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Commission for Racial Equality - Richard Commission Evidence
Session at Cardiff 25th July 2003
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
COMMISSION FOR RACIAL EQUALITY IN WALES
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1 JANUARY 2002 TO 31 DECEMBER 2002
|
| The Commission for Racial Equality was set up by the
Race Relations Act 1976. It has three main duties. |
- To work towards the elimination of racial discrimination.
|
- To promote equality of opportunity and good relations
between people of different racial groups.
|
- To keep the Act under review and to make proposals
to the Secretary of State for amending it.
|
| The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 introduced far-reaching
changes to the 1976 Act. |
- It now covers all public functions.
|
- It gives public authorities a statutory duty to
promote race equality.
|
- It gives the CRE a new power to enforce compliance.
|
© Commission for Racial Equality
St Dunstan's House
201-211 Borough High Street
London SE1 1GZ |
|
Published June 2003
ISBN 1 85442 515 3
Cover photographs (L-R): Phillip Wolmuth / Report-digitail
CRE; Joanne O'Brien; CRE |
![RACIAL EQUALITY (BIG).jpg (24525 bytes)]() |
| FOREWORD |
| 2002 was a challenging but exciting year for us in Wales.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 came into full
effect on 31 May 2002 and shaped all aspects of our work.
We faced the challenge of making sure all public authorities
in Wales knew their new responsibilities under the Act,
and that they passed the first milestone successfully,
by meeting the deadline for publishing their race equality
schemes (or policies, in the case of educational institutions). |
| But perhaps our biggest challenge was to persuade institutions
in Wales to move beyond rhetoric towards action -to walk
the walk as well as talk the talk. Over the past year,
we have made exciting progress in motivating and inspiring
others to tackle racism more effectively, and to promote
race relations in all their activities. |
| Underpinned by our corporate aims of promoting and delivering
the new public sector duty, connecting with all communities,
and building a positive relationship with the private
sector, I am confident that our work in Wales will make
a long-term difference to the lives of people from ethnic
minorities in Wales, and to equality for all its citizens.
We shall continue to support our numerous partners in
seeking fairness for all, and advise and help complainants
seeking redress. |
| However, ensuring equality remains an uphill struggle.
Racial inequality is not new to Wales and has existed
in our cities, towns, and villages for generations. 2002
confronted us with grim evidence of how far we have yet
to go, with more and more racist incidents being reported
in the media. In June, Mohammed Ashraf died of a heart
attack, after witnessing a racist gang of 12 white men
attack elderly worshippers of his congregation, as they
made their way to the local mosque in Llanelli. In nearby
Swansea, the Hebrew Congregation building was defaced
with racist signs and slogans, windows were smashed, and
scriptures, including a 300 year old scroll, were torn
up outside. |
| We must not give up, because I believe change will come,
and much more swiftly now that many public authorities
and educational institutions have a robust and comprehensive
race equality scheme or race equality policy in place. |
| We owe the achievements in this annual report to growing
public recognition of the importance of racial equality,
and the growing number of public and private organisations
committed to real change. I would also like to pay tribute
to our staff in Wales, who, through difficult times, have
worked with dedication and unfailing commitment for an
inclusive Wales. |
| Cherry Short |
| Chair, CRE Wales Committee |
| PROMOTING RACIAL EQUALITY |
| The year was dominated by preparatory and promotional
work on the new duty to promote race equality under the
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, which came fully
into effect on 31 May 2002. A number of public authorities
in Wales published their race equality schemes or policies
(if they were educational institutions) on or around this
date, which also saw the launch of our statutory code
of practice on the duty, and other guides. |
| The first five months of the year were spent responding
to numerous enquiries from the public. These ranged from
requests for information from voluntary organisations
wanting to know if the Act applied to them in their capacity
as contractors for a council's services, to more complicated
requests for advice on conducting impact assessments;
adding ethnic groups to those included in the census end
recommended for monitoring; and the implications of the
new duty for the Welsh language, particularly in rural
areas, where there are large numbers of Welsh speakers. |
| We'organised a variety of events -seminars, workshops,
and conferences - to discuss concerns in particular sectors.
For example, in February, we held a conference, Beyond
Rhetoric, for voluntary organisations in Wales, to discuss
their role under the amended Act. The conference was organised
in partnership with the Black Voluntary Sector Network
and the North Wales Race Equality Network. Jane Hutt,
Minister for Health and Social Services, and CRE Commissioner
Cherry Short, gave keynote speeches. The event was a huge
success and gave us the opportunity to widen our contacts.
One very positive outcome was the agreement we struck
with the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux
in Wales (NACAB Cymru) to work together to encourage people
to report racist incidents. |
| National Assembly for Wales |
| In March, we were invited to join the National Black
and Ethnic Minority Housing Review |
| Group, set up to develop, monitor, and review a national
ethnic minority housing action plan. The group included
representatives from various housing associations, voluntary
organisations, and the National Assembly for Wales (NAfW).
