Roger Gale (North Thanet, Conservative)

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 146, in clause 83, page 51, line 11, leave out 'subsection (1)' and insert 'subsections (1) and (2)'.

No. 147, in clause 83, page 51, line 15, leave out 'subsection (1)' and insert 'subsections (1) and (2)'.

No. 148, in clause 83, page 51, line 18, leave out 'subsection (1)' and insert 'subsections (1) and (2)'.

No. 149, in clause 83, page 51, line 21, leave out 'subsection (1)' and insert 'subsections (1) and (2)'.

No. 150, in clause 83, page 51, line 24, after 'section 76B (1)', insert 'or section 76B (2)'.

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

I shall to speak to all the amendments in one block. I thank my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Redcar (Vera Baird) for tabling them and therefore for allowing a discussion on these issues.

I am aware of the concerns of many people, including the teaching unions, about the fact that not all educational institutions might be covered by the specific duties under the gender duty. I should like to make it clear that it has always been our position that all public authorities, including educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities, are covered by the general duty.

The duty requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and harassment and to promote equality of opportunity between women and men. However, when we came to launch the consultation document on the specific duties, on 4 October, we stated that we were giving

''further consideration to the extent to which it would be appropriate for the specific duties to apply to schools, colleges and universities.''

That further consideration was to address a concern that the Department for Education and Skills originally had about whether the requirements of the specific duties would be inappropriate in the light of the policy framework known as the new relationship with schools and the understandable desire to limit bureaucratic burdens on all educational institutions. The same considerations apply regarding the disability duty introduced in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and its application to schools. Since then, the Department for Education and Skills has agreed that   the disability duty should also apply to educational bodies, subject to a light-touch approach being taken.

Since the launch of the consultation document, a series of round-table discussions are under way, in collaboration with the Equal Opportunities Commission. Those discussions have led to growing recognition of the case for the specific duties applying to schools and other educational institutions. I am also pleased to say that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Schools has confirmed that she agrees, in principle, to extending the specific duties to education on the understanding that our officials continue to work together to ensure that appropriate arrangements for different education bodies are agreed, and that the relevant regulations and supporting guidance on the way in which the specific duties will apply are light touch, flexible and relevant to the realities of life in school and at other levels of education. That approach is entirely reasonable: as we made clear in the consultation document, our aim for the gender duty is to focus on outcomes rather than on imposing burdensome processes.

I am also pleased that the EOC intends to produce sector-specific guidance for the particular situations of different levels of education. It is important to respond to the different ways in which institutions operate, and their different needs, and to help them implement their obligations effectively. As hon. Members will be aware, we are still in the consultation period on our specific duties, the closing date being 12 January. Afterwards we will need to analyse the responses carefully in order to publish a Government response to consultation three months after the closing date. The response will clarify our plans for the regulations for the specific duties and confirm how we intend the specific duties to apply in respect of educational institutions. I hope that that is sufficiently reassuring and invite my hon. and learned Friend to withdraw her amendment.

Vera Baird (PPS (Rt Hon Charles Clarke, Secretary of State), Home Office; Redcar, Labour)

I thank my hon. Friend for that statement. The EOC specifically asked me to express its gratitude for the helpful and open way in which she and her officials have discussed the matter all the way through. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 83 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 84 to 89 ordered to stand part of the Bill.