Equality Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 185:"Page 30, line 44, at end insert ““—" (a)””    The noble Baroness said: In moving Amendment No. 185, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 190, which also stands in my name. I raised this matter at Second Reading and had the impression that the Minister was prepared to look very carefully at what I said. It appeared to me that there had been some unfortunate drafting, which had had the opposite effect to what had originally been intended. The first subsection of Clause 53 states:"““It is unlawful for a local education authority  . . . in the exercise of their functions to discriminate against or harass a person””." Of course, that is all right, but subsection (2) then sets out a list of functions when it is perfectly all right for a local authority to discriminate or harass. Discrimination may be necessary in the exercise of certain functions, but surely it can never be all right for anyone to be harassed. My amendments separate discrimination from harassment. The legalising of harassment is repugnant and I am certain that that was not the intention. I am very pleased to see standing in this group government Amendments Nos. 186 and 188, which attempt to deal with that question. In Amendment No. 190, I have sought to delete paragraph (b) from the list of functions where it is possible for a local authority to discriminate. Why should there be discrimination in the provision of school transport? If any service should be provided on an entirely non-discriminatory basis, surely it should be school transport. Those of us who live in London are not at all happy about the congestion on the roads caused by many parents taking their children to school by car. I am advised that a provision of this kind, as set out in the Bill, could well be contrary to the Human Rights Act. In its report on the School Transport Bill, the Joint Committee on Human Rights persuaded the DfES to amend the prospectus to make it plain that current widespread discrimination against non-religious parents seeking to send their children to the nearest school not of a religious character was contrary to the Human Rights Act. Therefore, I believe that this paragraph should be deleted from the Bill. Returning to Amendment No. 185 and similar amendments standing in the group, I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say in relation to the government amendments standing in the name of my noble and learned friend Lord Falconer on the whole issue of harassment and discrimination. I beg to move.