Baroness Burt of Solihull
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Equality Act 2010: Section 106
Baroness Burt of Solihull Excerpts(1 day, 9 hours ago)
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Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)
I agree with the noble Baroness. Until the Life Peerages Act, this House was absolutely full of men, so progress has been made and we should not underestimate that progress. I suspect that after today’s decision, we will make even more progress in due course.
Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
My Lords, the implementation of Section 106 is going to help a great deal, whenever it comes. As well as this, is there some way that there could be a recommendation that all parties report that they have considered prioritising gender equality in their selection criteria?
Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)
The noble Baroness is right. One of the things that is still to be determined is precisely what protected characteristics will be included under Section 106. In the EHRC guidance to political parties was a range of actions that could be taken to ensure diversity, including support for people with disabilities and other actions. We should be very proud that many of the political parties have taken action. We need greater transparency so that we can see what progress has been made.