The action plan was launched by the Welsh Assembly Government
in September. |
| We continued to play an active part in the public sector
roundtable meetings, which are chaired by Carwyn Jones
AM, Minister for Open Government, as well as attending
the Equality of Opportunity Committee. |
| We responded to a large number of consultation documents
during the year, such as 'Performance indicators to support
the Wales programme for improvement 20032004', where our
submission ensured that racial equality performance indicators
were set for local authorities. |
| We welcomed the news that the equality policy unit of
the NAfW had been working on an internal equality audit,
as the first step towards evaluating progress in taking
account of equality in the functions and policies of the
Assembly's various divisions. The audit was partly a response
to Roger McKenzie's report on institutional racism in
the NAM Lifting Every Voice. The audit included
a detailed questionnaire for completion by the heads of
divisions. The responses were analysed and each division
located within an 'equality maturity profile' to measure
progress. We suggested questions for inclusion in the
questionnaire and commented on the maturity profile. |
| CRE Wales has been working with the NAf W to improve
and further develop its approach to its race equality
scheme, an example being the establishment of an internal
race equality scheme project board, chaired by the director
for personnel. Members of the board include NAf W directors
and senior civil servants. The main element of the board's
terms of reference is to take forward the Assembly's race
equality scheme. |
| In 2002, we set up a CRE Wales public duty team. Its
main aims are to collect and share information on the
progress authorities in different sectors make on implementing
the duty, and to develop a proactive approach to our work
on the duty, as part of an overall CRE Wales strategy. |
| Local government |
| Our strongest achievements in this sector were achieved
by collaborating with strategic agencies within the sector.
We worked closely with the new equalities unit, set up
by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to promote
the specific duties which the Home Secretary has placed
on public authorities to help them to meet the statutory
general duty to promote race equality. Together, we were
able to analyse the ways in which local authorities could
put their race equality schemes (which they had to produce
and publish under one of the specific duties) into practice
within the context of the Equality Standard for Local
Government. The WLGA’s workshops - Implementing Race
Equality Schemes - six months on! - which we took part
in, were a useful forum for more detailed discussions
with local authorities. |
| We also built excellent relations with Syniad, leading
to two very successful 'support and information sharing'
workshops for local authorities in Cardiff and Mold in
February. |
| As a direct result of these workshops, we were approached
by the City and County of Swansea Council to organise
a similar event for the Pathways Multi-Agency Forum in
Swansea. We developed three distinct programmes: on the
general duty, the components of a race equality scheme,
and race equality policies for educational institutions.
The workshops were welcomed, with delegates saying they
felt clearer about the purpose of the duties, and their
responsibilities. |
| As well as these collective approaches, we responded
to requests for meetings with individual local authorities,
to advise them about the duties and the specific challenges
and issues they might face in producing race equality
schemes for their areas. For example, we were approached
by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council to make a
presentation to its equalities steering board, which included
all the directors of service areas in the authority. |
| In June, we attended an interesting equalities network
meeting with the six local authorities in North Wales
(Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Flintshire, Conwy Wrexham,
and Denbighshire), to hear about their experiences of
producing schemes. |
| In 2002, a local government reference group, made up
of officers from Cardiff County Council, the NAfW, and
the WLGAs equalities unit, was set up, to exchange information
about developments in each organisation, focusing on their
race equality schemes. |
| Housing |
| During 2002, we continued to take part (as observers)
in meetings of the steering board of the Black and Ethnic
Minority Housing Project), which is funded by the NAfW
and sponsored by the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association
(AWEMA), Black Association of Women Step Out, Cadwyn Housing
Association, Cardiff Community Housing Association, and
Taff Housing. The project's main achievement in 2002 was
to make recommendations for the NAfW on setting up an
ethnic minority-led housing association in Wales. |
| We also met the assistant director of the Tenant Participation
Advisory Service Cymru, to discuss ways of informing its
tenants and clients about the amended Act. |
| Inspectorates |
| One of our priorities during 2002 was to promote the
CRE's framework for inspectorates. The framework was developed
to help inspection and regulation agencies to use their
inspections to make sure authorities were meeting the
duties under the amended Act fully and effectively. |
| We urged inspectorates in Wales to incorporate A Framework
for Inspectorates into their inspection protocols.
