Goods and services
The 2005 Equality Act extends legal protection against discrimination in the provision of goods and services to gay and lesbian customers. This form of protection will be very welcome, as Stonewall and others have been campaigning to secure it for some years. It will stop hotels refusing to allocate double-bed rooms to gay couples, and make discriminatory practices in the financial services and insurance industries illegal.
Regulations to extend legal protection as above were published on 7 March 2007. They have now been passed by both houses of Parliament. They take effect at the end of April 2007.
The draft regulations do not contain any exemptions for religious bodies.
The draft regulations include a couple of surprises. The Association of British Insurers, which covers 95% of the insurances sold in the UK, have a code of conduct that prevents their member companies from discriminating against our community. They have been given an exemption which allows insurance companies in the life assurance and pension annuity fields to continue to discriminate against us. This is not an open ended exemption, though, and it runs out on 31 December 2008. They will have to provide the Equality Authority with a good justification for continuing with it after that date.
The National Health Service has been given the right to continue the ban on gay men donating blood. This exemption is not time limited. However its inclusion in the regulations gives the community the opportunity to take the matter to court.
