LB278 - Equality (Amendment) (Sunrise Clause) Bill - Final Division

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bring the remaining provisions of the Equality Act 2010 into force and for connected purposes.

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:—

1. Amendment of the Equality Act 2010

(1) Section 216 of the Equality Act 2010 is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (2), at the beginning insert "Subject to subsection (8)".

(3) In subsection (3), for "subsections (4) and (6)" substitute "subsections (4), (6), and (8)".

(4) At the end insert—

(8) Any provisions not yet in force on 1 July 2024 come into force on that date, except a provision in Scotland where subsection (4) applies.

2. Requirements to make regulations

The Secretary of State must make regulations under sections 78, 106, 160, 162, 163, 164 of the Equality Act 2010 by no later than 31 December 2024.

3. Commencement, extent and short title

(1) This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.

(2) This Act extends to England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland

(3) This Act may be cited as the Equality (Amendment) (Sunrise Clause) Act 2024.

Referenced legislation

• Equality Act 2010. Note there are some subsequent amendments by the Scotland Act 2016 and Wales Act 2017 that will be canon. The link for section 216 in the body uses the 1 April 2018 as the reference date because the only amendments to that section are by these two acts. This link uses the divergence date in 2014.

Relevant legislation

• Equality (Amendment) Act 2017. This provides a sunrise clause for Part 1.
• Equality Act (Amendment) Act 2023. This extends the Equality Act 2010 to Northern Ireland.

This Bill was written by the Right Honourable Duke of the Fenlands OM GCMG KCT CB MVO, on behalf of the Labour and Co-operative Party.

Opening Speech

My Lords,

During the campaign, the Labour and Co-operative Party committed to bringing several parts of the Equality Act 2010 into force. We already did this for Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010 for socio-economic inequalities with the Equality (Amendment) Act 2017 in England and Wales. Now it is the time to do it for the rest of the Act.

Section 14 provides that direct discrimination can be on the basis of a combination of characteristics. This position has been developed through case law in any case, but section 14 will provide a clearer statement of the law and ensure it applies in all the cases it should do.

Section 36 and section 38 are partly in force already. They require reasonable adjustments to be made in certain residential premises. But it does not yet apply to common parts, such as shared kitchens or bathrooms. Bringing these sections into force will ensure that disabled people have full access to housing where it is not disproportionate to achieve this.

Section 78 allows the government to require employers to publish gender pay gap information.

Section 106 requires that election candidate diversity information is published by registered political parties.

Sections 160, 162, 163, and 164 allow the government to create regulations about taxi accessibility. Although the Accessible Taxis Act 2022 created some additional requirements on taxi drivers and operators, sections 160 and 162 cover more technical requirements such as the floor size, headroom, and so on.

Sections 165 and 167 enable wheelchair users to use taxis through duties on taxi drivers to carry wheelchair users for no extra fee unless an exemption fee applies. It also allows for licensing authorities to maintain a list of accessible taxis.

Sections 191 and 196 provide limited exceptions to the Equality Act 2010, primarily where a person is required to contravene the Act because of legislation. This extends the exception to age.

Part 15 removes outdated, sexist concepts such as the "requirement" for a husband in particular to support his wife and — by implication — a wife being unable to support herself. Marriage is intended to be an equal partnership, and we now have more modern provisions on our statute books under the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978, and the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Spouses will not be left in the lurch by the abolition of the common law rule because modern laws now exist.

Part 15 also abolishes the presumption of advancement. The normal rule for transfers of property is to assume that it is held on trust for the transferor unless it can be shown that it was a gift. The presumption of advancement means that a man transferring property to a spouse, fiancée or child will be assumed to be making a gift instead. The presumption does not apply to anyone else. By abolishing the presumption, the normal rule will apply to everyone.

Also in Part 15 is the equalisation of the rule on housekeeping allowances. The current legislation provides that money and property derived from housekeeping allowances given by a husband to his wife is shared equally. But it does not provide for the reverse. Section 200 will ensure that the concept applies to all housekeeping allowances regardless of the source. And section 201 applies the general concept to civil partnerships as well.

Section 211, schedule 26 and schedule 27 make necessary amendments, repeals and revocations. Some of these are already in force, but the remaining ones will be brought into force as well to reflect the provisions I just mentioned coming into force.

Section 2 of this Bill creates a duty on the Government to effect the provisions on gender pay gaps, political party diversity information, and accessible taxis by the end of the year. This is to ensure that provisions are no longer sat on our statute books unused.

My Lords, the remaining parts of the Equality Act 2010 will help to advance equality in this country. They may be wide ranging, from the equalisation of marriage to statistical information, but they all work towards the goal of making sure that protected characteristics are not used to subject someone to a detriment. Parliament has debated the provisions before, but unfortunately successive governments have not had time, or in some cases the will, to enact these modernising provisions. Now is the time Parliament provided a backstop and ensures they are put in place.

I commend this Bill to the House.

Lords may vote either Content, Not Content or Present to the Bill.

This Division ends on the 25th of March at 10PM GMT.