Clause 2.—(THE RACE RELATIONS BOARD AND CONCILIATION COMMITTEES.) (Hansard, 2 November 1965)

§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sir Frank Soskice)
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
This Amendment requires that a complaint made to a conciliation committee by somebody against whom discrimination has been practised shall be in writing. This point was put in debate by the right hon. and learned Member for Warwick and Leamington (Sir J. Hobson). Answering the debate, I indicated that the Government agreed with the proposals he made and this Amendment, which was moved in another place and accepted on behalf of the Government there, gives effect to that undertaking.
I think this is a distinct improvement. If the complaint need not be supported in writing, uncertainty is bound to arise from time to time as to whether a complaint was made, whether it was organised by the person against whom the discrimination was practised, whether he really wished to go on with the complaint, the precise nature of the complaint and so on. The Amendment would remove that sort of uncertainty and might result in a number of tiresome situations being avoided.

§ Sir John Hobson (Warwick and Leamington)
I express gratitude to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for both considering and adopting this proposal which I originally put forward. I am glad that it found acceptance and is considered helpful.
I think the Amendment goes a little further than I had intended. I certainly intended that the individual who wished to make a complaint should do so orally or in writing, and only if a third party was making a complaint on his behalf should the authority of the third person be in writing. None of us can give authoritative rulings about how the courts 959 might interpret the matter, but that was the sole intention and I hope that the courts would still consider that a complaint can be made by an individual either orally or in writing.

§ Mr. Donald Chapman (Birmingham, Northfield)
I hope my right hon. and learned Friend will respond to the point made by the right hon. and learned Member for Warwick and Leamington (Sir J. Hobson). It is important to make clear that an individual can initially make his complaint to a local conciliation committee or its officers orally. If he is aggrieved, if an incident occurs in which he thinks there has been discrimination, he should have the right to go to the local office in the first place and say, "I have been aggrieved. This has happened to me today". I hope my right hon. and learned Friend will give a further assurance that officials of these local conciliation committees will then assist the person, particularly as a number of these people will have come from abroad and may find difficulty in this matter.
The local officers should have full instructions to help such a person to formulate the complaint in writing. This must not be left in such a way that it is implied that the local conciliation committees can be approached only by the formality of the written word in the first place, with all the difficulties which might attend that situation for people from abroad. It is important to have those two assurances.

§ Sir F. Soskice
With permission, I address the House again.
My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Mr. Chapman) and the right hon. and learned Member for Warwick and Leamington (Sir J. Hobson) are perfectly right, and I should like to amend what I said in commending the Amendment to the House. The writing is required only where an authority is provided on behalf of the person against whom discrimination is practised. If the person himself complains, it is perfectly sufficient if the complaint is made orally. It need not be made in writing. I am glad to make that correction.
In reply to my hon. Friend's further point, I have no doubt that as a matter of judgment, common sense and good 960 will, where assistance is required it will be readily afforded. I do not think I can go further than that.