Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Equality and Human Rights Commission report, Religion or belief - is the law working, published in December 2016, if she will obtain independent legal advice to establish whether sections 60 (4) and (5) of the School Standards Framework Act (SSFA) comply with the EU Employment Equality Directive Article 4 (2) and whether exceptions allowed under the SSFA are legitimate and proportionate.

The Department has already given this issue careful scrutiny and is confident that the provisions in the School Standards and Frameworks Act 1998 are lawful and comply with the EU Employment Equality Directive Article 4 (2). This issue has also been considered by the European Commission, which agrees with the Department’s interpretation of the legislation.

Employment, equality and human rights law applies to the employment practices of all schools, and they must act reasonably and proportionately. We have not been made aware of any firm evidence that schools are acting outside of this framework and have not been alerted to any alleged faith-discrimination cases from members of the school workforce.

It is important that faith schools are able to maintain their particular religious ethos and deliver the form of education which they have historically provided and which parents value.