Equality Bill [HL]

My Lords, my ambition in life is to satisfy parliamentary counsel in the drafting of an amendment. I have not yet succeeded. However, I am most grateful to the Minister for her reply and for the support for the amendment from around the House. How strongly the House feels about this issue is clear from the views expressed. I am grateful for the Minister’s reassurances. I am sure that the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, and I will be happy to take up her suggestion of meeting her colleague, Meg Munn. I accept what she said about the deficiencies of the amendment. The statements that she made are some of the strongest that we might have expected from a Minister on a subject such as this. We will certainly look for a review at some stage of how the commission is working for children, and the Minister has just promised us one. She will accept that it is our experience that if children have not been specifically mentioned, resources and attention have not always followed. Therefore, her invitation to review how well the commission is working on children will certainly be taken up by the children’s mafia in your Lordships’ House. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendment No. 2 not moved.] Clause 14 [Codes of practice]: