7th Report - Ensuring strong equalities legislation after the EU exit
- HC No.
- HC 799
- Published
- 28 Feb 2017
- Items
- 0
- Government response
- Government response published 11 October 2017. Read the government's response ↗
Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Ensuring strong equalities legislation after EU exit inquiry
Closed
Opened 11 Nov 2016
Closed 11 Nov 2016
Women and Equalities Committee Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Inquiry scope (the committee's words)
The Brexit process offers an opportunity to embed equality into law and policy in the UK, says the report by the Women and Equalities Committee. The Government responded saying the UK Government's record on equalities is one of the best in the world and we are determined to ensure that this remains the case as, and after, we leave the European Union. We are committed to protecting and promoting equality and to eliminating discrimination – leaving the EU does nothing to change this.
Where it stands
The inquiry is closed, opened 11 November 2016.
The committee has published 1 report, most recently 7th Report - Ensuring strong equalities legislation after the EU exit on 28 February 2017.
The government's response
Published 11 October 2017.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it shares the Committee's goal of no erosion of equalities protections on leaving the EU, and states that it has "specifically committed to retain" the protections in the Equality Acts 2006 and 2010.
- On amending the Equality Act 2010 to mirror the Human Rights Act 1998, the government says it "considered the Committee's recommendations carefully" but sets out how the two Acts "differ in significant ways", including that public authorities already "must not breach the Equality Act unless required to do so by another Act".
- On the Great Repeal Bill, it says the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill converts EU law into domestic law at the point of exit, and that the Bill gives historic CJEU case law "the same binding, or precedent, status" as Supreme Court decisions.
- On cross-government working, it says the Government Equalities Office and DExEU have convened a cross-government working group, and that an Equality Analysis was published alongside the Bill although there is "no legal obligation" to do so.
- On funding, it says it is working with the Ministry of Justice to assess activities supported by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, and that it will "consider this as part of the negotiation" whether to participate in specific European programmes.
Reports
All reportsEvidence
- 2 oral evidence sessionsLatest 30 November 2016
Recent activity
- 1st Special Report - Ensuring strong equalities legislation after the EU exit: Government Response to the Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2016–1711 October 2017, Report published
- 7th Report - Ensuring strong equalities legislation after the EU exit28 February 2017, Report published
- Oral evidence session30 November 2016, Oral evidence
Reports
Oral evidence sessions
On smaller screens, scroll horizontally to read every column. Keyboard users can focus the table region and use the arrow keys.