![]() House of Commons |
Session 2008 - 09 Publications on the internet General Committee Debates Equality Bill |
Equality Bill |
The Committee consisted of the following Members:Alan Sandall, Eliot Wilson,
Committee Clerks attended
the
Committee WitnessesSarah
Spencer CBE, Chair, Equality and Diversity
Forum John
Wadham, Group Director, Legal, Equality and Human Rights
Commission Kevin
Sadler, Chief Executive, Employment Tribunals
Service Andrew
Harrop, Head of Policy, Help the Aged/Age
Concern Mike
Lindsay, National Co-ordinator, Childrens Rights
Alliance Ruth
Scott, Policy Group Member, Disability Charities
Consortium Caroline
Gooding, Specialist Adviser,
RADAR Imelda
Redmond, Chief Executive, Carers UK Public Bill CommitteeTuesday 2 June 2009(Morning)[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair]Equality Bill10.30
am
The
Chairman: Before we begin, I have a few preliminary
announcements to make. The Programming Sub-Committee met earlier this
morning and agreed a revised resolution. Copies of the new resolution
are available in the room. Members may, if they wish, remove their
jackets during Committee sittings. Please ensure that mobile phones and
pagers are turned off or switched to silent mode. I remind the
Committee that there is a money resolution in connection with the Bill,
copies of which are available in the
room. Adequate
notice of amendments must be given. To be eligible for selection at a
Tuesday sitting, amendments must be tabled by the rise of the House on
the previous Thursday. For a Thursday sitting, amendments must be
tabled by the previous Monday, as a general rule. I and my fellow
Chairman do not intend to call starred
amendments. Not
everyone is familiar with the process of taking oral evidence in Public
Bill Committees. It might help if I briefly explain how we will
proceed. The Committee will first be asked to consider the programme
motion on the amendment paper, for which debate is limited to half an
hour. We will then proceed to consider a motion to report written
evidence, and then a motion to permit the Committee to deliberate in
private in advance of the oral evidence sessions, which I hope we can
take
formally. Assuming
that the second motion is agreed to, the Committee will move into
private session. Once the Committee has deliberated, witnesses and
members of the public will be invited back into the room and our oral
evidence session will commence. That will be at about 11
oclock. If the Committee agrees to the programme motion, oral
evidence will be taken today and next Tuesday, and the Committee will
revert to the more familiar proceedings of clause by clause scrutiny
next
Thursday. I
call the Minister to move the programme motion. I remind the Committee
that the text of the motion is printed on a separate
paper.
That (1)
the Committee shall (in addition to its first meeting at
10.30 a.m. on Tuesday 2 June)
meet (a)
at 4.00 p.m. on Tuesday 2
June; (b)
at 10.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. on Tuesday 9
June; (c)
at 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. on Thursday 11
June; (d)
at 10.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. on Tuesday 16
June; (e)
at 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. on Thursday 18
June; (f)
at 10.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. on Tuesday 23
June; (g)
at 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. on Thursday 25
June; (h)
at 10.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. on Tuesday 30
June; (i)
at 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. on Thursday 2
July; (j)
at 10.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. on Tuesday 7
July; (2)
the Committee shall hear oral evidence in accordance with the following
Table
(3)
proceedings on consideration of the Bill in Committee shall be taken in
the following order: Clauses 1 to 6; Schedule 1; Clauses 7 to 29;
Schedules 2 and 3; Clauses 30 to 35; Schedules 4 and 5; Clauses 36 to
49; Schedule 6; Clauses 50 to 75; Schedule 7; Clauses 76 to 78;
Schedules 8 and 9; Clauses 79 to 83; Schedule 10; Clause 84;
Schedule 11; Clauses 85 to 89; Schedule 12; Clauses 90 to
93; Schedule 13; Clause 94; Schedule 14; Clauses 95 to 101; Schedules
15 and 16; Clauses 102 to 110; Schedule 17; Clauses 111 to
143; Schedule 18; Clause 144; Schedule 19; Clauses 145 to
179; Schedule 20; Clauses 180 to 182; Schedule 21; Clauses
183 and 184; Schedule 22; Clauses 185 to 189; Schedule 23;
Clauses 190 and 191; Schedule 24; Clauses 192 and 193;
Schedule 25; Clauses 194 to 198; Schedules 26 and 27;
Clauses 199 to 201; Schedule 28; Clauses 202 to 205; new Clauses; new
Schedules; remaining proceedings on the
Bill; (4)
the proceedings shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought
to a conclusion at 7.00 p.m. on Tuesday 7
July. Thank
you for those helpful guidelines, Mr. Benton, and I look
forward to serving under your chairmanship during the oral evidence
sessions, and under the chairmanship of your co-Chairman, Lady
Winterton. I welcome every member of the Committee to our proceedings.
The Bill is excellent, but it will undoubtedly benefit from the input
of the public, who are to give evidence to us, and from the scrutiny in
which we shall engage. The original programme motion was tabled
following the resolution agreed by the Programming Sub-Committee on
Tuesday 19
May. Question
put and agreed
to. Resolved, That,
subject to the discretion of the Chairman, any written evidence
received by the Committee shall be reported to the House for
publication.
Written evidence
to be reported to the
HouseE01
Disability Charities
Consortium E02
Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development E03
Alliance for Inclusive
Education E04
UNISON E05
Accord E06
Friends, Families and
Travellers E07
Age Concern and Help the
Aged E08 Young
Equals E09
Equality and Diversity
Forum E10
Equal Rights
Trust E12
Discrimination Law
Association E13
British Humanist
Association E14
Catholic Bishops
Conference E15
End Violence Against
Women E16
Support Transgenre
Strasbourg E17
Equality and Human Rights
Commission E18
Equality and Human Rights Commission Disability
Committee E19
Finance and Leasing
Association E20
Anonymous E21
Gender Identity Research and Education
Society E22
TUC E23 Carers
UK E24
Disability Charities Consortium additional
memorandum Resolved, That,
at this and any subsequent meeting at which oral evidence is to be
heard, the Committee shall sit in private until the witnesses are
admitted. 10.37
am The
Committee deliberated in
private. 10.
53
am On
resuming
The
Chairman: We will now hear oral evidence from the Equality
and Diversity Forum, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the
Tribunals Service. Welcome to our three witnesses and thank you very
much for coming. Will you start by introducing yourselves to the
Committee? Sarah
Spencer: I am Sarah Spencer. I am chair of the
Equality and Diversity Forum, a network of national, third-sector
organisations that work across the equality spectrumfrom age,
disability and gender through to race, religion, belief and sexual
orientation
issues. John
Wadham: Hello, I am John Wadham. I run the legal
department at the Equality and Human Rights
Commission. Kevin
Sadler: Good morning, I am Kevin Sadler. I am chief
executive of the Tribunals Service, which is an agency of the Ministry
of Justice and is responsible for providing administrative support to
employment
tribunals.
|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
©Parliamentary copyright 2009 | Prepared 3 June 2009 |