In October, we addressed an inspection forum on the role
of inspectors. We also contributed to Estyn's (the schools
and colleges inspectorate in Wales) training programme
for independent inspectors on diversity in the non-maintained
nursery sector, as well as in primary and secondary schools
in Wales. We had productive meetings with the Audit Commission,
to discuss agreements with inspectorates on sharing information
about authorities' compliance with the duties. |
| We also had meetings with the Social Services Inspectorate,
the Care Standards Inspectorate, Estyn, and the Audit
Commission, to discuss our proposals for developing a
generic memorandum of understanding. |
| Health |
| In April; we organised a conference for health-care
professionals and members of ethnic minority communities
jointly with the Gwent Healthcare Trust and the NHS Equality
Unit on the subject of 'Creating a culturally competent
service: exploring race equality in clinical governance'. |
| In North Wales, we collaborated with North Wales Race
Equality Network and various health trusts to run information
and support sessions on developing effective race equality
schemes in the field of health. |
| As well as participating in public forums such as those
held by the NHS Wales Social Inclusion Group to hear what
communities think, we were involved in numerous behind-the-scenes
meetings with organisations such as the Specialised Health
Services Commission for Wales, the NHS Direct Commissioning
Advisory Group, National Community Care and Mental Health
Advice Services Forum, the Diabetes UK Steering Group,
and the Diabetes UK Ethnic |
| Minority Project Group. We continued to be represented
on the All Wales Ethnic Minority Health Committee. |
| In May, we helped the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG)
to launch and promote the first phase of its eye care
initiative - the free eye health examination scheme for
people at risk of eye disease. Research shows that some
groups, including people from African, Caribbean, Indian,
Pakistani, or Bangladeshi backgrounds, are more likely
to develop symptoms of cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes,
and other eye-related diseases. We made arrangements to
translate the literature into other languages, proposed
guest speakers for the launch, and put the Welsh Assembly
Group in touch with racial equally councils (which we
help to fund and work with as partners), and other ethnic
minority organisations such as AWEMA. We hope to continue
working on this and other initiatives with WAG in 2003. |
| Education |
| During 2002, with support from Swansea Bay REC and Councillor
Betty Campbell, we gave presentations on race and diversity
issues to groups of inspectors from Estyn. We used the
occasions to promote our guide for ., schools on preparing
race equality policies, our Framework for Inspectorates,
and Learning for All, our equality standard
for schools. |
| We advised NIACE Dysgu Cymru on how to inform people
from ethnic minorities about adult learning opportunities,
and contributed to a two-day session with 60 staff from
Careers Wales Powys, covering general race issues, ethnic
monitoring, and the new duties. |
| In July, we also ran workshops for 15-16 year olds on
equality, identity, racism, and discrimination at the
Council for Education in World Citizenship's 'One World'
conference. |
| Media |
| In April 2002, the Race in the Media Awards (RIMA) celebrated
its tenth anniversary. The awards have been a catalyst
for change in an industry that is beginning to reflect
the cultural diversity of modern Britain. We were pleased
that the reception we organised in Cardiff in November
2001 appeared to have contributed to doubling the number
of entries from Wales. |
| In April, we were also pleased to support anew Digital
Vision film scheme by Sgrin, the Media Agency for Wales,
BBC Wales, and the Welsh Development Agency. Sgrin commissioned
three 5-10 minute fiction or documentary films in digital
formats, which were premiered at the international Film
Festival of Wales in November. Encouragingly, all three
finalists were from ethnic minority backgrounds, and filmed
strong stories reflecting the diversity of modern Wales. |
| The media office in Wales received a large number of
enquiries from journalists about our work on the duty,
our views on racist incidents, and our polices for tackling
discrimination. In 2002, we cult with over 80 race-related
enquiries from print, new media, radio, and television
journalists. |
| Criminal Justice |
| Our new equality action officer for the criminal justice
sector joined us in late 2001, and the first months of
2002 were spent contacting the principal criminal justice
agencies in Wales, evaluating their projects, and promoting
the new duties. Our strategy for this sector involves
building partnerships with mufti-agency forums, joining
strategic sector forums, and working with individual criminal
justice agencies on specific areas of concern; for example
helping Dyfed-Powys and North Wales crown prosecution
services with their race equality action plans. |
| In 2002, we attended the South Wales Domestic Violence
Forum, set up to consider the much-neglected issue of
domestic violence in ethnic minority families. The forum
brings relevant agencies together to develop strategies
to address this culturally sensitive issue. The Association
of Chief Police Officers' recent guide on domestic violence
and forced marriages has provided useful insights and
will be used in the forum's work. |
| We attended meetings of the South Wales CPSs equality
strategy committee, which is chaired by the head of the
CPS South Wales, and raised several concerns. The issues
included: |
| recruitment, retention, and career development of ethnic
minority staff in the service, and their under-representation
at senior grades; and |
| the worrying trend emerging in the recent report from
Her Majesty's crown prosecution service inspectorate of
prosecutors habitually dropping the racial aggravation
elements of offences-to secure guilty pleas - the committee
has agreed to remind prosecutors that it is in the public
interest to prosecute racially motivated offences, and
to give effect to the provisions on racial aggravation
in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. |
| We met the NAfW's crime reduction . unit, which monitors
the progress made by Home Office-funded crime reduction
initiatives in Wales, to discuss the possibility of funding
crime reduction projects that address the specific concerns
of ethnic minority communities, who often live in crime
hot spots. |
| We held talks with all four probation areas in Wales
and advised the north Wales area on how to complete the
race equality scheme template produced by the National
Probation Directorate. We also advised probation areas
on race equality training for probation officers and ancillary
staff. |
| We held discussions with the chief probation officer
and the human resources manager of the Dyfed-Powys probation
area (in partnership with Swansea Bay REC) about the implementation
of their race equality scheme. We also laid the basis
for future work with key officers in all four police forces.
