Background
Stonewall Cymru is Wales’s leading
lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) equality charity. We were founded
in 2003, and we work with businesses, public bodies, schools, the
Welsh Government, the National Assembly for Wales and a wide range
of partners in communities across Wales to work towards our vision
of a world where lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are accepted
without exception.
Overview
- Stonewall Cymru welcomes the opportunity to
respond to this consultation by the External Affairs and Additional
Legislation Committee and looks forward to providing further
evidence to the Committee following their intention to specifically
consider the impact of Brexit on equalities.
- We believe that the current framework for
equalities and human rights has been central to the progression of
LGBT equality across the UK. Many are fortunate enough to have
never had to worry about their rights being denied or abused. But
for LGBT people who have wanted to start a family, to be recognised
as who they are, to serve in the military or to access services the
human rights framework has offered valuable protection.
Equalities legislation after Brexit
- While existing UK equalities legislation
surpasses EU requirements, it has in several areas been influenced,
improved and strengthened by EU law – whether through the
EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, anti-discrimination
directives or the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
case law.
- As we note in paragraph 3, UK
legislation, including the Equality Act 2010, often already exceeds
the minimum standards set by the EU. However, in exiting the EU we
lose the guarantee that EU law provides that protections and rights
could never be reduced below that minimum floor in future. This
presents a potential risk to the rights of LGBT people and
others.
- We agree with the view expressed in this
committee’s last report on the Implications for Wales of
leaving the European Union, that ‘[t]here should be no
weakening of equalities legislation and employment protections when
we leave the European Union.’. We also welcome the
commitment outlined in the joint paper by Welsh Government and
Plaid Cymru, Securing Wales’ Future, that
‘[o]ur guiding principle is that leaving the EU should in
no way reduce our focus on promoting equalities and challenging
discrimination wherever it exists’.
- We were disappointed to see the decision of
the UK Government to single out the Charter of Fundamental Rights
as the only piece of legislation not to be incorporated into UK law
as part of the EU Withdrawal Bill. Furthermore, the Bill contains
proposed changes to the enforceability of General Principles
contained in EU law.
- This means that as the Bill stands, people
will lose a number of valuable legal rights, including rights which
empower them to challenge discrimination, when the UK leaves the
EU.
- Some of these protections have been critical
in LGBT people’s struggles for equality. As an example, just
this summer, the UK Supreme Court ruled in favour of John Walker in
his claim that an exemption in the Equality Act which permitted
pensions companies to pay same-sex partners less in spousal
benefits than opposite-sex partners was discriminatory. It based
its decision on rights contained within EU law which are not
currently protected by the EU Withdrawal Bill, as referred to in
paragraph 6, meaning that under the current Bill this
progress could be undone after Brexit, and a similar challenge
would not be able to be brought.
- We support Liberty and Amnesty
International’s campaign to add a ‘People’s
Clause’ to the EU Withdrawal Bill. This clause would include
a guarantee that ministers will not use their powers to weaken our
legal rights, would give the UK parliament the ability to
scrutinise how ministers change laws and would properly incorporate
the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the other legal protections
we have through EU law.
- Welsh Government and the National Assembly
for Wales should make representations to the UK Government opposing
any weakening of human rights or equalities protections as part of
Brexit, including with reference to the EU Withdrawal Bill.