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Equality Bill

I associate my remarks with those of the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) on caste. Caste-based discrimination is wrong, and if we recognise it as such we should legislate; we should not wait for the evidence. The Government say that they wish to wait for the evidence and have commissioned, or are about to, some research into the extent of caste-based discrimination in the United Kingdom. That discrimination should form a 10th strand under the Bill. I should like the Solicitor-General to assure me if she can that, if the research demonstrates a problem of caste-based discrimination in the United Kingdom, the Government will introduce legislation at an early date to deal with that discrimination, which I and many of my colleagues are convinced exists.