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Equality Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, for raising these important issues. The answer is yes, of course the commission should operate responsibly and in the public interest; yes, of course it should act with the appropriate degree of independence. Again, though, echoing what the noble Lord, Lord Lester, has said, the framework we have established—and strengthened with a package of amendments today—will ensure this. As a non-departmental public body, the commission will be required to operate within a well-established accountability framework. Guidance issued by the Cabinet Office is clear on this point. While NDPBs operate independently of Government, Ministers remain accountable to Parliament for public money spent by that body. The chief executive of the commission, as is the practice with NDPBs, is the accounting officer, and he or she will be required to prepare a statement of account each year, and provide this to the Comptroller and Auditor-General. In this way the commission will be under the scrutiny of the National Audit Office and the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee. In addition, it will be required to draw up and publish a strategic plan setting out its proposed activities clearly. This will be subject to consultation, and will be informed by the views of stakeholders. From the amendments agreed to earlier today on the matters relating to the independence of the commission, we will now require the commission to provide a copy of its plan to the Secretary of State in order to lay before Parliament. We have listened carefully to the committee debates in this place about the new commission’s independence, and I believe we have responded positively to these concerns. We have taken measures to strengthen many aspects of the commission, such as its appointments and funding—for example, we have dealt with the direction-making powers of the Secretary of State—so that we improve the commitment to independence. I am sure that the noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, is suitably flattered—deservedly so—by the plagiarism done by the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Hendon. As he knows, the amendment draws on the provisions of his Private Member’s Bill of 2003. I hope, therefore, that the noble Baroness will be completely satisfied, now that the noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, is satisfied with the provisions that have been made. I sympathise completely with the intention behind the noble Baroness’s amendment. I hope that I have made it clear that it is not in any way to frustrate her purpose but because we have already delivered her purpose that we resist the amendments. I hope that, in the light of what I have said, the noble Baroness will feel reassured and will withdraw her amendment with a spring in her step.