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Equality Bill

I am sure that the noble Lady is not suggesting that we should not consult those organisations. They will be consulted along with a wider group of organisations, as, indeed, we have been doing. Whom have we consulted to date on caste discrimination? We have had meetings with many noble Lords about this issue; we have consulted the Hindu Forum of Britain, the Hindu Council UK, the Voice of Dalit International, Indian Christian Concern, the Catholic Association for Racial Justice, CasteWatchUK, the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations, the British Asian Christian Council, the Dalit Solidarity Network, the Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance and Shri Guru Valmik Sabha. Among these bodies there is not a consensus at the moment. However, that is not a reason for not taking this as an extremely important issue, which the Government intend to do. We are aware that one of the recommendations contained in the ACDA report was that the Equality and Human Rights Commission should commission an in-depth study into the caste system and caste discrimination in the UK. We consider that to be a sensible suggestion on how to take this matter forward. An intensive and independent study into this matter will help both to determine the extent of the issue and to identify the best way in which to tackle it. We are keen to gain a better insight into caste systems as well as to explore the ACDA findings in further, more in-depth work. That is why the Government Equalities Office is taking this recommendation forward in consultation with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the EHRC. Indeed, the GEO is working up the commission for the research; once the contract has been let, we expect the research to take two to three months to complete. We are determined to push ahead with this research as quickly as we can. However, it is important to place on the record that while caste discrimination is currently not protected in its own right under discrimination legislation—