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The Government launched a new strategy today to drive forward its commitment to promote diversity and equality within its workforce.
Promoting equality, valuing diversity: a strategy for the civil service builds upon learning derived from 10-Point Plan on Delivering a Diverse Civil Service, the first Civil Service strategy aimed at improving diversity launched in 2005. Since then, the Cabinet Office has worked in partnership with government departments to develop their own action plans and in particular to strengthen accountability for diversity at leadership level.
The new strategy will continue to support this ongoing work and in addition will embed diversity deeper across all levels of the Civil Service, linking diversity to every aspect of Civil Service business. The Civil Service is committed to improving the delivery of public services for everyone in society and the strategy is launched in recognition that to do this we need the richest possible mix of talent and a workforce that is truly reflective of the public we serve.
In light of these aims, the new strategy will focus on:
* Culture change and behaviours - creating a fully inclusive culture and effectively measuring progress.
* Leadership and accountability - including continuing to hold Permanent Secretaries to account for their department's performance on diversity.
* Talent management - recruiting and progressing the most talented people from all different backgrounds.
* A diverse workforce at all levels - setting out our aspirations for representation in the longer term through service-wide targets and departmental targets that widen the focus beyond only the Senior Civil Service.
Launching the new strategy Sir Gus O'Donnell, Head of the Civil Service said:
"I am delighted to announce the launch of Promoting equality, valuing diversity, a vital initiative for the future of the Civil Service. We have made significant progress in this field and our workforce is now more diverse than ever but we must not be complacent.
"I want the Civil Service to lead the way, among employers, in the way we value our people, invest in their development and create an inclusive culture. A diverse Civil Service which reflects the society we serve will enable us to deliver better public services. "
The strategy will be driven forward across the Civil Service with the help of the Diversity Champions' Network - bringing together board level diversity champions to support action plans within departments. Sir Bill Jeffrey, the Civil Service Diversity Champion and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence welcomed the new strategy and said:
"Promoting equality, valuing diversity broadens important work begun at departmental level through the 10-Point Plan. We know that we need to work together - and to learn from best practice inside and outside the public sector - to turn our commitments on diversity into actions that make a real difference to all staff in the Civil Service."
Minister for the Civil Service Tom Watson MP said:
"We have long recognised that there is no such thing as a typical citizen. The Civil Service needs to be reflective of the diverse communities it serves and to become better at developing and delivering policies that include everyone in society. This new strategy is challenging and I look forward to seeing the results from the implementation of the plan across all departments."
A major report published by the independent London Child Poverty Commission demands strong action from national and local government, employers, and people working with families and children, to tackle the high levels of child poverty in London. "Capital Gains" is the result of two years of extensive research and consultation.
Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, has launched a new taskforce to help more black, Asian and minority ethnic women to become councillors, and so make councils more representative of the community.
The taskforce will be chaired by Baroness Uddin, the first Muslim woman in the House of Lords and a prominent figure in the black and Asian community. Members will include councillors from across Britain, from all ethnicities and political parties.
Only around 168 out of 20,000 councillors are black, Asian or minority ethnic women. This is less than one per cent, despite the fact they make up more than 5% of the population. To be fully representative this needs to increase more than five fold to around 1000 minority ethnic women councillors. At the current rate of increase this could take more than 130 years.
The taskforce will take practical action to address this under-representation, such as provide mentoring, hold outreach events in community centres to make the role of councillors more widely known and better understood, working with organisations such as the Local Government Association, Operation Black Vote and the Fawcett Society to develop awareness training, establish networking groups, conduct research, work with local councils, political parties and organisations like IdeA to improve the recruitment, training and selection and support given to candidates as well as working with others producing guidance and advice.
Harriet Harman said: “Empowering black, Asian and minority ethnic women in public life is a key priority for Government. They are a force for good within their communities, and in building bridges between communities. Their contribution must be better recognised and supported.
”And we need our local councils to better reflect the local community.
“It’s not just about people’s right to be a councillor, it’s about making local government better, making decision making better, more understanding of communities that services are being provided for. You have better informed decision making if you have all members of the community represented.
