Strategic litigation policy
The Commission is a strategic regulator and both the nature of this role and its limited resources (and the need to use public funding in the most effective way possible) will inform the exercise of its discretion in relation to the use of its powers.
The Commission's strategic litigation policy lists the factors which the Commission will consider when determining whether to exercise its statutory litigation powers in particular. The main focus of this policy will be to determine when the Commission will exercise its powers under s24, s28 and s30 of the Equality Act 2006 but the policy will be applied to the use of any of the Commission's litigation powers.
The factors set out in the policy provide an indication of the Commission's approach, particularly with regard to whether a case is strategic. These factors are not intended to be prescriptive or exhaustive and will be subject to review.
The form provided at Annex A to the policy provides guidance as to the type of information the Commission will find of assistance from relevant applicants in relation to the exercise of the Commission's powers.
The policy was shaped by the responses received to a public consultation which ran from 22nd September 2014 to 12th December 2014. The purpose of the consultation was to ensure that resources are deployed to maximum impact and to harness the experience and perspective of the sector in determining priorities. A total of 168 people responded to the consultation, either as individuals or on behalf of an organisation. The majority of these respondents represented advice centres, law firms, service providers, the voluntary sector or non-governmental organisations. The results of the consultation are outlined in the report below:
Litigation Strategy Consultation Report
Last Updated: 23 Apr 2015