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Equality Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 125:"Page 30, line 37, leave out paragraph (b) and insert—" ““(b)   acts of worship or other religious observance organised by or on behalf of an educational establishment (whether or not forming part of the curriculum).”” The noble Baroness said: I rise to move amendments which respond to a question raised in Committee, and seek to clarify what type of worship is being exempted in schools. The intention of the exemption is to protect the normal collective worship arrangements organised by or on behalf of a school from claims of discrimination or harassment by those who oppose it, for whatever reason. The current wording, which provides for the exemption of ““religious worship”” led to the suggestion in Committee that individual worship could also be exempt from the provisions, so a child engaging in private prayer in a quiet area of the classroom who was teased for that would have no claim of harassment if the school did nothing to prevent the teasing. I am sure that noble Lords would agree that a school should not be exempted from the discrimination or harassment provisions of the Bill if it permits the teasing of a pupil who is carrying out individual worship. Having looked again at the wording as we promised in Committee to do, that is indeed an unintended effect of the current wording, which we now seek to rectify by this clarificatory amendment. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Lester, for raising the matter in Committee and to the draftsman for finding the form of words to achieve the necessary clarification. The amendment moved to Clause 54 is consequential upon that to Clause 52. I beg to move.