Eleanor Laing (Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Scotland; Epping Forest, Conservative)

I beg to move amendment No. 75, in clause 11, page 6, line 29, leave out paragraph (c).

We want to delete paragraph (c) because it is unnecessary.

Meg Munn (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry; Sheffield, Heeley, Labour)

Clause 11 imposes a duty on the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights to monitor the effectiveness of equality of human rights legislation as defined in clause 33. It also gives it the power to recommend changes to such legislation.

As clause 33 lists equality legislation largely to identify the legislation for which the commission will have enforcement functions, it mentions only part 2 of and regulations made under part 3 of the Bill, thus capturing the provisions on substantive discrimination. Subsection 3(c) provides that for the purposes of monitoring the law, the whole Act will be included, including part 1, which deals with the establishment and powers of the commission and the list of equality and human rights enactments to which the commission’s enforcement powers apply.

The amendment would effectively remove the commission’s duty to monitor the effectiveness of thed¤provisions in part 1 and its power to recommend to the Government the amendment, repeal, consolidation or application of the legislation in respect of part 1. If we were to accept the amendment, the commission would be prevented from doing something that the three current commissions—the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission—can do. They can recommend changes to their own powers. Indeed, in its 1998 report to the   Government the CRE called for the power to enter into a binding agreement with a party it suspected of having breached the Race Relations Act 1976.

The amendment would deprive the Government of a rich source of advice and counsel. That is not reasonable. Nor is it reasonable to deprive the commission of powers that are available to the current commissions. Therefore, I cannot accept the amendment and ask the hon. Lady to withdraw it.

Eleanor Laing (Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Scotland; Epping Forest, Conservative)

I thank the Minister for that comprehensive explanation as to the necessity of the paragraph. I accept her argument and therefore beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.