Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 35.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Lords amendments 36 to 38 and Gov...

May I say what a great pleasure it is to see you back in the Chair after your time away, Madam De...

Will the hon. Lady explain why there is a contradiction between the EHRC’s core objectives and th...

The EHRC’s objectives are clearly outlined in sections 8 and 9 of the Equality Act 2006. As I hav...

I am disappointed that the Government are resisting Lords amendment 35. Is the Minister aware of ...

I understand the hon. Lady’s disappointment and the arguments put forward in the other place. She...

To follow what the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) has said, I remind the Hous...

I take on board my hon. Friend’s point. We discussed on Report the EHRC council’s evidence to the...

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I will give way to the hon. Lady, but then I want to make progress—I am conscious of what hon. Me...

I raised similar points on Second Reading. What does the hon. Lady think the impact will be on th...

The hon. Lady raises an important point and gives me the opportunity to put firmly on the record ...

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I am sorry, but I did say that I wanted to move on after taking that last intervention.

We ...

Money for education and understanding is welcome and important. I am glad that the Government rec...

I appreciate the point that the hon. Gentleman makes. It is a complex issue, as the previous Gove...

My hon. Friend’s predecessor as Equalities Minister was clear that the evidence was compelling an...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. We have spoken before about this issue, because it a...

I have a lot of time and respect for the work that my hon. Friend is doing on this, but there is ...

My right hon. Friend makes an important point about organisations that represent different parts ...

I moved the compromise amendment that was accepted by the whole House. It provided that the Gover...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and the work he has done on this issue over many ...

I have raised this issue with my hon. Friend. The amendments, on a general duty of equality and o...

It is not for the Government to instruct Joint Committees to undertake particular investigations....

The UK is a signatory to the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination,...

My hon. Friend raises an important point on whether this is a form of race discrimination. I thin...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I want to make a little progress, because I am conscious of time.

Amendments 38 and 39 focu...

I look forward, if I can, to contributing to this debate later. In the consultation, will the Gov...

I know that the hon. Gentleman has tabled amendments and is keen to press the Government on these...

I thank the Minister for the letter she sent to me, as Chair of the Communities and Local Governm...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind offer. No doubt, his Committee’s work on this matter will...

The Lords amendment tabled by Baroness Hayter simply extended the estate agents system of regulat...

The right hon. Gentleman raises a good point, but there is also a good answer. The Government are...

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If the right hon. Gentleman is unsatisfied when I have finished answering his intervention, he ma...

I am somewhat disturbed by that response and the suggestion that the homes that people buy are so...

I understand what the right hon. Gentleman says; we may have to agree to disagree on this matter....

It is good to see you back in your place, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Before I turn to the four i...

How does the shadow Secretary of State account for the evidence given by John Wadham, the chair o...

With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman, our party has made it very clear what we believe...

I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman and I think all of us are united in believing that any...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says, but we sought to deal with the issue through the Equality Ac...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will move on, because we are short of time and I want to ensure that others can come into the d...

Does my hon. Friend agree that as a result of the failure of cases that would otherwise have succ...

I do agree. I think that describing it as the nationalisation of rehabilitation is entirely appro...

I apologise for arriving late. I was at a meeting of the Backbench Business Committee.

My h...

I entirely agree. This is one of the aspects of the debate on health and safety that I find parti...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that slight qualification, but he may be in danger of oversta...

There must be some telepathy going on here, because I was about to go on to say that it is import...

The issue of caste was very well covered yesterday on the BBC’s “Newsnight” programme, and I hope...

I want to make a few remarks about the abolition of the general duty.

It is sad that we are...

Does the right hon. Lady agree that the key thing about the general duty is section 12 and the re...

Yes and, as I understand it, the monitoring period has been extended from three years to five yea...

I will restrict my comments to the discussion of caste discrimination. As I said in my interventi...

I am listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman, but I want to ask him two questions. Does he acce...

I have referred to the NIESR report, and clearly there is evidence that such discrimination is go...

Does my hon. Friend not also accept that, because the chances of a successful prosecution are sma...

That might indeed be the case. I have been a Member of Parliament for only three years—many Membe...

Will the hon. Gentleman explain to me the relevance of the number of constituents who have come f...

I understand the sentiment the hon. Lady expresses, but is she suggesting that the Government sho...

Is my hon. Friend not concerned that most ordinary, sensible people probably believe that caste d...

Of course it is unacceptable. As I said earlier, any form of discrimination is unacceptable, but ...

If a carer was to refuse to care for an individual because they were of a lower caste, how does t...

I took part in a debate on Radio 5 live this morning, and that was one of the examples that came ...

Does my hon. Friend accept that were the Government motion to pass, this issue would not return t...

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. As the Minister said, this is a complex issue and ther...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that before the Race Relations Act 1976 many fewer race relations c...

I am pleased that we have come a long way from that time. We live in a modern society, and that i...

I should like to speak to amendment 38. As my hon. Friend the shadow Minister said, this proposal...

I will speak in support of Lords amendment 37, which would provide people with legal protection a...

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I shall give way for clarification.

I am conscious that I shall not get the chance to intervene again. The Labour party’s position is...

If I can hear that as a clarification—I do not wish to misstate what I heard—the position of the ...

There are two points. First, if our position was the same as that of the Government we would reje...

If I may say so, the hon. Gentleman could try a lot harder to be much clearer than that. I am not...

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I am happy to give way to the right hon. Gentleman. Perhaps he understands the situation better.<...

I think I am right in saying that the Opposition’s position is not consistent. If the House uphol...

I am now even more confused. I will have to read carefully the comments that have been made.

I am in favour of the Lords amendments on the general duty in the Equality Act 2006. I am extreme...

I rise to speak in favour of the Lords amendment on caste discrimination. The Minister said that ...

On a point of clarification, the hon. Gentleman says that he has had 1,000 letters from his const...

Those people have asked me to take up this issue on their behalf, as their Member of Parliament, ...

I will be very brief, because other colleagues want to speak. I want to address the issue of cast...

I want to comment briefly—it is important that we hear from other Members in the time available—o...

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Order. I wish to inform the House that the knife will fall at 5.15 pm. I will call Mr Sharma next...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to speak in this debate on the amendment to include...

I say to the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend the Mem...

I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) for what ...

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance. An earlier point of order was made ...

Further to that point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I do not intend to delay the House, but I symp...

Further to that point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. This group of amendments also includes the fir...

I thank the hon. Members for the point of order, but if you do not know of a precedent, Mr Rees-M...