Equality Bill

My Lords, I am very happy to reassure the noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, and explain what is meant by this clause. This Bill will not prevent private clubs from setting differential membership rates as long as each category of membership is open to all regardless of their protected characteristics. Clubs will still be able to offer different types of membership at different prices or on different terms, such as peak or off-peak, playing membership of a golf club, or full and associate membership. Indeed, age-based concessions and benefits are an important means of ensuring that all people can participate more fully in society, in the economy and in clubs which play such an important part of many people’s lives, as long as they will be permitted to continue when the provisions prohibiting age discrimination by clubs are brought into force in 2012, along with the services provisions relating to age. This will allow us to ensure that appropriate exceptions are in place to allow age-based concessions to continue. Those regulations will do precisely that. I hope the noble Duke will accept that. The issue of women was also raised. I would like to reassure noble Lords that Clause 193 of the Bill provides an exemption which allows men and women to be treated differently in any sport or game, or other activity of a competitive nature where the physical strength, stamina or physique of the average woman puts her at a disadvantage compared to the average man. This exception will be maintained. Clause 101 simply requires that private clubs apply the same terms and conditions for membership equally to people regardless of their protected characteristics. This would mean, for example, that men and women who are charged the same price for each category of membership to a golf club will have the same access to club facilities, such as the bar. Private clubs hold an important place in our society and we do not think it is right for them to treat some of their members or associates as second-class citizens. That is why we have taken the opportunity, through this Bill, to extend the existing prohibitions on private clubs to stop them from discriminating against their current and potential members, associates and guests. Protection will be provided for the first time in relation to sex, religion or belief, age and gender reassignment. Existing law already provides protection because of a person’s race, sexual orientation and disability. In the past, we encouraged private clubs to address the issue of discrimination, particularly against women, voluntarily, but people continue to complain that they are experiencing discrimination. For example, some female members of golf clubs state that they are still not able to vote as full members of the club, they are only able to play on certain days and their access to certain facilities, such as the club bar, is restricted. I attended a golf club annual dinner not long ago with my brother-in-law and some of the women members explained that they were very proud that their club no longer did those things. It made the club a much healthier place to be. We believe that such restrictions are unacceptable and that is why we decided to legislate. I hope that my explanations about how freedoms are already protected within the provision will reassure the noble Duke and that he will withdraw his amendment.