Equality Bill

I am told later this year. I cannot give a timescale. What I will try to do is come back to noble Lords in writing with more ideas—notwithstanding the fact that we are speaking to the various bodies involved—about the sort of things that we will be considering in secondary legislation so that noble Lords have more substance about the things that we will be proposing in due course. Let me explain why listing broadcasters in Schedule 19 is preferable to setting out an exclusion. It is important to list these bodies in Schedule 19 because it means we can be clear about what functions of those broadcasters are subject to the duty and which are not. For instance, by listing the broadcasters we can be clear that certain functions such as those in connection with employment of its workforce are included. If we relied on the public functions provision of Clause 148(2) together with the exception for the commissioning, content and broadcast of programmes, then it would not be clear what other functions were subject to the duty. Indeed, some would argue that the employment of its workforce, for instance, would not be covered. That lack of clarity has been unhelpful to the broadcasters in the past, and we are in discussions with them to make sure we are clear on that for the equality duty. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, and the right reverend Prelate, asked whether people who appear in broadcasts will be subject to the duty. Programme participants are not providing a public service and therefore are not excepted, but it is unlikely that they can be thought to be discriminating. Any comments giving rise to an accusation, for example—and I am grateful for the answer coming to me from the Box—racial hatred would be covered by other legal remedies, but that is something that I would wish to clarify in writing. It is a matter that I have some concern about as well and so I would wish to put this in writing to clarify it in my own mind as well as for noble Lords. I ask the noble Lords to withdraw Amendments 113 and 114.