Equality Bill

My Lords, I shall speak also to government Amendment 108Q, government Amendment 134A, government Amendment 135B, and government Amendment 136ZE. The aim of Amendment 108KA is to increase public accountability and act as an incentive for political parties to identify and remove barriers which cause or contribute to the under-representation of certain groups in the political life of this country. It will require registered political parties to publish information on the diversity of their candidate selections at particular elections, in accordance with regulations made under the power contained in this provision. The amendment responds to a recommendation by the Speaker’s Conference, which over the past year has considered the issue of under-representation in the other place. It is intended to encourage broader representation and increased involvement of all groups in the democratic process. It also responds to an amendment tabled on Report in the other place and supported by honourable Members from all three main parties. In their evidence to the Speaker’s Conference, the leaders of all three main political parties expressed their openness to the principle of publishing diversity data in relation to candidate selections. This is an important indication of their commitment to the promotion of fairer representation in Parliament and to the gathering and publication of information about candidates and potential candidates as a means of achieving this. The Solicitor-General wrote to the vice-chairman of the Speaker’s Conference, copied to Liberal and Conservative party leaders, on the Equality Bill in advance of tabling this amendment. Ministers are writing to the leaders of the main parties, and also to the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru, seeking further views and reassuring them that political parties will be fully involved as the scope and detail of the regulations to be made under this provision are developed. Amendment 108KA applies to registered political parties. It and the regulations made under it will require those that field candidates at relevant elections, which may include parliamentary elections and elections to the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales, to publish certain information about the protected characteristics of their candidates and prospective candidates. The regulations will specify the protected characteristics on which parties must publish information. These may include age, disability, gender reassignment, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief. Those are all the protected characteristics covered in Clause 4, with the exception of marriage, civil partnership and pregnancy. Nothing in this provision will require or oblige political parties to require individuals to disclose any personal information that they do not wish to, nor does it require parties to publish personal information about individuals from which they can be identified. It is important to stress that point. The regulations will set out which elections are relevant elections for the purposes of this provision. They will also establish who is required to publish the information. For example, it may be that only those parties which field candidates for a certain number of seats will be required to do so. They will set out when and for how long the information is to be published, and the form and manner in which it must be published. For example, that might be on the internet with the data broken down in particular ways. Amendment 135B ensures that the regulations will be subject to affirmative procedure and that the Government will consult about the detail of what they require before laying them before Parliament. We are particularly keen to involve the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Electoral Commission and the parties themselves in ensuring that the scope of the requirements are both proportionate and effective. We want them to result in the collection and publication of meaningful and useful data that will help people identify more clearly where the gaps are and what barriers some individuals may face throughout the selection process. Amendment 108Q prevents requirements imposed under Amendment 108KA from being enforced through the courts. Instead, the Equality and Human Rights Commission will ensure compliance under its existing powers. Amendment 136ZE amends Schedule 26 to establish this. There is clear statistical evidence that women and people from minority-ethnic communities are underrepresented as Members of Parliament and of other elected institutions. There is also likely to be underrepresentation of disabled, lesbian, gay and transgender people, but we do not know that because the information is not available. There is a strong argument that increasing participation by all groups in civic and political life will lead to a stronger and more cohesive society, and to the strengthening of our democracy. We see transparency and openness by political parties in relation to their candidates as an important way of achieving that aim. Amendment 134A amends Schedule 24 to insert a reference to Amendment 108KA. Schedule 24 lists all the exceptions to the harmonisation provisions in Clause 196. Clause 196 applies to provisions which may need amending to reflect changes in European law. Amendment 134A makes it clear that the diversity reporting duty contained in Amendment 108KA would not be subject to any regulations under the harmonisation power, since the provision is not within the scope of European jurisdiction. I beg to move.