''Expect unrest over deep-rooted racism''

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=14821

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Racism is deep-rooted in police forces, the judiciary, educational establishments and politics, according to Labour's Lord Parekh. At the same time he warned that the government's reforms would hit black and ethnic minority communities the hardest.

Parekh, who was heavily involved in the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain for the previous Labour government on multiculturalism – a body credited with driving anti-racism reform in institutions throughout the UK – reckoned that changes being made by the coalition will undo everything that has been achieved to date. However, at the same time he admitted that he was disappointed that in the last 10 years of the Labour government – ie since the commission produced its report – very little had changed in terms of racism in the upper tiers of many institutions.

"Ethnic minority representation in the higher echelons of the judiciary, civil service, heads of universities, and cabinet is quite small," Parekh said. "Although there are, happily, 24 black and ethnic minority MPs, their number does not reflect their presence in society. The ethnic minority representation in NHS trusts and CEOs of hospitals is extremely small, even though ethnic minorities provide nearly a quarter of our doctors."

He added: "Look at the heads of our diplomatic missions abroad. Ethnic minorities there are negligible, just less than 2 per cent. As a result, Britain presents a predominantly white profile abroad, which we cannot afford when we seek close trade ties with India and China."

Warning of possible unrest in Britain over continued racial discrimination and claiming that cuts in education and health would be "a serious mistake", Parekh went on: "The coalition government's policy is disturbing. They are in danger of dismantling the advances we have worked so hard to achieve over the last decade by their determination to implement cuts that will disproportionately impact disadvantaged, black and ethnic minority communities."

While clearing institutions of intentional discrimination, he said that the "virtual absence" of ethnic minorities in the higher levels of power "matters greatly", adding: "It influences the problems they address, and the way they allocate their scarce resources. It also affects the organisation's ability to uncover its own hidden biases.