Our criminal justice officer was invited to be an independent
observer on the initial recruitment tests for South Wales
Police. He also advised the force on its race equality
scheme. |
| Together with the City and County of Swansea, we organised
a successful workshop for staff in criminal justice agencies,
including the police and prison service, and members of
voluntary groups in south Wales. We hope to organise a
similar event in north Wales with North Wales Race Equality
Network. |
| We also had discussions with the crime and disorder
partnership in Dyfed-Powys (which includes representatives
from local authorities, the police, the health service,
and community organisations) on how to tackle the problem
of hate crime in rural, isolated communities. Dyfed-Powys
police assured us that they would make any information
they received through AARCH (Act Against Racism and Combat
Homophobia) - a project aimed at encouraging people to
report incidents - part of their mainstream reporting
procedures, and that they would keep full records of the
action they took. |
| We are currently working with the South Wales Magistrates
Courts Committee to find more effective ways of attracting
job applications from members of ethnic minority communities,
for example through joint recruitment fairs with other
criminal justice agencies. |
| Our national criminal justice strategy puts emphasis
on working with networks and multi-agency forums to promote
the new duties. In 2002, we reviewed this area of our
work in Wales and concluded that it would be more effective
to focus our energies on strategically important networks
that set broad policy priorities for whole sectors, or
with large criminal justice organisations, rather than
on networks or forums with a narrow, specialised remit. |
| The four area criminal justice strategy committees in
Wales are responsible for developing strategic, 'joined-up'
criminal justice policies for their region. Each committee
has senior representation from the police force, probation
area, CPS, and the courts, and is presided over by a county
court judge. During 2002, we forged strong relationships
with the committees. |
| As a result, we made an important contribution to the
South Wales Committee's consideration of the implications
for south Wales of the Home Office's consultation paper,
'Justice for All', which proposes radical changes to the
ways in which criminal justice agencies work together
on areas of common interest. We also supported the recent
open days at crown courts in south Wales, introduced to
raise awareness among ethnic minority communities of the
support services for witnesses and victims of crime. |
| Working with business |
| The CRE's national strategy for work with the private
sector has three broad aims: |
- to tackle unlawful racial discrimination in employment,
the provision of goods and services, and awards of
commercial contracts;
|
- to promote social cohesion; and
|
- to ensure fair and equal access for all, irrespective
of background, to economic participation.
|
| In 2002, the CRE's work focused on five specific areas: |
|
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- career development opportunites;
|
- access to start-up capital and other resources for
ethnic minority businesses;
|
- access to commercial and public sector contracts
for ethnic minority businesses; and
|
- access to goods and services.
|
| In Wales, we interpreted these priorities within the
context of the NAfW's ambitious national strategy for
economic development, 'A Winning Wales'. The strategy's
aim is to see: |
a major increase in employment, including
selfemployment, with particular emphasis on communities
with low participation rates ... better skilled
and committed people ... more new growing businesses
... nurturing other competitive fast-growing businesses
... [leading to] propserous, confident communities.
|
| We decided that the quickest and most effective way
of reaching businesses in Wales would be to work with
and through other organisations in both the private and
public sectors. |
| In May, we worked with the Equal Opportunities Commission,
the Disability Rights Commission, and the Welsh Development
Agency's small and mediumsized enterprise (WDA/SMEj equality
project, to set up a 'diversity zone' at the Western
Mail's 'Business in Wales' exhibition. A high profile
event, this is the main exhibition for business in Wales
and attracts all the main business service agencies. Christopher
Ward, chief executive of the Wales Management Council,
told us that 'for what you're trying to achieve, you're
in exactly the right place'. |
| Other initiatives during the year are listed below.
|
- We joined the ethnic minority working group of the
Wales New Deal Task Force.
|
- We gave a presentation to Business Wales on our
strategy for working with the private sector, and
succeeded in attracting much support and good will
from the leaders of business representative bodies,
which will be essential as our work unfolds.
|
- We agreed a joint programme of action with Wales
TUC.
|
- We are represented on the steering committee of
the WDA/SME equality project, which has grown substantially
over the last year, and remains the most effective
means of promoting awareness of equality issues and
good practice to the sector in Wales, both in the
short and medium term.
|
- We worked with the Ethnic Business Support Programme
to promote the interests of the ethnic minority business
community.
|
- We formally joined the Cyfenter Development Partnership,
a programme funded by EQUAL, and run by the WDA. The
partnership's aim is to find new ways of helping entrepreneurs
from 'non-traditional backgrounds' to obtain funding
and support.
|
- We made arrangements to work with the Welsh Procurement
initiative, to help ethnic minority businesses in
Wales apply more successfully for public sector contracts.
|
- We are working jointly with Careers Wales, Education
and Learning Wales, Wales European Funding Office,
the NAfW, the Bank of England Agency in Wales, Wales
Social Partners, and Business in the Community.
|
| In November, we helped the Confederation of South Wales
Law Societies to organise their conference, 'Equal Opportunities
and the Law'. Lord Taylor of Warwick and our commissioner,
Cherry Short, gave keynote speeches to representatives
of law firms in South Wales on the benefits that equality
of opportunity can bring to their practices. |
| Our strategy for 2003 is to promote racial equality
through strategic alliances with public and private sector
organisations, and to look to the contacts we have made
for support. |
| 2 USING OUR LEGAL POWERS |
| In 2002, we received a total of 133 applications for
assistance (compared with 116 in 2001); 71 concerned employment
(up over 100% since the previous year), and 56 non-employment
matters (down by around 25% over 2001). Complaints in
the field of education rose by 14 per cent during the
year. Six applications were outside the scope of the Act.
