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Equality Bill [HL]

I am aware of the concerns expressed by the Equal Opportunities Commission relating to the new provisions that Clause 82 introduces, especially, as my noble friend said, about the impact of the proposed exemptions to this prohibition. At this stage, I cannot claim that we have the perfect solution. We acknowledge that the issue of definitions and exemptions throughout the Sex Discrimination Act needs to be looked at more deeply. We believe that the Discrimination Law Review provides the perfect opportunity to do that because it will allow a thorough review of these issues with the aim of finding effective and practical solutions for incorporation in the Equality Act that we are committed to introducing in the life of this Parliament. We have thought very carefully about the Equal Opportunity Commission’s points. We do not think that it is right to amend the Bill at this stage, but there is a genuine commitment to continue the dialogue and look at these issues in the context of the Discrimination Law Review, which is the right place to do so. On Question, amendment agreed to.