Equality Bill [HL]

I say to the noble Lord, Lord de Mauley, that we agree that it is important for people to take their responsibilities seriously. That has framed a number of things that my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has said over the years. It certainly frames the respect agenda being pursued in the Home Office to ensure that people respect their communities. As the noble Lord, Lord Lester, said, there is the concept of balancing human rights. They are not absolute but must be balanced against the rights of others and the wider interests of society. There is little to divide us. The noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, understandably raises the question of the responsibility of parenting. It is an issue that the noble Lord and I have discussed many times. We are all in agreement, but the question is what the amendment would do. The difficulty is that it positions responsibilities as a means of earning human rights, and we cannot accept that as a way forward. In a sense, human rights represent the irreducible minimum of proper treatment that we accord to every member of our society and to every visitor to our shores. They are not earned, nor may they be unreasonably withheld. I disagree with the terms of the amendment, in the sense that it could not be put into the same balancing scales, but I agree with the sentiment behind it. On that basis and in the hope that the commission will develop its programmes in a way to reflect what is suggested in the amendment, I hope that the noble Lord will withdraw his amendment.