Around half of the formal applications for assistance
in Wales in 2002 concerned complaints against public authorities. |
| As table 2 shows, around two-thirds of the applications
were from men. People of Pakistani origin lodged the largest
number of complaints (27), followed by applicants from
the White (23) and Black Caribbean (15) groups. Of the
23 White applicants, nine (41 %) thought they had been
discriminated against because of their English or Welsh
national origins. |
| We were not surprised by the sharp increase in applications
during the year awareness of our work in Wales has grown,
especially with the intense promotional activity surrounding
the amended Act. People have also heard about our new
enforcement powers, which have raised expectations. |
| The CRE's legal committee considered 101 applications
during 2002 (not all were received during the calendar
year). One applicant was granted full legal representation
(althouJgh the case was settled before hearing), and 17
were offered more limited representation. During 2002,
6 cases were settled by CRE legal officers in Wales without
a hearing, and 11 cases received representation through
other organisations, such as trade unions and racial equality
councils. None of the other applications received further
assistance. However, in some cases, we referred the complaints
to our policy officers because of concerns about possibly
discriminatory systems or practice. |
| In 2002, we followed up and agreed equal opportunities
improvements with six organisations in the private sector
and two in the public sector. Our legal strategy in Wales
has three main aims: to develop alternative methods for
resolving discrimination complaints; to make legal advice
on racial discrimination more widely available; to increase
support for complainant-aid organisations, and to work
with trade unions to improve the service members receive
in the area of racial discrimination. |
| TABLE 1: APPLICATIONS FOR CRE ASSISTANCE IN WALES,
2002 |
|
EMPLOYMENT
|
NON-EMPLOYMENT
|
OUT OF SCOPE
|
TOTAL
|
| Jan-Dec 2001 |
Jan-Dec 2002 |
Jan-Dec 2001 |
Jan-Dec 2002 |
Jan-Dec 2001 |
Jan-Dec 2002 |
Jan-Dec 2001 |
Jan-Dec 2002 |
| Formal Applications |
34
|
71
|
82
|
56
|
0
|
6
|
116
|
133
|
| TABLE 2: APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE,
BY SEX AND ETHNIC GROUP, 2002 |
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
| Bangladeshi |
2
|
0
|
2
|
| Black African |
9
|
1
|
10
|
| Black Caribbean |
10
|
5
|
15
|
| Black Other |
9
|
1
|
10
|
| Chinese |
1
|
2
|
3
|
| Indian |
2
|
7
|
9
|
| Irish |
0
|
0
|
0
|
| Other |
21
|
10
|
31
|
| GypsylTraveller |
3
|
0
|
3
|
| Pakistani |
26
|
1
|
27
|
| White |
15
|
8
|
23
|
| Total |
98
|
35
|
133
|
| Note: Gypsies are protected group under
the Race Relations Act 1976 |
| Our emphasis during 2002 was on developing expertise
in mediation and conciliation in Wales, as reflected in
the large number of cases settled by legal officers in
Cardiff. |
| Partnership |
| We continued to explore the possibility of providing
legal services through partnerships with local voluntary
and community organisations and trade unions in Wales.
We planned a casework forum and training plan for RECs
and organised a one-day training seminar for the Vale
of Glamorgan Voluntary Sector Network on the implications
of the new duty to promote race equality for voluntary
organisations. In September, UNISON and CRE Wales signed
up to a protocol, 'Working Together', to collaborate in
providing a more professional legal service in racial
discrimination cases. We are working with the TUC to use
this protocol as a basis for agreements with other unions. |
| Research |
| A research study. 'Snakes and Ladders', on advice and
support for applicants taking cases to employment tribunals
in Wales was completed during 2002. We had commissioned
the work from the University of Wales at Bangor jointly
with the Legal Services Commission, the Disability Rights
Commission, and the Equal Opportunities Commission. The
LSC and the CRE contributed 75 per cent of the £40,000
the university received as a research grant. |
| The interim report raised the following concerns: |
- there was little information about rights and sources
of advice;
|
- the infrastructure for providing advice, support
and representation was weak;
|
- advisers needed proper training and accreditation;
|
- advice agencies did not have effective referral
systems;
|
- systems for supporting clients were ineffective;
and
|
- there was inadequate statistical information about
racial discrimination in Wales.
|
| Patriotism's colours |
| Mr Thapa v Ministry of Defence In 1998,
backed by the CRE, Lance Corporal Hari Thapa brought a
claim of racial discrimination against the MoD,
alleging that he was paid only around 60°!° of what
an identical British soldier received. He was demanding
equal rights with British servicemen, and £43,000 compensation
for 15 years` payments at the reduced rate. |
| Mr Thapa, who is from Cwmbran, south Wales, was recruited
to the armed forces under a 1947 tripartite agreement
between the UK, India, and Nepal, which links Gurkhas'
pay and pensions to those in the Indian Army. The MoD
insisted that the payments were adequate, because most
Gurkhas retire in Nepal, where the cost of living is considerably
less than in the UK. |
| In 2002, the-Cardiff
employment tribunal ruled that it had no jurisdiction
to consider Mr Thapa's claim, because the army had run
a technical defence that he worked mainly overseas. However,
the MoD agreed to pay Mr Thapa an amount equivalent to
all his back pay for his 15 years' service in damages.
