National Women's Commission (Establishment) Bill

A

BILL

TO

Establish a National Women's Commission to oversee the implementation of policy and objectives on sexism and discrimination.

BE IT ENACTED by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows –

Part 1: Commission and Board

1 Establishment of a National Women’s Commission

(1) There shall be a commission known as the National Women’s Commission

(2) There shall be a Governing Board of which members shall comprise of–

(a) A chief commissioner appointed by the Secretary of State;

(b) A member appointed by the Scottish Ministers;

(c) A member appointed by the Welsh Ministers;

(d) A member appointed by the Northern Ireland Executive; and

(e) Three members to be appointed by the Secretary of State who have had experience in law or legislation, trade unionism, management of an industry or organisation committed to increasing the employment potential of women, women's voluntary organisations (including women activists), administration, economic development, health, education or social welfare.

(f) Two members to be appointed by the Secretary of State who identify as LGBTQ , and has experience in matters pertaining to LGBTQ rights within and alongside women’s rights, within the law or public life in general.

(i) at least one member appointed under this paragraph shall identify with a gender identity or gender expression not entirely aligned with that previously assigned to them.

(3) Before a member is appointed under subsection (2), the Secretary of State must be consulted by—

(a) The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of paragraph (b);

(b) The Welsh Ministers, in exercise of paragraph (c); or

(c) The Northern Ireland Executive, in exercise of paragraph (d).

(4) An appointment made by the Secretary of State under subsection (2)(a) or (2)(e) may be terminated by the Secretary of State.

(5) An appointment made by the Scottish Ministers, Welsh Ministers, or Northern Ireland Executive may be terminated by the Scottish Ministers, Welsh Ministers, or Northern Ireland Executive, as the case may be.

(6) At least 75% of the Commission must be women.

(7) At least one member of the committee should be a member of the LGBTQ Community.

2 Duties of the Governing Board

(1) The Governing Board is to present to the Secretary of State an annual report outlining–

(a) the use of finances provided to the Commission;

(b) recommendations on the implementation of the objectives of the Commission;

(c) progress made on meeting goals if set by the Secretary of State under Part 2, Section 1(1)(e);

(d) any other information the Governing Board sees fit to include.

Part 2: Operations of the Commission

1 Objectives of the National Women’s Commission

(1) The objectives of the National Women’s Commission are–

(a) to investigate and examine all matters relating to the protections provided for women under the law;

(b) to investigate complaints and take notice of matters relating to–

(i) the deprivation of the rights of women;

(ii) the non-implementation of laws enacted to provide protection to women;

(iii) non-compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or instructions aimed at mitigating hardships and ensuring welfare and providing relief to women.

(c) to promote the equality of women and prevent discrimination in all aspects of life;

2 Changes to the Objectives of the National Women’s Commission

(1) The Secretary of State may by order–

(c) change the objectives of the National Women’s Commission;

(d) implement tangible goals to be achieved by the National Women’s Commission.

(2) The Secretary of State will in their proposal add the draft order and the views expressed, or a summary, accompanied by their position on those views.

Part 3: Miscellaneous

1 Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this bill, “woman” and “women” are defined the same as in the Equality Act 2010

2 Short title, commencement, extent

(1) This Act may be cited as the National Women’s Commission (Establishment) Act 2023.

(2) This Act comes into force six months after it receives Royal Assent.

(3) This Act extends to the United Kingdom.

(a) This Act extends to Scotland if the Scottish Parliament passes a motion of legislative consent;

(b) This Act extends to Wales if the Welsh Parliament passes a motion of legislative consent;

(c) This Act extends to Northern Ireland if the Northern Irish Assembly passes a motion of legislative consent.

This Bill was written by the Rt. Hon. Lord of Melbourne, Leader of the House of Lords, on behalf of the 32nd Government.

Deputy Speaker,

When we formed this Government, we outlined our commitments to the British people in our King's Speech. One of those promises made was the implementation of a National Women’s Commission, and we intend to make good on this promise.

This Commission would seek to ensure that we are able to meet our goals to ending gender inequality within this country, and have expert advice on how to do so. It also would have the power to investigate complaints regarding the non-implementation of laws within any setting whether that be public or private. It shall offer advocacy to women and promote them in all aspects of society.

The Governing Board of the Commission will contain not only political appointees, but experts in law, trade unionism, activism, education, women’s health, and business. These will be strong women who can ensure that the Government continues to be held to account on the issues that affect them, and allow us to continue to mitigate centuries of patriarchal systematic discrimination that women have faced. In further promoting the views, activism and perspectives of women, we shall finally be able to have a more equal society.

I would hope that in this House we are able to recognise that this is a step forward towards promoting the rights of women, and a promise we took the British people; I would strive to see that my colleagues are able to steadfastly support this Bill, and what it seeks to achieve.

This division will end on Friday 24th March at 10pm GMT.