Equality Minister added to agenda at CIPD diversity conference

24 April 2008

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) announces today, that Barbara Follett MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for East of England, has been added to the agenda of their forthcoming diversity conference.

The diversity conference will take place on the 20 May at Sofitel St James Hotel, London and already boasts a number of expert speakers including:
• Trevor Phillips, Chair, Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Charlotte Sweeney, Head of Diversity and Wellbeing, HBOS
• Bob Blenkinsop, Executive Director HR, Ford Britain

Previous to becoming Equality Minister, Follett worked on diversity issues in a number of roles including Chair of the parliamentary Women’s Committee and Private Secretary to the Minister for Women 2006–2008, making her a welcomed addition to an already packed conference agenda.

Dianah Worman, CIPD Diversity Adviser says: “As Equality Minister, Barbara Follett really adds something extra to the conference programme. She is well placed to give delegates an insight into what we can expect a Single Equality Act to include and when we might expect it.

“The Government witnessed an exceptional response rate to its consultation on the Single Equality Act last year. Hopefully the Equality Minister will be able to give an indication of how much the Government has been able to reconcile its original proposals with the views and suggestions it received from the 4000 plus respondents to the green paper ‘A Framework for Fairness: Proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain’, and how radical the proposed changes might be.”

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