“But it’s important not just to have Black and Asian councillors, but also to support them, because it’s more difficult if you are a pioneer, in a minority. So we have to recognise it’s not just about getting them in, but to make sure that our Black and Asian women councillors have the proper support and we recognise their role as pioneers in taking this forward.”
Baroness Uddin, Chair of the new Councillors Taskforce, said: "I'm delighted to have been asked to chair this new taskforce, local government is an important route to strengthening and shaping all our lives. I hope in the coming year ahead we will be able to work with women across all the communities by encouraging and inspiring their participation. Our ambition is simple in that we wish to see an increased numbers of women councillors, and I am glad to have the full backing of the government in order to achieve this ambition".
Simon Woolley, Executive Advisor to the Taskforce and Director of OBV, said: “There is no shortage of talented black and minority ethnic women who, given half a chance, would make excellent councillors and MPs. The challenge, therefore, is to break down barriers whilst encouraging these talented women to come forward. OBV is pleased to be part of this exciting initiative.”
The taskforce will last 12 months, with an option to review and take account of some of the recommendations of the independent Councillors Commission (published last December). The taskforce will identify action to increase awareness and build confidence and skills; reach out into communities to encourage women to step forward to become local councillors; identify and tackle barriers within political parties; and reduce disadvantage and stereotyping from within and outside the communities.
The Government Equalities Office has worked closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the work of the Councillors Commission, which looked at the incentives and barriers to standing as councillors, and included increasing the representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic women, as well as other under represented groups – women, men from BAME communities, and people of working age.
Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, will be responding to the Councillors’ Commission report in the summer. She said: "Democracy at its best should be a reflection of the people it serves and the proportion of councillors from ethnic minority backgrounds represents only half the number of BME people in this country. It is vitally important that British citizens of whatever background feel that they are represented in democracy and I welcome the work that this taskforce will do to ensure that everyone can have the opportunity to contribute to politics and have their voices heard."
Ms Harman announced in July last year that empowering Black, Asian and minority ethnic women was one of the Minister for Women’s priorities. The other two are: supporting families, particularly as they bring up children and care for older and disabled relatives; and tackling violence against women and improving the way we deal with women who commit crimes.
The NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme today welcomed the first national survey of deaths from sickle cell and thalassaemia: The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) report ‘A Sickle Crisis?’
Programme Director of the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Programme Allison Streetly, comments:
“As one of the most commonly inherited genetic disorders in the UK it is encouraging that sickle cell is now taken seriously enough to warrant this kind of analysis. The report clearly highlights some of the worrying shortfalls in care that have long concerned professionals in this area.
“The evidence of avoidable deaths highlighted by this report clearly indicates a failing in the knowledge of clinicians and the availability of specialist care services. Equally damning was the finding that despite the fact that sickle cell is known to be highly prevalent in London it is still one of the most common reasons for admissions and has the highest rate of multiple admissions for any disease.
“Now that newborn screening is identifying around 300 babies every year with sickle cell the Programme is working to develop quality care throughout England. We strongly believe that an ethical antenatal screening programme should offer genuine choice to parents. If parents choose to have a child with sickle cell or thalassaemia, they should be able to count on quality care wherever they live in England.
This remains a particular challenge because knowledge and expertise has traditionally been concentrated in urban areas. For this reason, we are particularly focusing on improving training for a range of health professionals and also working closely with commissioners to make sure that the necessary funding is in place.”
New research released today shows that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities have higher levels of social entrepreneurship than the White community. It also finds that while women are only half as likely as men to be mainstream entrepreneurs, they are equally as or more likely than men to be social entrepreneurs.
The Delta Economics findings, based on a five-year survey of social entrepreneurship in the UK, were released today at a BAME conference in London hosted by the Social Enterprise Coalition.
Social entrepreneurship is entrepreneurship aimed to achieve a social or environmental purpose through profit-making ventures. Social enterprises are businesses set up to achieve those objectives.
The survey found that twice as many Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic respondents were engaged in some form of start-up social entrepreneurial activity compared to White respondents.
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said: “What is obvious from this interesting research is that social enterprise is a concept that resonates across all communities. Innovation and hard work are at the heart of social enterprise, and the Government is grateful for the contribution of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities to this exciting new movement.”
The survey also found that when it comes to social entrepreneurship, women are as likely as men to be social entrepreneurs. This contrasts significantly with mainstream business where men are twice as likely to be entrepreneurs.
