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Equality Bill [HL]

Perhaps I may add one point of a general nature. I did my best to follow the noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, but I am afraid I got lost after about two minutes. That is due to my own incapacity, not the noble Lord’s. I was very excited that his amendment sought to leave out Clause 47(1)(a) which refers to ““violating B’s dignity””. That brings us back to the very beginning; the commissioner will have a fundamental duty to create a society in which,"““there is respect for the dignity and worth of each individual””." I remember saying earlier that I could not see how any court of law could say what a person’s dignity is. We all know what is meant by ““dignity””, but saying that someone has offended against your dignity will be enormously difficult to prove. I was excited when the noble Lord, Lord Lester, put down his amendment because I thought that the provision would be removed, but the effect will remain. Will the noble Baroness think very carefully about how a court will decide about a person’s dignity? It is a nebulous thing—we all know what is meant by it but it is quite another matter for a person to go to a court and a judge to say, ““Your dignity has been affronted””. I hope that the noble Baroness will think about that carefully.