Equality Bill

My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Low of Dalston, who put across his amendments in a very reasonable way, rehearsing a number of the arguments we have heard before. This is a very difficult issue. Everyone who has participated in the debate has contributed to a greater understanding of what is at stake here. Listening to the debate, the problem I had was that there were so many cross-issues here. Perhaps the most important concerns what happens to someone who is injured or suffers some form of illness or disability while on active service. Certainly, it is my experience that our Armed Forces look after those who suffer in that way exceedingly well. Issues around this have arisen in the past, but in every case that I have investigated I was satisfied that rehabilitation was very much at the top of the priorities for the individual concerned. Therefore, we come back to the point raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins, about the fitness standard. I can see that that can be justified. We are asking our Armed Forces to do more and more, and we pride ourselves on our flexibility and the ability to utilise everyone who is part of the team on the front line. The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, knows a tremendous amount about this subject. We should heed his words that the situation is being addressed by the Ministry of Defence in a realistic, rational and reasonable way. Confronted with that evidence, I need some persuading that we should change the law. The noble Baroness, Lady Masham of Ilton, said that a blanket ban, on the face of it, seems a dangerous thing. I am not sure that it is a dangerous thing, but there has to be a broader attitude towards disability than we have at present. I am not sure that that should apply to the front-line forces, but I want us to put rehabilitation much higher up the list of priorities. As always, the word "reasonable" summarises the attitude of the noble Baroness, Lady Howe of Idlicote, to all these issues. She used that word again tonight. Is it reasonable to continue in the way that we have? The noble Lord, Lord Lester, knows a tremendous amount about this subject and I bow to his expertise. I said earlier that we should try to simplify, rationalise, consolidate and codify the existing law so that everyone can understand it. I think most people would understand that you have to have able-bodied people on the front line who are able to undertake all those tasks which put their lives at risk in defence of freedom and in our defence.