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Equality Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 193:"Page 51, line 31, at end insert ““(for which purpose the reference in section 56A(10) to specified proceedings before an employment tribunal shall be treated as a reference to criminal or civil proceedings before any court or tribunal).””" The noble Baroness said: I rise to move Amendment No. 193 and to speak to Amendment No. 200. Amendment No. 193 relates to a code that the Equal Opportunity Commission prepares in respect of the public sector gender duty. Currently, the Sex Discrimination Act only provides powers for the EOC to prepare codes of practice in respect of employment matters. Consequently, that Act also provides that a code is only required to be taken into account by an employment tribunal but not by any other court or tribunal. Clauses 83 and 84 of this Bill provide for a public sector duty on gender. Since we anticipate bringing this duty into force in April 2007, which will be before the new commission will be able to prepare a code of practice, Clause 85 amends the Sex Discrimination Act to enable the Equal Opportunities Commission to prepare such a code. This is because prior to the establishment of the new commission, the EOC will be responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the gender duty. Without this amendment, such a code on the public sector gender duty prepared by the EOC would have to be taken into account only by an Employment Tribunal. However, as noble Lords will be aware, the gender duty covers issues which go beyond employment and a code will need to be taken into account by other courts. The amendment gives effect to that. Amendment No. 200 will enable the EOC on Royal Assent to start work on the code of practice to ensure that it is ready at least six months before the gender duty comes into effect. If we were to follow the usual conventions and commence this clause two months after Royal Assent, that could seriously jeopardise that timetable bearing in mind that Parliament will need to approve it before publication and allow it to be available to public authorities at least six months before implementation to enable them to make the necessary preparations. I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to. Clause 86 [National security]: