COLLECTING DATA ON ELECTION CANDIDATE DIVERSITY

That this House notes with concern that Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 is yet to be commenced; acknowledges that this legislation would require political parties to monitor the diversity of their election candidates; regrets that Section 106 does not cover local government elections, that there is no transparency of the diversity of election candidates and that progress on the representation of women and minority groups remains unacceptably slow; further acknowledges that it is vital for this House to better reflect the diversity of the people we seek to represent; and calls on the Government to commence Section 106 with immediate effect, as unanimously recommended by the Women and Equalities Select Committee in its Fifth Report of Session 2016-17, Women in the House of Commons after the 2020 election, HC630, and to seek to amend Section 106 in the future to include local government elections within its scope.