Dr. Rebecca Harding, Managing Director of Delta Economics, who led the survey said: “Under-represented groups in enterprise, such as women and BAME communities, are more likely to be social entrepreneurs and be innovative in tackling the needs they see in front of them on a daily basis.”
Jonathan Bland, Chief Executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition, said: “This data shows the reach of social enterprise to a wide range of communities and reaffirms its potential as a business model essential not only for positive social change, but for the UK’s economy.”
Launch of Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week (EMCAW) on Monday 7th July, 12.30pm - 3.00pm, with MPs’ photocall (House of commons, Dining Room A)
Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week (7th – 13th July 2008) is a new initiative from a collaboration of leading charities to raise awareness of cancer amongst ethnic minority groups.
The initiative was launched by Cancer Equality at their ‘Delivering Equality in Cancer Care-A Challenge for All’ conference in 2007. Following this a group of charities have come together to deliver a week of events to both raise cancer awareness and improve access to services amongst ethnic minorities. The work is funded by the Cancer Action Team.
This year’s event will be focused on London, as one of the most diverse and vibrant cities in the world; around 40 per cent of the population belongs to an ethnic minority and over 300 languages are spoken. In a number of areas London leads the way in the provision of services to minority communities. At the same time there are inequalities in the cancer incidence and mortality experienced by different communities compared to the general population. Furthermore, evidence suggests that barriers exist for ethnic minorities in accessing cancer information and services which may impact on cancer survival rates.
The week of activities will begin with our parliamentary reception, hosted by Sadiq Khan MP and Dr Ian Gibson MP at:
Monday 7th July, 12.30pm – 3.00pm, House of Commons (Dining room A) with refreshments. We are delighted that Anne Keen MP, Paula Lloyd from the Cancer Action Team, Sir Trevor McDonald and Eddie Nestor will be joining us to share their experiences. We will also be joined by policy makers, service providers and community organisations to explore ways of improving cancer services for ethnic minority communities and showcase the services already provided. There will also be representatives from the collaboration of charities involved who will be able to answer your questions about a range of issues relating to ethnic minority communities and cancer.
There will be a MPs’ photocall to highlight the overarching aims of the week. For more information please visit http://www.emcaw.co.uk
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and his newly appointed Deputy Mayor for Young People, Ray Lewis, today met with young people at Dagenham Fire Station. Both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor were joined by Ron Dobson, Commissioner of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, where they met with young people participating in the London Fire Brigade’s Local Intervention Fire Education, or ‘LIFE’, courses.
The LIFE programme teaches young people between the ages of 13 and 17 fire-fighting skills alongside real fire-fighters. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor saw first-hand how the LIFE programme has had a positive effect, giving young people a real sense of achievement by fostering teamwork, self-discipline and participation in their local communities.
Established in 2002 the course has proved a great success and the Brigade has now run more than 260 LIFE courses, with around 3,000 young people from across 30 boroughs having completed the course.
Speaking at today’s event, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “LIFE courses are one of the London Fire Brigades most successful youth engagement programmes and it is extremely encouraging to see for myself the enthusiasm among those involved. Research has shown that the programme has made a real difference - 80 per cent of those taking part did not offend after completing the course.
“These programmes reach out to the young people in our communities and improve motivation and confidence. LIFE has built an impressive list of achievements over the last three years with positive feedback from all quarters of the community. I look forward to assisting LIFE and similar programmes to flourish in the capital”.
Deputy Mayor for Young People, Ray Lewis, said: “The success of the LIFE programme to date is evidence of how local participation and engagement with young people in our communities can deliver real and positive change. The Mayor and I are committed to build on these programmes and work with voluntary groups across the Capital, making a real difference to the lives of young people and their families in London”.
The ‘employment gap’ between black and ethnic minority (BME) workers is closing steadily, but BME poverty rates are still nearly twice as high, according to a new report released today (Friday) by the TUC.
The TUC report – Ten years after – launched at the 2008 TUC black workers conference in Eastbourne says that steadily improving BME employment rates have reduced the ‘employment gap’ between BME and white workers by 2.2 percentage points over the last decade.
