by NIESR (carried out on behalf of the government) and the consultation document accepts that there is no evidence that caste discrimination exists. Q3. Which types of caste discrimination, if any, do you think would not be covered by the concept of ethnic origin in case-law? Please clearly list the features of caste which you think are not covered by ethnic origin and explain why you think this. Please see reply to question 2 above. Q4. What are the benefits (e.g. social and economic) of using case-law to implement a legal ban on caste discrimination? Please see reply to question 2 above. I do not envisage any benefits whatsoever only disadvantages on which see answer to Q5 below. Q5. What are the disadvantages (e.g. social and economic) of using case-law to implement a legal ban on caste discrimination? Should the case-law and legislation not be repealed, the social disadvantages will be deepened and community cohesion will not be assisted whereby sections of the Dharmic community will be arbitrarily regarded as being hierarchical. Furthermore, decisions as to relative status would be decided entirely subjectively. Small to medium sized businesses (of which are large number in the Dharmic community and tend to be family-run) already have burdens of compliance from existing regulatory and equality duties but will have additional obligations regarding caste. That will mean training will need to be provided, data monitoring be carried out and, should a dispute occur, substantive costs will be incurred to defend cases of which even the consultation document shows have only amounted to three in the last 10 years, two of which were not successful. This could lead to many small and medium sized business involved in such litigation becoming bankrupt. Option 2 - Prohibition of caste discrimination by specifying caste in the Equality Act Q6. What are the benefits (e.g. social and economic) of inserting caste into the Equality Act 2010 as a specific aspect of race? Please see reply to question 4 above. Q7. What are the disadvantages (e.g. social and economic) of inserting caste into the Equality Act 2010 as a specific aspect of race? Please see reply to question 5 above Q8. There are also two specific provisions in the Equality Act 2010 that we would particularly like to get your opinion on – the Public Sector Equality Duty and positive action. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the following provisions should apply to caste: a) Public Sector Equality Duty £ Strongly Agree £ Agree £ Disagree £ Strongly Disagree £ Don’t know b) Positive action £ Strongly Agree £ Agree £ Disagree £ Strongly Disagree £ Don’t know Q9. Why do you think this? Please explain the reason for your answers to Q8a and/or Q8b a) Public Sector Equality Duty Should the government deem it appropriate and necessary to have caste as an aspect of race, whether by case-law or legislation, then this duty should apply both to the public sector as it applies to the private sector. The public sector sets an example to the private sector. b) Positive action I strongly object to this as it is contrary to a meritocratic society Key summary questions for you to consider on options 1 and 2: Q10. Which is your preferred option to tackle caste discrimination? £ Case-law £ Using the legislative duty to insert caste into the Equality Act 2010 as an aspect of race £ Other Q11. Why do you think this? Please explain the reasons for your answer to Q10 The government should repeal the case-law and the government’s duty as per Section 9(5) of the EqualityAct 2010 as subsequently amended. It is clear from the government’s own research carried out by NIESR and the EHRC where substantive public funds have been used for such research that there is no clear and substantial evidence of caste discrimination. The government has failed to carry out an impact assessment before legislating. Please also see reply to questions 2 and 5 above. Q12. Can you provide any data on costs and benefits, including costs and benefits to individuals, of caste becoming an aspect of race in the Equality Act either through: (A) A specific change to the legislation No. An impact assessment should have been carried out by the government before any legislation was introduced. The NIESR research found no evidence which can be relied upon that caste discrimination exits. (B) Through reliance of case-law following the judgment in Tirkey v Chandhok? See reply to question 12(A) above. It is understood that in the case of Tirkey v Chandhok costs of the proceedings for Tirkey on a private basis were in the region of £189,000.00. The costs of Chandhok were in the region of £80,000.00. Q13. Apart from the options covered in this document, is there anything else you think Government can do to prevent discrimination on grounds of caste in Britain? No. Please see reply to questions 2 and 5 above. ACLC's questions to businesses for a more qualitative response to the caste consultation What industry sector is your business in? What percentage of your employees come from south Asian (Indian subcontinent) backgrounds? What percentage of your customers come from south Asian (Indian subcontinent) backgrounds? What percentage of your suppliers / contractors come from south Asian (Indian subcontinent) backgrounds? Has caste discrimination come up as an issue for your business as an employer (y/n) in your relations with customers or suppliers (y/n)? If a caste discrimination claim is made against your business as an employer or goods/service provider, would you (choose the most appropriate option): settle the case [box] fight the case in the tribunal/court [box] Total Number of Employees Add Us To Your Address Book This email was sent to <<&emailaddress>> Unsubscribe Here