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Equality Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 8:"Page 54, line 22, at end insert—" ““(   )   a Commissioner appointed under paragraph 1(1) who has experience of working with children,”” The noble Lord said: This comparatively small group includes Amendments Nos. 8 and 99, tabled in my name and that of the noble Baroness, Lady Howe. Both amendments refer to the problem of how children will deal with the commission. Amendment No. 8 states that,"““a Commissioner [shall be] appointed under paragraph 1(1) who has experience of working with children””." The basis for the amendment is simply that a lot of adult-dominated discussion takes place—especially if there is a room full of adults and they are not told to consult about children. It is not a conspiracy theory; it is simply a case of ““What we do is normal and what we are is normal”” and that depends on who is in the room. Amendment No. 99 would make a more substantive change. It would place a duty on the commission to relate to children properly—that is to say, to provide information and so on. Of the two amendments, Amendment No. 99 is probably the big one. The old Jesuit model ““The first seven years and yours for life”” is a sound principle. It is probably a good thing if children know not only their rights but also their obligations to other groups. The imposition of that duty on the commission is very positive if it promotes the idea of respect for different groups and the need to address groups regarded as being outside the norm. I suggest that placing such a duty on the commission would probably be a positive thing. Indeed, it may be something of a pre-emptive strike, if it is correctly done. At this stage, we are probing the Government to find out what, they think, will happen and how far their thinking is addressing the problem. I will be interested to hear the Government’s response. If we get this right, we may well remove a good number of the problems that could occur later on. It is a bit like preventive healthcare: it is difficult to work up enthusiasm for it now, but it always pays off. I beg to move.