§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, when appointing members to the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, they took into account the importance of representation of sexual orientation minorities as required by Section 75(1)(a) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. [HL1474]
§ The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)In line with the Commissioner for Public Appointment's guidance, appointments to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland are made on merit. Section 75(1)(a) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires the Secretary of State to "have due regard to need to promote equality of opportunity between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation". In making appointments to the Equality Commission, Section 68(3) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires him to "as far as practicable secure that the Commissioners, as a group, are representative of the community in Northern Ireland". The Secretary of State took both of these duties into account when making appointments to the Equality Commission. It is important to note that this does not compel the Secretary of State to appoint people on the basis of any category to which they may belong.