A Bill to make further provision about arbitration and mediation services and the application of equality legislation to such services; and for connected purposes.
House of Lords
2 May 2017
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
The Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill aims to make sure equality law clearly applies to people who provide or use arbitration and mediation services, and to set out how these services should operate to ensure fair treatment for all. It also considers how non-state processes, such as Sharia Councils, fit with equality aims in arbitration and mediation. During its Lords journey, peers discussed these issues, including concerns raised in a February 2017 letter about Sharia Council practices and their relation to the Bill’s equality goals.
The bill is at the 2nd reading stage in the Lords. Public details in this record do not show further stages or amendments beyond that point.
Generated 21 February 2026
25 May 2016
27 Jan 2017
Second reading - the general debate on all aspects of the Bill - took place on 27 January.
Committee stage - line by line examination of the Bill - is yet to be scheduled.
The 2016-2017 session of Parliament has prorogued and this Bill will make no further progress.
This publication is a letter from Lord Keen of Elie QC to Viscount Bridgeman about an issue concerning Sharia Councils raised during the second reading of the Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill. It discusses how Sharia Council practices relate to the Bill’s equality aims in arbitration and mediation. The exact recommendations or conclusions of the letter are not provided in the available record.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
