A NEW Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) will be introduced by
the Government, the Queen announced in Parliament last week. The Commission
should begin work in two years' time to ensure that people are not
discriminated against on religious grounds.
The CEHR is part of the reintroduced Equality Bill, to outlaw discrimination
in the provision of goods, facilities, services, premises, and education, and
in the exercise of public functions (except in certain circumstances to do with
national security), on the grounds of religion or belief.
The Queen also announced measures to "tackle those who incite religious
hatred". This will be the third time the Government has sought legislation
against incitement to religious hatred. Its proposals in the Serious Organised
Crime and Police Bill were dropped after it realised it would not otherwise get
the rest of its Bill through Parliament. The legislation was opposed on the
grounds of free speech and the right to evangelise, and by those who feared it
would make interfaith relations worse.
Among other Bills that could be of interest to the Church were proposals to
continue to reform the House of Lords. The Prime Minister has said that he will
await the conclusions of a new committee of peers and MPs before introducing
any new legislation.
The Queen said that her Government would "tighten up the immigration and
asylum system" and introduce identity cards.
It would also begin long-term reforms for pensions. The Government said that
a special conference of MPs and stakeholder groups had been called for next
month to find a way forward.
The Government would also "modernise charity law to develop a vibrant,
diverse and independent charitable sector", the Queen said. Earlier proposals
imposed a consideration of "primary public benefit" for charities, which might
mean that religion was not automatically deemed a charitable cause.
The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd James Jones, speaking in the House of
Lords, welcomed the emphasis in the Queen's Speech on a stable and strong
economy. But he said: "An economy that neither respects the earth nor all its
inhabitants is ultimately unsustainable."