My Lords, originally I put my name down in support of the clause not being included. As we have heard, Clause 58 repeals the statutory procedure for obtaining information to support discrimination proceedings under the Equality Act. The TUC opposes this clause. This procedure has been a vital part of ensuring access to justice for victims of discrimination since our first sex discrimination and race relations Acts were passed more than 35 years ago. Legislators back then understood just how difficult it would be for an individual to enforce their rights without access to information about how others were treated in a similar situation or statistics on the impact of policies or practices of different groups. This is information that the employer holds, hence the importance of questionnaires.
In trade unions’ experience, these questionnaires help individuals to access evidence at an early stage, which leads to an early clarification of the issues involved and, if the case proceeds to tribunal, greater efficiency in the tribunal proceedings. The questionnaires have the added benefit that they may prevent claims going to tribunal because they often lead to early settlement of any potential claim or they produce evidence that shows that discrimination was not actually the reason for the individual’s treatment. Therefore, it seems to me that these questionnaires are of value to the employers as well as to the employees. I have no idea why the Government should think it a good idea to exclude them in future.
The Discrimination Law Association, whose members comprise lawyers and people who work on behalf of trade unionists and workers, has said that without the kind of information that individuals can obtain only from written questionnaires, in many cases it would be almost impossible to prove discrimination. It should be noted that 83% of those responding to the consultation that proposed repealing this provision, opposed the repeal, including unions, equality NGOs, the judiciary and members of the public. This seems to be a really strange stance for the Government to take. This provision helps both sides in a dispute and I cannot really understand why the Government should be proceeding against it, when it is against the recommendations of the TUC and the unions who are very active in this area.