Equality Bill

My Lords, Amendment 109, tabled by the noble Baronesses, Lady Warsi and Lady Morris of Bolton, would represent a major extension of the duty into the private and voluntary sectors, where bodies in those sectors exercise public functions, and require them to comply with the equality duty in the exercise of all their functions except employment functions, regardless of whether they are discharging a public function. I reassure noble Lords that Clause 148(2), as drafted, would require bodies that exercise public functions, other than the public authorities listed in Schedule 19, to comply with the equality duty whenever they exercise such public functions. The provisions in the Bill would not require such bodies to comply with the duty when they exercise any of their functions that are not connected to the exercise of a public function. Amendment 109 would require such bodies to comply with the duty whenever they exercise their other functions, such as the performance of any activities that are unrelated to the performance of their public functions—for example, conduct of their core business; any activities on their purchasing functions; and, in short, everything, apart from employment. The amendment would affect many organisations, and do so in a very arbitrary way. Some organisations would be covered simply because they happened to be carrying out a public function, such as the running of a private prison, perhaps for a short time, while others would not. It might even deter some private or voluntary organisations from taking on public functions if, as a result, the duty would then extend to all their other functions and activities bar employment. Given that employment is singled out by these amendments as a function which should not be subject to the duty, I will address this specific point. Employment functions have not been explicitly excluded under the existing equality duties, and this has not created any problems. A private body carrying out public functions will not be subject to the duty in respect of any of its functions of a private nature, such as the employment of staff whose duties are not connected to the exercise of the public function. A private body should retain the right to decide who to employ. However, such a body will need to consider the technical abilities of the people deployed to discharge its public functions and the training that they require to perform their duties. For example, an organisation contracted to manage a prison would need to consider whether the skills of the staff charged with delivering the service or the training that they receive satisfactorily address its requirement to promote equality of opportunity. Several specific questions were asked. The noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, asked: who is the person referred to in Clause 148(2)? This will apply, as she suggested, to a natural person as well as legal entities, such as companies and statutory bodies. The noble Baroness also asked if the duty applied to internal functions. As I said, the duty will apply only to the activities of the organisation concerned with the delivery of the public function. The noble Baroness was concerned about small and medium-sized enterprises. The Government recognise the real concerns of SMEs interested in competing for public sector work. In accepting the recommendations of the Glover review, we have committed to increasing the access of all government contracts to SMEs. The development of a best-practice approach to promoting equality through procurement and a national equality standard may assist in the process. We look forward to hearing the views of stakeholders and industry on this subject. The noble Baroness asked about public/private functions and internal/external activities. In simple terms, employment will be caught where integral to the performance of a public function. For example, where a contractor runs a prison it will need to comply with the duty in relation to its employees working in the prison but not those involved in other work such as collecting cash from a bank. The noble Baroness, Lady Howe of Idlicote, asked what the duties meant for children. Although under-18s are excluded from age discrimination protection in services and public functions, children will, as the noble Baroness recognised, benefit from the age aspects of the public sector equality duty. Guidance on the duty will give practical assistance to public service providers on how they can implement the age provisions for children. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s code of practice and guidance will cover this and will be easily accessible to those organisations concerned. Following that explanation, I trust the noble Baroness will consider withdrawing her amendment.