A coalition of the UK's leading black and minority ethnic voluntary and community organisations have produced a call to action for the promotion of race equality in post-election Britain.  Designed to tackle continued discrimination and disadvantage in the UK, the call to action highlights 8 key asks which they hope the incoming Government will implement post-election. A spokesperson from the Coalition for Race Equality (CORE) stated:

"This election is a chance for political parties and their candidates to state how they will achieve race equality. The eight ‘Key Asks’ set out some of the ways that the incoming Government can do this. We believe that these changes are critical to achieving race equality in the UK and eliminating discrimination."

 

The key calls for action ask government to:

  • Develop a race equality strategy and nominate a Cabinet-level minister to be responsible for delivering it. This should include investing in partnerships with voluntary organisations to develop and make it happen;
  • Tackle housing inequalities for black and minority ethnic communities by regulating private rented housing, building more social housing, ensuring a good supply of sites for Gypsy-Traveller communities, and creating a statutory duty to reduce overcrowding;
  • Work with employers to introduce a target for all national companies for 15 per cent of new hires (including apprenticeships) under 40 years old to be black and minority ethnic by 2020. In London this target should be 40 per cent of new hires;
  • Develop a strategy with employers and Jobcentre Plus to address ethnic employment gaps, particularly at the leadership level, and to hold organisations accountable for unequal recruitment and progression decisions;
  • Create an environment that positively values the contribution of migrants and their children, and create an immigration system based on fair, timely and transparent decisions with appeal rights. End arbitrary enforcement raids and income requirements for partners and relatives;
  • Work with community organisations and the justice system to tackle disproportionality in sentencing, prisons, reoffending, and stop and search operations and review race equality training for the criminal justice sector;
  • Improve support for black and minority ethnic families with children by improving the quality of education available as well as the provision of effective family support services, such as parent education programmes;
  • Work across government and with the voluntary sector to close the health inequalities experienced by different black and minority ethnic communities, such as outcomes for diabetes, heart disease, stroke and mental health.

The eight ‘Key Asks’ come from a longer document, developed by CORE to outline some of the challenges relating to racial inequality in the UK.  They are seeking feedback and support for this draft report from voluntary and community organisations and think-tanks during the run-up to the election.

Please distribute the report to interested parties, show your support for our call to action or join in the discussion on Twitter using #RacialJusticeMatters. Alternatively, email your comments to Megan Wong.

Key Asks: RacialJusticeMatters [204kb PDF]

Draft call to Action: #RacialJusticeMatters [927kb PDF]