Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

My Lords, I rise briefly to support what the noble and most reverend Lord, Lord Eames, said. This is not about attitudes; this is about the process, and the process we are going through tonight is even more unique than normal. What is the effect of an order in Northern Ireland, followed by a Bill for the remainder of the United Kingdom? Normally orders in Northern Ireland are either unique to Northern Ireland or they follow legislation in the remainder of the United Kingdom. This process is unique in a different way, in supporting an order that came in on 1 January, because the order is already in place, written on the Government’s instructions, without amendment and without consultation being carried out. We have in place an order that will be followed by a Bill—which may be introduced in another place first—that is extremely unlikely not to be amended on its way through. That is what is wrong as far as Northern Ireland is concerned. We will have in place an order that is substantially different from that in the remainder of the United Kingdom. There is no question about it. If this and another place do their job there is bound to be some amendment, purely to its written English if nothing else. We have heard about guest houses. I am, as the noble Lord, Lord Tebbit, put it, the ““unfortunate proprietor”” of a guest house in Northern Ireland—though I do not think that I am unfortunate. I have had a few noble Lords to stay and I quite enjoyed it; whether they did is another matter. Please note thatI do not have children and we are not—and here I shall be accused of discrimination—a very children-friendly place because we do not have a nursery or children’s toys. The point is this: a guest house is not a hotel; nor is it the local ironmonger’s or a travel agency. It is a place to which people go—very often as couples—to get away for a happy weekend together. More than anything, a guest house is unique because it involves the guests in the family. They are not in room 214 where they can press a button—although if they did so at Colebrook they would not get anything. They are among the family. If there are children, they can talk to the children. They may even have children as guests themselves and will involve themselves with those children. It may not be the religious belief of people who own guest houses, but purely their determination, that their children may grow up to be able to make a decision on whether they are influenced by activities of which their parents do not necessarily approve. This is absolutely vital. I give way.