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The head of the equality watchdog, Trevor Phillips, is to leave his post after six years, it has been confirmed.

Phillips has faced repeated criticism during his two three-year terms as chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

His decision not to seek a third term was revealed in a foreword to the commission’​s new strategic plan.

The plan also reveals that –​ due to drastic cuts in its budget –​ staffing levels at the EHRC are set to fall from 420 to between 150 and 180.

Two years ago, the parliamentary joint committee on human rights said “​major questions”​ remained over Phillips’​ leadership, following a series of resignations by commissioners.

Two disabled commissioners, Baroness [Jane] Campbell and Sir Bert Massie, had been among those who resigned in 2009 over concerns at his leadership.

Phillips also faced criticism in a report by the public accounts committee in March 2010.
More recently, he had appeared on a collision course with the coalition, after arguing last year that its plans for reform risked turning the EHRC into an “​anonymous, cowed, nit-picking compliance factory, remote from the everyday challenges that face ordinary people”​.

The Government Equalities Office had laid out plans to slash the commission’​s budget and reduce its powers, remove funding for its grants programme, and ask the private or voluntary sector to take over its national helpline.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “​Trevor Phillips’​ appointment as the chair of the EHRC ends in September 2012. The government are looking for an appropriate successor. It was Mr Phillips’​ decision to leave.”​ She declined to comment further.

An EHRC spokeswoman said: “​As I understand it, he is not seeking another term.”​ She also declined to comment further.

The EHRC’​s budget is set to fall to £​26.8 million by the end of 2015, compared with £​70 million when it launched in 2007, and it warns in the plan that this will mean “​signific​ant”​ changes.

The strategic plan lays out the EHRC’​s three “​strategic priorities”​ for the next three years.

The first is to promote fairness and equality of opportunity in the economy, such as tackling the causes of the “​pay gap”​ between the salaries of disabled and non-disabled people, and ensuring decisions by the government and the public and private sector “​take full account of equality and human rights”​.

It also wants to promote fair access to public services, including “​dignity and autonomy”​ in social care.

Its third priority will be “​promoting dignity and respect and ensuring people’​s safety”​, including a programme to reduce disability-related bullying in schools and workplaces, and tracking the implementation of recommendations from its well-received inquiry into disability-related harassment.

The plan says legal action will continue to be the EHRC’​s “​last resort, when nudge, persuasion and advice have not proved effective”​, and that it will have to move from providing direct services such as a helpline and grants to being “​a catalyst for change and improveme​nt”​.

News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com