Equality Act 2006
The Equality Act 2006 set up the Equality and Human Rights Commission to work for the elimination of prejudice on any of the following grounds:
- age
- disability
- sex
- gender reassignment
- race
- religion or belief
- sexual orientation
As originally drafted, the Equality Act 2006's anti-discrimination provisions covered only religion or belief. Protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of goods, facilities and services was instead delivered through secondary legislation, the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, made under a regulation-making power included in the 2006 Act following debate in the House of Lords. According to the Government minister introducing the regulations, this route — rather than including the provisions directly in the primary Act — was chosen specifically to allow extended public consultation given the sensitivity of the issues involved[1]. Lord Alli, an openly gay peer, was a prominent advocate for the protections throughout the Bill's passage in 2005 and during the 2007 regulations debate itself, in which he argued strongly against an amendment (ultimately defeated) to reject the regulations on religious-liberty grounds[2].
The 2007 regulations were strongly contested in the House of Lords, with several peers, including senior Church of England bishops, opposing them on grounds of religious conscience; the regulations were nonetheless approved.
The provisions of the Act have since been superseded by the Equality Act 2010.
External links
- Equality Act 2006, full text – legislation.gov.uk
- Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, full text – legislation.gov.uk