Equality Act 2010: Section 106

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Gale]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made regarding the implementation of section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, “Information about diversity in range of candidates, etc”.

[The Deputy Leader of the House of Lords (Lord Collins of Highbury) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government are committed to commencing Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data on the diversity of their candidate selections in accordance with regulations. Officials are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision. Careful consideration needs to be given to how it might be implemented, the supporting regulations and whether any phasing might be needed in implementation. Officials will consult with stakeholders in due course.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend the Minister for his reply. It is encouraging to know that some action is now being taken, but does he agree with me that the reason why the House of Commons now has the largest number of women MPs is that political parties took positive action to ensure that they fielded women candidates? The same could be done now when looking for diversity, which is what we need, through Section 106. Will my noble friend guarantee that it will be implemented in time for the next general election, so that we see a much better diversity after that election than we have at present?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I think my noble friend knows full well my position. When I was general secretary of the Labour Party, I was strongly behind having all-women shortlists, which has meant that 40% of Labour MPs are women. Implementing the policy would clearly demonstrate progress towards better representation among candidates of the population they seek to represent. As I said in my initial Answer, this is not simply a question of switching on the provision: careful consideration needs to be given to the requirements of the necessary supporting regulations and whether any phasing might be needed in implementation. Officials will of course consult with stakeholders, including political parties, in due course.