Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Equality Act 2010: Protected Characteristics

Wednesday 26 April 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Equality Act 2010 covers protected characteristics including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.
  • The Government is committed to maintaining safeguards for single-sex spaces to uphold the principle of reserving spaces for women and girls.
  • There are no current intentions to address Equality Act protections in relation to adding sex or gender as protected characteristics, despite calls for changes.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Angela Richardson
Women & Equalities
Context

The Equality Act 2010 outlines protections against discrimination based on several characteristics, but there are ongoing discussions about its adequacy.

Question

What assessment has the Minister made of the adequacy of the definitions of protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010?

Answer from Stuart Andrew

The Equality Act 2010 covers a number of protected characteristics, including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Women and Equalities has written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to understand whether the Act is sufficiently clear in the balance that it strikes between the interests of people with those different characteristics.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide a direct assessment or specific findings regarding the adequacy of the definitions.

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Q2 Angela Richardson
Safeguarding & DBS Women & Equalities
Context

There is concern about maintaining the legal protection for single-sex spaces under current laws and guidance.

Question

What assessment has the Minister made of the importance of protecting single-sex spaces?

Answer from Stuart Andrew

We are committed to maintaining the safeguard that allows organisations to provide single-sex spaces. It is important to uphold the principle of being able to operate spaces reserved for women and girls. The Government are committed to tackling harassment and abusive behaviour by all individuals and to ensuring that single-sex spaces are safe.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer acknowledged importance but did not provide a detailed assessment or specific measures.

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Q3 Christine Jardine Lib Dem Edinburgh West
Women & Equalities
Context

There is a recommendation from the Law Commission to not add sex or gender as protected characteristics in hate crime laws, raising concerns about violence towards women and girls.

Question

The Government stated this week that they agree with the Law Commission's recommendation against adding sex or gender as protected characteristics. Can the Minister explain the implications for making misogyny a hate crime? Can he assure us there are no intentions to address Equality Act protections?

Answer from Stuart Andrew

Over the past few years, there have been at least 15 calls for various extra characteristics to be added. There has not been sufficient evidence for doing so, but we will always keep the characteristics under review. Let me make it very clear that this Government will absolutely do everything we can to tackle any issues around violence towards women and girls. We have been and will continue to be strong in our actions against those who seek to create harm.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide a direct explanation of implications or specific assurances regarding Equality Act protections.

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