Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Sandra Osborne Excerpts

Tuesday 16th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

That might indeed be the case. I have been a Member of Parliament for only three years—many Members have been here far longer—and I represent a constituency whose make-up means it is a microcosm of Britain, but in those three years not a single constituent has come to talk with me about being subject to caste discrimination. People have come to talk about other forms of discrimination, but certainly not caste discrimination.

[Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Gentleman explain to me the relevance of the number of constituents who have come forward to talk with him, or with anyone else? Surely a few cases means a few cases too many. If we base our understanding of discrimination on numbers, we will not get very far.

[Alok Sharma]

I understand the sentiment the hon. Lady expresses, but is she suggesting that the Government should legislate to protect people from every conceivable form of discrimination? We know that class discrimination exists, as do other forms of discrimination, but we follow other approaches for those, rather than legislation.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sandra Osborne]

I am in favour of the Lords amendments on the general duty in the Equality Act 2006. I am extremely disappointed with the view the Government have taken. They are seeking to repeal the general duty because they believe it serves no useful purpose and is superfluous to requirements, but that flies in the face of the views of equality and human rights experts; the EHRC, albeit latterly; service users and other stakeholders; and the Government’s analysis of the public consultation, which shows that the majority of respondents were opposed to repeal by a ratio of 6:1, and that they were concerned about losing the guiding principles and values set out in the general duty. If the Government believe that section 3 is so insignificant, why are they using valuable parliamentary time on it? That is particularly puzzling because the measure had all-party support during the passage of the Act.

Section 3 mandates the EHRC to act with a view to encouraging and supporting the development of the various aspects of equality and human rights. The Government believe that it raises unrealistic expectations of what the EHRC can do. That view lacks not only ambition but principles. The values we enshrine in legislation send a message about the society to which we aspire. That requires not just a regulator but an organisational framework that can promote social change. As Age UK has said, the measure is about changing the culture, not just enforcing the rules.

Society values an outward-looking EHRC monitoring what is happening in the UK rather than just reporting on itself. One example is the EHRC report on the shortcomings of care provided to elderly people. That not only brought about change in practice, but highlighted the rights of elderly people to protection and to respect of their human rights.

Sir Bob Hepple has said that the Government are wrong to say that section 3 has no specific legal function. He states that the courts can use it as a helpful guide to the Act in the absence of a purpose clause, which the previous Government declined to insert in the Equality Act 2010. I sat on that Bill Committee, and remember the Lib Dems arguing for a purpose clause. However, the purpose clause was less important than it might have been because of the general duty set out in the 2006 Act. Sir Bob believes that the repeal of section 3 will leave equality law rudderless. I look forward to the Minister informing the House of the Government’s response to that view.

Equality and human rights are inextricably linked. The point of the Equality Acts was to overcome the fragmentation of the different forms of discrimination. The EHRC needs the clear purpose provided in section 3 to guide it when deciding priorities, and to ensure that it approaches its different equality and human duties in an integrated and effective manner.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights, in its sixteenth report, unanimously welcomed section 3, saying that it would serve in practice as a unifying factor in performance of the commission’s duties under sections 8 to 11, which the Minister outlined. I have already raised in previous debates the danger of jeopardising the EHCR’s UN A status accreditation, following the cuts of 76% of its budget and 62% of its staff since its inception. This repeal would be another nail in the coffin, and we know that the public sector equality duty is also under review. What does that say about the coalition’s commitment to equality? It is constantly chipping away at the most progressive and advanced legislation and policy, while undermining the ECHR in its infancy, when it was far too early to judge its effectiveness.

In 2011, the Deputy Prime Minister told the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson), who is now the Minister responsible, that he would resist the siren calls to water down the Equality Act by confirming that there would be no move to dilute its incredibly important protections or to enshrine and boost inequality in this country under the guise of dealing with unnecessary or intrusive regulation. That is exactly what is happening here today, so I do not expect to see any Liberal Democrats in the Aye Lobby on this issue today.

[Mr Khalid Mahmood]

I rise to speak in favour of the Lords amendment on caste discrimination. The Minister said that we need more education and consultation. She said that she wants more evidence. We can educate and consult as much as we want, and if she wants evidence, she can come to my office or I can send her almost 1,000 letters that I have received from my constituents on this issue. This issue is close to the heart of most of the people in the United Kingdom who have been excluded from equality legislation. They ask why, when everybody else is entitled to the protection of that legislation, they are not. We want that issue to be addressed today.

We have discussed the number of people who have come forward. Most of those affected cannot come forward—as the hon. Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller) pointed out—or be taken seriously unless they are prepared to spend huge amounts of their personal money to get their cases heard.