My Lords, it is a great pleasure to be in the Grand Committee today to support my noble friends and to speak to the three amendments in this group.
Amendment 33H would exclude the EHRC and relevant regulators in departments. In the discussions on the Deregulation Bill, we expressed concern about the regulatory provisions in this Bill. Clause 18 sets out the process for specifying regulatory functions and bringing them within the reviewer’s remit. It provides that the Secretary of State may, by making regulations,
specify regulatory functions to which the duty set out in Clause 17, “Review of regulators’ complaints and appeals procedures”, applies. Amendment 33J would limit it to regulators that the Deregulation Act requires to have regard to growth. In Clause 21, the Secretary of State has a duty to publish the business impact target. Amendment 33M would ensure that, at the same time, the Secretary of State must publish a list of regulatory bodies that the Deregulation Act requires to have regard to growth.
We are asking the Government to assure us that there has been a legislative read-across. The Minister will be aware that the status of the Equality and Human Rights Commission was discussed in the course of the Deregulation Bill, and we expect to return to that on Report. As noble Lords will know, the EHRC enjoys an “A” status as a national human rights institution. I am dealing with these amendments because I am the shadow equalities spokesperson—I dealt with this issue all the way through the consideration of the Deregulation Bill and hope to continue to do so. We need to be clear that it is not appropriate to apply these regulations to the EHRC. We need to be assured that the Government recognise this and have taken steps to ensure that it does not happen. We sought to put it in the Deregulation Bill. I am sure that the Minister will be completely up to speed with this and that she and her colleagues will have discussed how best to deal with it as regards this Bill.
This is important because “A” status is awarded by the United Nations International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, which reviews the EHRC’s compliance with the United Nations’ Paris principles, which require the EHRC to be an independent body. We think that the Government have decided to exclude the commission from the list of non-economic regulators subject to the growth duty provisions in the Deregulation Bill, but, as I say, I seek further clarity on that. That is important because we have to avoid the reality, or the perception, of interfering with the commission’s ability to perform its regulatory functions independently. If that was jeopardised, it would, in turn, jeopardise its “A” status. As it is our human rights body, having an “A” status is of great importance to the UK’s international standing and reputation. It enables the UK to influence the protection of fundamental rights globally and it gives us a voice at the Human Rights Council. Any downgrading of the commission’s status would have a significant negative impact on the UK’s global influence.
Have the Government decided to exclude the EHRC from the list of regulators covered by Clauses 17 to 19? That question is at the heart of these amendments and that is the clarification we seek. I beg to move.
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