§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to introduce measures to make it unlawful for public authorities in Northern Ireland to exercise their public functions in a way which is indirectly discriminatory against members of religious or racial groups. [HL3756]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonGeneral law on race and religious discrimination is a matter for the devolved administration. Any change in the law to make it unlawful for public authorities to act in a way which led to indirect discrimination on religious or racial grounds would therefore be a matter for the devolved administration, subject to the Secretary of State's consent to any provisions relating to reserved matters. The Secretary of State has no proposals to amend the provisions of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 relating to discrimination by public authorities.