Equality Bill

My Lords, the Government support the amendments put forward by the noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, which, as he notes, remove existing provisions that are discriminatory and out of date. These amendments also address those aspects of UK law that are incompatible with Article 5 of the 7th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 5 of the 7th Protocol provides that spouses shall have equality of rights and responsibilities between them and in their relations with their children both during the course of a marriage and in the event of its dissolution. It does not prevent states taking such measures as are necessary to protect the interests of the children. Of course our legislation makes the welfare of children the courts’ paramount consideration when making decisions. These amendments therefore remove three minor legal provisions which discriminate between spouses. Although technically removing provisions which appear to benefit one spouse over the other, in reality the amendments confer no practical advantage or disadvantage on either spouse. The noble Lord, Lord Lester, set out very clearly the three provisions in question, so I will not reiterate those points. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, asked me about new Clause 129ZC and whether it is absolutely necessary. He cited my erstwhile friend Lord Williams of Mostyn in relation to the amendment. We believe that new Clause 129ZC amends the final rule so that it applies equally to husbands and wives and so that property derived from a housekeeping allowance is owned by the husband and wife in equal shares regardless of who paid or received the allowance. So we do believe that it is necessary. In addition, new Clause 129ZD, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Lester, inserts a new Section 70A into the Civil Partnership Act 2004 to provide, as he said, for the equal division of housekeeping allowances paid by one civil partner to another. This is in line with the Government’s objective that civil partners should have parallel rights to those of married people, and the Government are very pleased to accept this amendment. As the noble Lord says, these amendments represent an important opportunity not only to remedy outmoded inequalities in our domestic law but also to remove this barrier to ratification of the 7th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. The Government have long indicated their commitment to ratification of the protocol, and I am grateful to the noble Lord for tabling these amendments to the Bill, which will allow us to move this process forward. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, asked about scrutiny of the 7th Protocol and what vehicle would be used for legislative changes. The amendments moved today suffice to make our law compatible with the 7th Protocol, so we have the perfect vehicle right before us today. We are considering that very vehicle now. There would need to be the usual consideration under the Ponsonby rule of the ratification of the 7th Protocol, but that cannot now be completed in this Parliament. In particular, it would require an affirmative vote in each House. The noble Lord asked whether presumption of advancement remained after the case of Stack v Dowden. The presumption of advancement still applies after that case, which relates only to ownership of the domestic home and not to other property. I well understand the concern expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe of Idlicote, when she suggests that women still have a very tough time with regard to equality in insurance, pay and so on. I reiterate that the Government are totally committed to equality. We wish to remove the provisions that treat either husbands or wives in a discriminatory way. In practical terms, women will not lose out as a result of this Bill, as I have explained, and it will remove provisions that are unfair to men. We believe that accepting the amendments proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Lester, is a very good way forward, and I urge your Lordships to accept them.