Equality Bill

There are only two points on which I disagree with my noble friend. First, he could never be described as a, "simple Back-Bench Peer", in view of his distinguished record in the Cabinet and elsewhere. That is another matter. Secondly, it is for the noble Baroness, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, to respond to the point that he makes. I merely express worries and concerns. I know that the noble Baroness will do everything she can to reassure me. As the First Secretary of State said to me at Questions in the Chamber the other day, "Calm down, it is all going to be okay". That is all the reassurance I seek. Going back to the key points raised by the noble Lord, Lord Low of Dalston, and strengthened by the remarkably important speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins, I agree that asymmetric treatment may be required to ensure that people with disabilities are not put at a disadvantage. To treat someone with disability in exactly the same way as a non-disabled person will not ensure equalities of outcome. As we have discussed throughout the debate, there may need to be extra, reasonable adjustments made to help counter the disadvantages posed to people as a result of their disability and so aid the progress of equality. The noble Lord, Lord Low, made it clear that charities remain concerned that the needs of students with disability will not be given sufficient weight in the clause. They are particularly concerned that Clause 96(8)(c), which specifies that one of the regulator’s main roles is, ""to maintain public confidence in the qualification"," may outweigh the needs of people with disabilities. I hope the noble Baroness will be able to inform us of the legal status of these subsections. As the noble Lord, Lord Low, argued, could paragraphs (b) and (c) outweigh the amended paragraph (a)? The Explanatory Notes to this clause state that, ""the appropriate regulator must have regard to the need to ensure disabled candidates are not disadvantaged, and the need to maintain the integrity and public confidence in the qualification"." Does the noble Baroness agree that while every effort must be made to take the needs of disabled people into account, this clause goes sufficiently far to address the issue? I support the intentions of the noble Lord, Lord Low of Dalston. We have also consistently called for a regulator to restore public confidence in the examination system. It is vital that standards of education are maintained, strengthened and improved. Of course this should not come at the expense of disabled people—indeed, it is very important to take their needs into account. For this reason, we support the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Low, which would mean that due regard must be taken. We also support, as I have already said, Amendment 106B tabled by the Government, which would minimise the extent to which disabled people are disadvantaged from obtaining the qualification because of their disabilities. However, we cannot support the removal of paragraph (c). It is vital to ensure that a regulator has due regard to the absolute need to ensure that standards rise and to maintain public confidence in the examination system. We feel, therefore, that with Amendment 106B the clause will go far enough to ensuring that the needs of disabled people are met.