The MoD also agreed not to exclude him from any future
equalisation of Gurkha pensions. |
| The report made recommendations for a wide range of
organisations, including the following: |
- the NAfW should consider setting up advice services
as part of its strategy for dealing with social exclusion;
|
- the Employment Tribunal Service should recruit more
women and people from ethnic minorities, and provide
more training on discrimination for its members; and
|
- voluntary and statutory agencies in Wales should
improve the training they provide for advisers, and
take steps to improve coordination between advice
agencies and trade unions.
|
| The report will be published on our website (www.cre.gov.uk)
in early 2003 and a conference held in summer 2003 to
take forward our plan to build a network of advice workers
in Wales with expertise in racial discrimination casework. |
| Settled by mutual agreement |
| A case against Cardiff and Vale
NHS trust |
| A community midwife complained that Cardiff and Vale
NHS Trust had racially discriminated against her. The
Trust disputed her claim and the case was headed for a
hearing at the employment tribunal. |
| However, working closely
with UNISON, in line with our protocol 'Working Together',
we called a meeting with Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust and
the NHS Equality Unit to discuss the case and find a non-adversarial
way forward. We reached an out-of-court settlement and
the Trust agreed to take several steps. These included:
a letter of apology, a sum in compensation to the midwife;
a review of the procedures that had led to the complaint;
team development sessions; and equality and diversity
training for the obstetrics and gynaecology directorate,
to be delivered by the NHS Wales Equality Unit, in consultation
with the CRE. These steps are seen as very positive developments
by all parties and as a direct response to the issues
raised, by the case. |
| 3 WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES |
| We took every opportunity in 2002 to extend and deepen
our connections with local communities in all parts of
Wales. |
| Racial equality councils |
| We maintained our links with racial equality councils,
all based in south Wales, and offered support to organisations
interested in setting up RECs in north Wales and, possibly,
in mid Wales. |
| RECs are funded jointly by the CRE and local authorities,
but most of them attract significant sums from other organsations,
including the National Lottery and local trust funds.
As a result of meetings between Edwina Hart of the Welsh
Assembly Government (WAG), RECs, the North Wales Race
Equality Network (NWREN), and the CRE, for the very first
time the NAfW offered 12-month secondments (or the financial
equivalent) to all Wales RECs and NWREN. This provided
invaluable extra resources and an opportunity for NAfW
staff to learn, at first hand, about race and community
issues. |
| Rural racism |
| Our close relationship with the NWREN gave us important
insights into the scale of hidden, and often denied, racism
and discrimination in rural communities. Media reports
and anecdotal evidence of families forced to leave their
homes out of fear came to our attention. With support
from Flintshire County Council and North Wales police,
we found shared, but independent, office space for NWREN
and the CRE in north Wales_ The success of our partnership
has attracted a great deal of interest from other organisations
in Wales, and more widely in the UK. |
| Conferences and events |
| During 2002, we had staffing difficulties, which unfortunately
resulted in speculative coverage and controversy in the
Welsh media. Our work was affected to a certain extent.
We felt it was important to put our relationships with
some ethnic minority communities on a fresh footing, and
decided to hold a major conference on our work. |
| In July, we invited over 150 delegates from ethnic minority
communities throughout Wales to 'Connecting With You',
an open event in City Hall, Cardiff, to discuss their
views on racial equality and to learn whether we were
doing what they expected. The event provided a unique
opportunity for all present to have a frank discussion,
make new contacts, and agree a common agenda for working
towards racial equality in Wales. Beverley Bernard, our
acting chair, emphasised the importance of working with
all communities to create safe, cohesive, and just societies
in Wales and Britain. The CRE is hoping to hold other
similar events in 2003, across Britain, to keep in touch
with different communities. |
| We were also delighted to help the All Wales Saheli
Association to organise the Muslim Women Everyday Conference
in November, a first for Muslim women in Wales. On the
day, we were disheartened to hear about the daffy abuse
and discrimination children face at school and in the
playground. The purpose of the conference was to urge
local and national public services to develop better relationships
with the Muslim community, looking beyond the fact that
they were members of ethnic minority groups in Wales to
the more pressing practical difficulties they had in simply
accessing health, education, ' and other social services. |
| In August, we took part in the National Eisteddfod for
Wales, for the first time, and were warmly welcomed by
many organisations, such as CEFN (a Welsh language civil
rights organisation). Our presence was seen as a positive
step in making fresh connections with the Welsh language
community -a community that has been historically suspicious
of our perspective on the Welsh language. |
| Young people |
| In December, we submitted written evidence to the House
of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee's inquiry into
empowering children and young people in Wales. We welcomed
the opportunity to contribute, as children and young people
have a crucial part to play in eliminating racism and
developing good race relations in Wales. |
| We provided general information about the life chances
of young people from ethnic minorities in Wales, together
with a general overview of our work in this area. The
committee's recommendations to the government and the
NAfW are expected in 2003. |
| Inspired by the success of the CRE's Equal Futures conference
in Scotland, which explored the idea of citizenship in
Britain today, we began work on a similar event for young
people in Wales. Our aim is to encourage young people
to think about ethnicity, identity; culture, and the destructiveness
of racism, and to take responsibility for building a more
equal society. The conference would be held in partnership
with Children in Wales, with support from ACCAC. |
| Racist incidents |
| Race and asylum dominated the headlines in 2002. The
number of racist incidents reported in the media, and
from unexpected areas in Wales, were grim evidence of
the scale of the task we faced. |
- In January, three men from Caernarfon, who were
part of a drunken mob, were jailed for 16 months for
their part in a post-11 September attack on four Bangladeshi
men making their way back to their flat in Caernarfon.
|
- In March, a former Ku Klux Klan member living in
Maesteg was jailed for three months for racially harassing
an Asian shopkeeper.
|
- In June, Mohammed Ashraf died of a heart attack,
after witnessing an attack by a racist gang of 12
white men on elderly worshippers of his congregation
while they were on their way to the local mosque in
Llanelli.
|
- In nearby Swansea, the Hebrew Congregation building
was defaced with racist signs and slogans, windows
were smashed, and scriptures, including a 300 year-old
scroll, were torn up outside.
