Equality Bill [Lords]

I agree. That is an example of something that needs to change. To be fair to the Minister—I do not mind that because she presented her case with some passion and charm—I believe that Ministers have listened to advice, not least from Government discrimination bodies and others, in establishing the commission. The current Bill is much better than the measure that we considered in April and the White Paper that preceded it. I mean no disrespect to the former Deputy Minister for Equality, the right hon. Member for Redditch (Jacqui Smith), who has now joined us and did a lot of work on the matter. Legislation, like wine, is better if it has matured than if it is rushed and consumed prematurely. I am glad that the Government have been wise enough to drop religious harassment because of the criticism that they received on the ground of legal difficulty in another place. It may be sensible to revert to the matter but it needs careful consideration. As some of my colleagues have done, I want to flag up genuine concern about the cost of the commission. When the Institute for Public Policy Research presented its original scoping proposals for a single commission, some of the equality bodies were worried that there might be an increase in cost. They believed that they would have to do the whole job for less. It has normally been the case that, when Ministers put several institutions into a single regulatory body—one of my hon. Friends referred to the Financial Services Authority—they claim that it will save money but it does not. In the case that we are considering, Ministers are coming out openly and saying that the commission will cost another 40 per cent. Goodness knows what the cost will ultimately be. Some of the debate compounded that with Christmas-tree politics, which adds on further nice things to do. That must be resisted; cost must be carefully probed and controlled. Let me revert for the last time to political correctness. I emphasise that the commission has an important role in ensuring that that is resisted. There must be no argument for saying that the commission is playing into that. It should also positively dissuade others from doing that. I know from my work in health and safety that it is often not a commission that plays into political correctness.