PM in new bid to stamp out racial injustice

THERESA May will today say that far more action is needed to stamp out racial discrimination in every walk of British life.

Stepping up her personal campaign against racial injustice, the Prime Minister plans to highlight the many gaps in attainment between different ethnic groups in employment, business, schools, the Civil Service and virtually all other major public institutions.

She will announce a new Government website being launched today that will publish a vast range of official data auditing the differences in life outcomes for people from different groups.

The Ethnicity Facts and Figures website, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, contains thousands of statistics covering more than 130 topics in areas including health, education, employment and the criminal justice system.

At a Downing Street round-table event to launch the website today, Mrs May will say: “People who have lived with discrimination don’t need a government audit to make them aware of the scale of the challenge.

“But this audit means that for society as a whole – for government, for our public services – there is nowhere to hide.

“And the message is very simple: if these disparities cannot be explained then they must be changed.” Key findings include the fact that white people, Indians and Pakistanis are more likely to own their own home than black people and Bangladeshis.

The disparities in home ownership occur even after taking account of age, geography, income and socio-economic group.

Children from Chinese and Asian backgrounds perform far better in schools than white or black youngsters.

Only 32 per cent of white British pupils on free school meals reach the expected standard in exams at age 11, worse than any other ethnic group.

White teenagers are four times more likely to be smokers than black teens.