|
| Asylum and immigration |
| The coverage of asylum and immigration news in the tabloid
press contributed to growing public hostility to refugees
and asylum seekers. For every person concerned about their
well-being and security, there were many others who echoed
the tabloids' challenge -'not on our doorstep'. For both
these reasons, Sully Hospital, a former psychiatric hospital
in the Vale of Glamorgan, was rejected as an accommodation
centre for up to 750 asylum seekers. |
| We used every media interview as an opportunity to challenge
the prejudice against asylum seekers and refugees, as
well as against long-settled ethnic minority communities. |
| Welsh language and devolution |
| We partly funded the Welsh Language Forum's 'Welsh Speaking
Communities and Creating a Bilingual Wales' conference
at Llandrindod Wells in May. The event provided a platform
to debate the important issues facing Welsh-speaking communities.
As we reported in our annual report for 2001, we were
disappointed with some of the comments on the issue of
inward migration and its effects on the 'Welsh language
heartlands'. In our opinion, the subsequent media coverage
also inflamed the situation. We did all we could
to defuse the situation, by calling for calm and issuing
press statements. |
| We have since had regular meetings with representatives
of the Welsh language lobby, such as CEFN and the Welsh
Language Board, to strengthen our position. |
| In July 2002, the CRE published a guide to ethnic monitoring,
as part of the non-statutory guidance to help public authorities
meet their new duties under the amended Race Relations
Act. Devolution reflects an increasing national consciousness
in England, Scotland, and Wales, with many people wanting
their national identity to be acknowledged. Mindful of
the angry reactions to the absence of a Welsh tick box
in the 2001 census, the CRE decided to develop slightly
expanded versions of the original ethnic questions. |
| In August, we took part in a workshop organised by the
Office of National Statistics to produce a topic report
on 'Welsh ethnicity, identity and language', based on
data from the 2001 census, the Labour Force Survey, and
other sources. The report will contain a mixture of tables,
maps, charts, and commentary. We emphasised the importance
of up-to-date and reliable statistical data on the socio-economic
progress of ethnic minority communities in Wales. The
report will be available in 2003. |
| Modernising local racial equality services |
| The extensive preparations for reform of the CRE;s--approach
to funding local racial equality work culminated in the
launch of Getting Results, in December 2002. The
pack consists of three documents: Investing in communities:
a policy framework for awarding grants,
A compact of relations between the CRE and organisations
receiving section 44 grants, and A code of practice
for funding racial equality services. |
| The documents set out the CRE's strategy for linking
funding of local racial equality services with more rigorous
standards for tackling social inequalities. The long-term
aims are to widen access to consistently excellent local
racial equality services, to improve accountability, and
to develop effective working partnerships with the voluntary
sector. |
| In practice, this will mean that the CRE will no longer
provide funding for broad activities or salary costs.
Instead, organisations will be expected to focus on the
difference they hope to make through our grants. How they
approach their objectives -for example through legal casework
or public education campaigns - is up to them. What the
CRE will need if it is going to fund an organisation is
evidence that the outcomes identified in its grant application
are relevant to the communities it serves, and that it
is capable of operating efficiently. |
| The new funding regime, which will come into effect
on 1 April 2003, will cover two types of funding: |
- strategic or long-term support for jointly agreed
goals; and
|
- development funding for fixed periods.
|
| As local organisations begin to achieve outcomes, the
CRE would expect to see communities where people from
all backgrounds: |
- know what they want, and have real power and influence;
|
- are involved in shaping the services they need,
and take part in improving their neighbourhoods;
|
- feel safe, knowing that they belong;
|
- recognise their fellow citizens as their equals,
enjoying the same rights;
|
- trust the public authorities in charge of ' maintaining
good community relations; and
|
- know that everyone has a stake in the welfare of
the place they call home.
|
| Four main areas of funding have been identified. The
CRE will welcome initiatives that will: |
- help to create a new generation of leaders in communities;
|
- promote and develop common ground between different
local communities;
|
- empower communities to find their own answers rather
than impose solutions from outside; and
|
- encourage people from particularly isolated or marginalised
groups to get more involved in the way their community
is run.
|
| RECs and other organisations receiving funding from
the CRE were informed about the CRE's decisions in February
2002 and a joint working group was formed, with representatives
from all parties concerned, including local authorities,
government departments, and the British Federation of
RECs. The CRE then launched a comprehensive consultation
exercise. This was based on a questionnaire survey, mailed
out to a wide range of organisations, and on well-attended
and very useful meetings with RECs and others, in all
regions and countries. |
| The CRE received 163 responses to the questionnaire.
Those from RECs, while broadly positive, expressed understandable
apprehension about the scale of the changes being proposed,
as well as concerns about training, and the timetable.
