§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why they have not published the five sets of equality regulations or enabled them to be downloaded on 23 October, as envisaged by the Department for Work and Pensions in Equality and Diversity: The Way Ahead; and [HL6193]
Whether they will extend the consultation period in relation to the equality regulations to take account of the delay in publishing them. [HL6194]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville):All five sets of draft regulations (which relate to the prohibition of discrimination at work on grounds of sexual orientation, religion and belief, disability, race and gender) were published and available to be downloaded as advertised on the DTI website www.dti.gov.uk/er/equality, on the morning of 23 October. The document Equality and Diversity: 112WA The Way Ahead, which summarises the Government's proposals, was published at the same time.