In an open letter, 41 discrimination and human rights groups and charities have raised profound concerns about the award of the contract to manage the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) to G4S. The letter alleges:
“The 2016 tendering process for the service lacked openness and the procurement specification – which was only discovered after an extensive search – appears to have been seriously flawed.”
“[G4S] has earned a reputation for serious, systemic mismanagement and discrimination” and it enclosed a dossier “which brings together the many serious allegations and findings against G4S”.
Commentators suggest the award of the contract to G4S could now be subject to Judicial Review.
More about the discrimination EASS helpline
The helpline falls under the responsibility of the Government Equalities Office (GEO). It was operated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) until it was relaunched in 2012 and outsourced to Sitel and a number of charities.
In a March this year, the House of Lords Select Committee on the Equality Act 2010 and Disability recommended the EHRC resume control.
The Government response suggested the EHRC did not wish to resume control:
“In early discussions between the GEO and the EHRC about the future of the service, the EHRC did not express an interest in taking it “in-house”. The service has therefore been put out to tender and the EHRC has been invited to sit on the Management Board of the service with GEO, Department for Education and Ministry of Justice”.
However, the EHRC responded to the House of Lords Select Committee, accepting the recommendation it resume control. The EHRC response also contradicts the Government’s response to the Committee:
“Contrary to the Government’s response to the Committee (under Recommendation 10), the Commission made clear to the Government that we would like to take back responsibility for overseeing the EASS or, at the least, have a greater level of control over its operation. In December 2015 we wrote to the Government setting out our concerns in relation to the quality and effectiveness of the EASS service. We concluded: ‘Our proposal is for the reshaping and retendering of the EASS helpline to be led by the EHRC, rather than Government. The EHRC is better-placed than Government to provide the expertise, support and strategic relationships which would address the shortcomings of the current service and ensure the new service delivers better value for money.”
The EHRC response added “The Government did not take up this offer but instead invited us to comment on the draft specification for the service and issued a new invitation to tender in April 2016.”
Sondhya Gupta, senior campaigner with SumOfUs.org, is reported as saying the decision to award G4S the discrimination helpline contract was ‘a kick in the teeth to everyone who faces disability, race, or sex discrimination’.
G4S is reported as saying: ‘We would welcome and support any review of the tendering process for the EASS helpline, which in our view was conducted very openly, professionally, and competitively”.