Others, including some RECs, were very enthusiastic about
the new approach. They felt the change was long overdue
and would bring the CRE and RECs in line with methods
of working and funding that were common practice elsewhere. |
| 4 IMPROVING OUR SERVICES |
| Staff at CRE Wales will remember 2002 as a year of change
and improvement in our services and structures. Due to
Dr Mashuq Ally's resignation as head of CRE Wales in July,
Dharmendra Kanani, then Head of CRE Scotland, and now
Director of Countries, Regions and Communities, managed
the CRE Wales office for the rest of the year. We are
hopeful that a new head will be recruited by the end of
2003. |
| Despite difficult times, we did much to improve our
services in Wales. |
| Best value review |
| In March 2002, the Improvement and Development Agency
produced a report outlining the main findings of the best
value review the CRE had commissioned in 2001. |
| The review focused on the following areas: |
|
|
- putting our vision, mission, and values into practice;
|
- improvements in processes;
|
|
|
- communication (knowledge management and critical
intelligence);
|
- development of staff; and
|
- development of business planning and effective performance
management.
|
| IDeA made recommendations on each of these areas and,
at the end of the year, a programme of work was well under
way. Our achievements in 2002 included: |
- introduction of a new organisational structure to
reflect and deliver the CRE's strategic priorities;
|
- development of a new senior management team;
|
- development of a new competency-based performance
appraisal system;
|
- development of matrix project teams; and
|
- development of a set of values for the CRE.
|
| The new structure should be firmly established early
in the new year. The CRE Wales office will see considerable
change as a result. |
| A number of short-term project teams were set up during
the year, to make recommendations on internal communication;
translating the organisation's values into practice; and
a code of conduct for staff. The changes introduced through
the best value review were monitored at all stages of
the process, in line with the CRE's race equality scheme. |
| Training |
| A number of in-house training courses were organised
during 2002 to improve customer services and understanding
of the law. These included courses on the Data Protection
Act, the Human Rights Act, risk management, Plain English,
and the amended Race Relations Act. In line with our duties
under our Welsh Language Scheme, a number of officers
at the CRE Wales office also took Welsh language lessons. |
| Publications |
| We continued to work closely with our corporate publications
service in London, to make sure our publications on the
new duty to promote race equality, and other general titles
- for example It Could Be You, a leaflet on the Race
Relations Act and people's rights; the CRE Race
Equality Scheme, and our publications scheme under
the Freedom of Information Act - were all translated into
Welsh. |
| CRE Wales Committee, at 31 December 2002 |
| CHERRY SHORT |
| CRE commissioner for Wales (April 1998 -) Councillor,
Cardiff County Council; chair, Cardiff Council Gypsy Sites
Committee; member, Cardiff County Equal Opportunities
Committee; member, government task force on implementing
Welfare to Work and New Deal programmes in Wales; national
member, Home Office Race, Education and Employment forum;
management committee member, Children in Wales; race adviser
to University of Wales Cardiff Social Work Diploma Programme;
probation officer, South Glamorgan Probation Service;
quality assurance adviser, Postqualifying Consortium for
Wales; former chair, Cardiff and the Vale Racial Equality
Council; co-author, Working with Difference (CCETSW,
1997). |
| KHURSHID AHMED |
| CRE commissioner (April 2002 -) Non-executive
director, Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust; former
assistant chief executive and head of race relations and
equal opportunities unit, Birmingham City Council; member,
official enquiry into the Danall disturbances in Sheffield
(199596); chair, National Association of British Pakistanis;
chair, Dudley Race Equality Council; chair, Dudley Community
(Strategic) Partnership; Labour candidate for local government;
chair, Dudley North Constituency Labour Party. |
| GITA SOOTARSING |
| CRE commissioner (July 1999 -) Independent member,
Central Police Training and Development Authority; winner,
first Windrush High Flyer Award, Small Business High Flyer
category (1999); member, London Central Region Panel of
Employment Tribunals for England and Wales; vice-chair,
Essex Police Authority; former executive director, Ionian
Management Consultants; former member, Race Relations
Employment Advisory Group (DfEE Ministerial Group); previous
career with the Bank of England. |
| K,IMAUEET JANDU |
| CRE commissioner (June 2000 - ) National diversity
manager, Ford Britain (responsible for organisational
culture change and setting up a network of diversity councils
in the company); former policy development officer, Trades
Union Congress (responsible for race equality and employment
policy, trade union support for Stephen Lawrence Family
Campaign, and setting up a task group on institutional
racism); former economic development officer, London Borough
of Ealing; former European TUC representative, Economic
and Social Affairs Committee, European Commission (responsible
for work on the Equal Treatment Directive); and former
member, advisory panel to the Fourth National Survey on
Ethnic Minorities. An economist by training, he has published
in the fields of race and diversity. |
|
The Commission for Racial Equality
works in partnership with individuals
and organisations for a fair and just society
which values diversity and gives everyone
an equal chance to work, learn
and live free from discrimination,
prejudice and racism
|
|
CRE OFFICES
|
NERD OFFICE
St Dunstan's House
201-211 Borough High Street
London
SE1 1GZ
Tel: 020 7939 0000 |
MANCHESTER
Maybrook House (5th floor)
40 Blackfriars Street
Manchester
M3 2EG
Tel: 0161 835 5500 |
BIRMINGHAM
Lancaster House (3rd floor)
67 Newhall Street
Birmingham
B31NA
Tel: 0121 710 3000 |
SCOTLAND
The Tun
12 Jackson's Entry
off Holyrood Road
Edinburgh
EH8 8PJ
Tel: 0131 524 2000 |
LEEDS
Yorkshire Bank Chambers
(1st floor)
Infirmary Street
Leeds
LS1 2JP
Tel: 0113 389 3600 |
WALES
Capital Tower (3rd floor)
Greyfriars Road
Cardiff
CF10 3AG
Tel: 02920 729 200 |
|
|
|
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