Clause 56 - Organisations relating to religion or belief
Equality Bill [Lords]
6:15 pm
Evan Harris (Science, Non-Departmental & Cross Departmental Responsibilities; Oxford West and Abingdon, Liberal Democrat)
I shall try to be quick. The amendments deal with religious organisations performing public functions. I am grateful to the British Humanist Association for its help, and for the efforts of Baroness Turner of Camden and Baroness Whitaker, who spoke in another place in Committee and on Report respectively. They tried to do something about the problem.
Religious organisations and charities as defined in clauses 56(1) and 75(1) are exempted from the duty not to discriminate in certain circumstances. However, such organisations and charities may be carrying out functions of a public nature. For example, they may be providing statutory or other services under contract from a local authority or the NHS. In such circumstances, they should be exempted from the general law, and clarification is needed on whether they will be allowed to discriminate in the performance of such functions.
Amendments were tabled in the other place that would have added new subsections after clauses 56(5) and 57(2). They were similar to my amendments. Ministers in the other place made a fair point in response to the amendments; they said that organisations will sometimes be requested to do something that is discriminatory in effect, such as outreach work for the health service with Muslim women. That is fully understood. That is why the amendments have been revised. They are important, given the Government's policy of encouraging the religion-based provision of public services—a subject for a separate debate. Certainly there will be legitimate occasions when such public functions are carried out by religious organisations.
The amendments meet the objection correctly made in another place by Baroness Scotland. I hope that the Minister will look kindly on them, because I am concerned that when such bodies act as a public authority they could discriminate. The Minister will be aware that the Human Rights Act duty to secure non-discrimination in the enjoyment of convention rights requires that organisations behaving as a public authority should be careful in that respect.
I hope that the Minister can offer me some comfort, because mine is a genuine attempt to get the wording of an amendment right in response to concerns raised in the other place.