The fastest area of growth in BME employment has been part-time work. The number of BME men working part-time has more than doubled in ten years. This growth has widened the part-time pay gap between BME and white workers in the private sector to 26.3%, as part-time work pays less than full-time work.
The report also identifies differences in pay between the public and private sector. Over the last ten years, the pay gap in the public sector has been virtually eliminated, with black men earning 6.7% more than white men. However, BME men working full-time in the private sector are still paid 11% less than white men. BME women earn the same as white women in both sectors.
The report says that BME employment growth has helped to reduce the number of BME people living in poverty by 11 percentage points in the last ten years. However, in spite of this progress, nearly half of black and ethnic minority children are living in poverty and are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as white children.
In order to further boost employment rates and pay for black and ethnic minority workers, the report calls for employers to develop recruitment, retention and progression policies so that BME workers are able to move into senior positions.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “The steady reduction in BME poverty rates proves that full employment is a vital cure for poverty. But with nearly half of BME children still live in poverty, these welcome trends cannot be taken for granted.
“As more BME men move into part-time work and receive the same low pay as women, the stark reality of in-work poverty is growing. Tackling the deep-rooted problem of poor part-time pay must be at the heart of the Government’s anti-poverty strategy.”
The black workers conference will also see the launch of a new joint campaign between the TUC and the Refugee Council, which aims to give asylum seekers the right to work. Both organisations want a change in policy that would allow asylum seekers who have been in the country for longer than six months, or who are unable to return home, to work and support themselves, and make a contribution to the UK economy.
Last year around 2,400 people in the UK benefited from an organ transplant, but more than 1,000 people die every year waiting for a transplant. Members of ethnic minority communities are especially hard hit by organ shortages for donations.
Glenis Willmott, Labour MEP, has raised the issue of organ shortage in the European Parliament: “A few people with rare tissue types may only be able to receive a well-matched organ from someone of the same ethnic origin, so it is important that people from all ethnic backgrounds donate organs.
Successful transplants are carried out between people from different ethnic groups wherever the matching criteria are met.” The European Parliament will vote today on a report by the Committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, which identifies organ shortage as a common problem in all European countries.
However, the report highlights especially the need for ethnic minority organ donors to come forward. Glenis Willmott MEP said: “People from South Asian, African and African-Caribbean communities living in the UK have a greater chance of needing a kidney transplant than other groups in the population.
This is because they are more likely to develop diabetes or high blood pressure, both of which are major causes of kidney failure.” MEPs are also addressing a wide range of issues, including a European donor card, to tackle problems like organ shortage, transplantation safety and organ trafficking.
Many of the 26% of black and minority ethnic (BME) older people who are living in poverty in England risk missing out on vital financial help and other support this year following huge cuts to advice services, Age Concern said today.
Across England, 80% of Age Concerns1 have suffered funding cuts to their trusted information, advice and advocacy services with the latest reductions beginning to bite in the last seven days. Last year alone, these services helped put £100 million of money benefits into the pockets of older people. Many Age Concerns in areas with high BME populations provide dedicated advice services to BME older people and in many cases these services are being hit by cuts.
Age Concern has today (7th April) launched both a new campaign ‘The price of no advice’ and an accompanying report ‘Transforming Lives’ to highlight the disastrous impact of these cuts and call for increased funding for these vital services. The campaign also calls for a new cross-government strategy to develop a more co-ordinated approach to providing and funding advice services.
Cuts to advice services mean that in the new financial year, about 480,0002 people who come to the charity looking for support risk either not being helped or receiving a reduced service that may not meet their needs. The cuts come at a time when older people on low fixed incomes have been hit by massive price hikes and yet continue to miss out on claiming their share of up to £4.6 billion3 in money benefits each year. The services provide a vital means of helping them claim the money they need to meet their living costs.
Welcome to Black Net Uk the central source for Content, Local and International News, Articles, Gossip, Information and Campaigns. Total user powered content: Every article on Black Net is submitted by users who discover, share and promote content that's important to you and the African and Caribbean Community from Britain and around the world. 
A major report published by the independent London Child Poverty Commission demands strong action from national and local government, employers, and people working with families and children, to tackle the high levels of child poverty in London. "Capital Gains" is the result of two years of extensive research and consultation. 
Kennedy