Equality Bill [HL]

As the noble Lord, Lord Monson, indicated, there is sensitivity in relation to this issue, particularly in the area of education. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Newcastle said on behalf of the Church of England that it is important that the Church should not harass those of other religions. We must keep that strongly in mind. The amendment would remove the exemptions for schools from the provisions on discrimination and harassment on the grounds of religion or belief for anything done in connection with the content of the curriculum or collective religious worship. I am sure the   Committee will appreciate that education gives rise to special considerations in the way that we need to balance the important general prohibitions on religious discrimination and harassment in education against specific areas where a measure of discrimination may be acceptable and practical. Clause 52 is an attempt to strike the balance in the right place. It is important that we ensure that schools are able to deliver education priorities, including a balanced and broad-based curriculum, and the opportunity for pupils to worship collectively at school. I was very much encouraged by the indication of the noble Lord, Lord Lester, that he would feel more comfortable if what we were describing was curriculum and collective religious worship. We believe that the curriculum and collective religious worship need to be exempt from both the discrimination and harassment provisions of the Bill. Let us consider some situations which might arise   without such an exemption. The noble Lord, Lord   Lester, has referred to some already. It is a fact that the United Kingdom is a predominantly Christian country. It is therefore perfectly understandable that existing legislation provides that acts of collective religious worship in schools are broadly Christian in character. However, the law already recognises that different arrangements may need to be made in respect of some schools, including faith schools. Consequently, that principle may not be applied if a standing advisory council has determined, under Section 394 of the Education Act, that the requirement for Christian worship is not appropriate in the case of a particular school or in the case of any class or description of pupils at that school. This can take account of any circumstances relating to the family backgrounds of pupils which are relevant for determining the character of collective religious worship in any particular case. In addition, parents are   free to withdraw their children from collective religious worship in school if they so wish, but schools should not be obliged to make equivalent provision for collective worship for children from minority faiths, or risk the accusation that they are discriminating unlawfully against such children. For this and similar reasons we need the discrimination exemption. I can assure the noble Lord, Lord Monson, that in   many, many schools children perfectly happily continue to share these opportunities to be together without it causing difficulty. We also need the harassment exemption to protect schools which are delivering the broad-based curriculum to which all our children are entitled but where some of what they do may clash with the strongly held religious views of a minority of parents. Such parents are, of course, entitled to their views, but we do not intend to let them use this legislation to impose those views on the majority. It is important to remember that the definition of ““harassment”” in the Bill is quite a broad one. At its least extreme, harassment may be claimed by a person who feels that a school has created ““a hostile or offensive environment”” for them. Such a claim might come in relation to a child whose parents belong to a sect which believes that computers are the work of the devil or who argue that their very presence in the school is offensive. Creationists might make the same claim in relation to the teaching of evolution within the science curriculum. Some religious groups have been known to take exception to many works of literature or of drama, not least the Harry Potter books, with their description of magic and witchcraft. Some religiously conservative groups or sects within religious groups may object to mixed-sex classes or to sports activities. Some religiously conservative groups also object to sports provision for girls. Some groups may attempt to undermine the very diversity which the curriculum seeks to maintain and which the legislation seeks to protect. Schools need to be confident that they can follow the curriculum without being challenged. No subject should be squeezed out of the curriculum because schools feel vulnerable under the Bill. They should not be required to justify practices which might constitute indirect discrimination on harassment merely because they are properly abiding by education law and following a reasonable and balanced approach to the curriculum. Religious education is also an important curriculum subject. However, provision is already made which can protect individual beliefs. Parents can request that their child be withdrawn from religious education lessons. Indeed, parents can take their child out of school to attend alternative religious education as long as it does not interfere with the child’s attendance at school other than at the beginning or end of the school day. We believe, therefore, that the exemptions provided for in this part of the Bill are necessary to ensure that the school curriculum remains broad-based and inclusive. That is consistent with the duties which the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has under Sections 78 and 79 of the Education Act 2002 to ensure that LEAs, governing bodies and head teachers provide a curriculum which is balanced and broad-based, which promotes spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at school or of society, and which prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experience of later life. Options are already available for parents who seek a different form of education for their children. For example, they may look at faith schools which meet their needs or single-sex schools, including those in the independent sector. For these reasons, we are unable to accept the amendment, but I understand what the noble Lord says about collective worship.