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Equality Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 107:"Page 8, line 13, leave out subsection (4)." The noble Lord said: I can be brief on this group of amendments. Amendments Nos. 107 and 216 raise the same point that was debated a few minutes ago in the group starting with Amendment No. 101; that is, that the commission should be free to establish its own work programme and should not be required to produce a code of conduct if it does not think it appropriate to do so in the circumstances. I shall not repeat my previous arguments about operational independence. I have looked again at Amendments Nos. 108 to 111 and would not wish to press them in any event. It seems to me that once a code of conduct is produced it becomes a form of legislation, and it would be appropriate for the Secretary of State to have to approve it and lay it before Parliament. So the only amendments here with which we remain concerned are Nos. 107 and 216. I beg to move.