Equality Bill [Lords]

I can assure the House that there are already discussions taking place with both the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive on those issues. On regional arrangements, I hope that I have already dealt with that under the issue of cost. It was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North and by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Redcar. We have listened intently to all the representations from across the country as to where the commission’s headquarters should be sited. We have noted them all and the location study will report in due course. My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Redcar made an important point when she asked why we had not gone down a fourth way and provided a legislative solution to the problem of the meaning of ““public authority”” in the Human Rights Act 1998. We must be sure that any legislative alteration to the meaning of public authority in the Act will not have an adverse impact on other discrimination legislation, such as that on the public duty to promote equality. It is for that reason that we have asked the discrimination law review team specifically to consider that issue. We expect to issue a consultation paper calling for arguments and evidence on that subject early next year. I will deal quickly with some of the more specific issues that were raised. I give my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash the assurances that she was seeking in terms of the disability strand. I also pick up on some, not all, of the contribution of the hon. Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne). There is a cut-off date of 18 May to allow boy scouts and girl guides to continue to make the promise. We did not want to create a loophole where future groups could get around discrimination laws by requiring potential members to make a statement such as, ““I believe in all faiths but Islam”” or ““I believe in all faiths except Christianity.”” It is to deal with a potential loophole. I hope now to give the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham) some pre-Christmas cheer and to send him away with a smile and spring in his step, which I reckon is a pretty formidable task. The Home Office is not withdrawing funding from the carol service that he mentioned. In fact, it has agreed to pay up to £2,000 towards the cost of the memorial service for four consecutive years. This is an important Bill that has gained widespread support in this House. It is a good Bill and I hope that the House will endorse it.