Kirklees on list for race work action

for government, for our public services – there is nowhere to hide. “These issues are now out in the open. And the message is very simple – if these disparities cannot be explained then they must be changed.” She added: “Britain has come a long way in my lifetime in spreading equality and opportunity but the data we are publishing today will provide the definitive evidence of how far we must still go in order to truly build a country that works for everyone.” The Prime Minister reportedly ordered the audit shortly after taking office as part of the agenda to tackle injustices in society and reduce the high amount of police ‘stop and searches’ on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people. Nadeem Murtuja, chair of JUST Yorkshire, a campaign group promoting racial justice, said: “This audit confirms the embedded structural inequality, institutional racism and unconscious bias that exists within primarily public sector institutions that have a statutory responsibility to address the causes and inequity in outcomes for minorities and the working

The data we are publishing today will provide the definitive evidence of how far we must still go.

class.

“What should be of particular concern is the chasm of opportunity that exists for one racial group and not for others.

“Unemployment among black, asian and other ethnic minorities is almost double that of white British adults, and the gap in the north is significantly wider than that in the south.”

Simon Woolley, director of pressure group Operation Black Vote, said: “The findings from the Race Disparity Audit presents us with a real opportunity to make transformative change in tackling persistent race inequality.

“Yes, some findings make uncomfortable reading, but unless these things are laid bare we can’t begin to resolve them.

“Over many years the Prime Minister has shown a real desire to grapple with the scourge of racism including confronting high levels of BAME Stop and Search, BAME deaths in police custody and now this.”

Visit the website here: www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk