---

Equality Bill [HL]

It is my fault. The Law Lords made it clear, as the Minister has now explained, that the threshold requirement to embark on an investigation is lower than the requirement when one concludes that there has been unlawful conduct. The threshold is that one needs a belief that is reasonable. At the later stage, one needs a belief that has been demonstrated on the basis of the evidence to be correct on the balance of probabilities. That makes sense, because you cannot expect the commission before it embarks on an investigation into whether something wrong has occurred to be able to prove on the balance of probabilities that it has occurred; just as the police cannot be expected to do so when carrying out a criminal investigation. I hope that I have clarified what I was attempting to say.