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”.
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.
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?
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.
My Lords, women make up only 30% of this Chamber. If the Government are serious about having women represented at all levels of decision-making, what actions will they take to enable more women to sit in this Chamber?
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.
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?
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.
My Lords, I completely agree that measuring the number of people who are applying to participate in politics is a vital mechanism to enable us to manage that process. Does the Minister have any thoughts on the emerging trends—including increased hostility online, for example —that might prevent women being involved in different levels of politics across all different parties, on what some of the barriers to participation for women and other minorities are, and on what impact that might have on democracy in general?
The noble Baroness makes a really important point. Sadly, many people out there seek to stop the widest possible engagement in our political process. We have seen that through harassment and intimidation of voters, electoral staff and campaigners, and particularly women Members of Parliament, and what we have seen has been shocking. That intimidation, which is not just restricted to women, has a huge impact on the willingness of people to seek public office. That is why we are taking specific action, making plans to extend the disqualification order to protect electoral staff, empowering courts to hand out tougher sentences to people who abuse those who uphold our democratic traditions, and removing the requirements for candidates’ home addresses to be published. It is a sad indictment of where we are, but those are important protections for our political process.
My Lords, given the failure of the Labour Party to find any female leader as yet—a full party leader; my apologies to the noble Baroness, Lady Smith—will the requirements of this section apply when the Labour Party next seeks a new leader?
I think the noble Lord knows full well that we should not judge our ability for representation on one person. He referred to my noble friend the Leader of this House, and I am a protected characteristic as a gay Deputy Leader of this House. It is important to see Section 106 not in terms of the headlines but in terms of the whole of our political activity and the people involved in it. Councillors at a local level are just as important as Members of this House.
My Lords, what specific measures will the Government take to address disparity in the representation of underrepresented groups in roles across public sector organisations, and how will the progress be monitored and reported?
I do not want to see that in Hansard, by the way. We want to ensure that candidates reflect the communities they seek to represent —that is the purpose—and transparency is a key tool to ensure that. When we consult, we will look at all the measures contained in the Equality Act and Section 106. We have not yet decided what characteristics would be included, but the noble Lord makes an incredibly important point about the need to take action.
My Lords, the Conservative Party is proud to have had four women leaders, and I am proud to be part of a House that has had so many successful women in it. I think about the late PD James, the late Baroness Audrey Emerton, my dear friend Baroness Helen Newlove and of course the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, the Leader of the House now. We believe that when people with a range of experiences come together, better decisions are made. Can the Minister say what practical steps the Government are taking to encourage more women, and young women in particular, to take an active role in politics?