§ 2.35 p.m.
§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will amend the Race Relations Act in relation to clubs with broad membership as recommended by the Race Relations Board.
THE MINISTER OF STATE, HOME OFFICE (VISCOUNT COLVILLE OF CULROSS)My Lords, it is only five months since the House of Lords, sitting in its Judicial capacity, decided the case on which this recommendation by the Board is based. We have noted what the Board have said, but it would be prudent to allow the effect of the decision on the Board's work to be tested over a longer period before we come to a conclusion on this sensitive matter.
§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, while thanking the noble Viscount for the fringe of hope in that Answer, may I ask him this question? While all of us recognise the need for privacy in small clubs with special conditions of membership, is it not the case, particularly in the North of England, that the large clubs—some with a membership of a thousand people—are now the social centre for the whole town? They are becoming the modern version of the old music hall with the whole community there. Is it not desirable in such cases that there should be no colour discrimination?
VISCOUNT COLVILLE OF CULROSSMy Lords, the noble Lord, as I would expect, has read the part of the Race 146 Relations Board's Report in which they emphasised the importance of the case which they had referred to them last year. The essence of the decision in this case was that it was a question of what rules there were for entry to a club. The law as decided in this House on a preliminary point appears to be that intended by our predecessors in office when they passed this Act—and indeed that is so. But I know that this is a sensitive area and I know that clubs in the North of England and other parts are sensitive to it. I believe that the Board would probably prefer a little longer to work out the implications before anybody comes to a definite decision about it.
§ LORD BLYTONMy Lords, is the noble Viscount aware that I have been a member of workingmen's clubs in the North for over sixty years and that I have never known any colour discrimination? That being so, would it not be outrageous to take away from the committee that manages the club the power to decide who comes in and who does not?
VISCOUNT COLVILLE OF CULROSSYes, my Lords. This is precisely the difficult argument that was canvassed in front of the courts on this case: what constitutes a genuine judgment on the part of the committee, or whoever runs the club; and further, what is the right way of using a selective method without bringing the whole procedure into disrepute. I agree with the noble Lord that this is something we should consider with some care.