Agenda item

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submits a report to update the Overview Select Committee on the governance approach along with an outline of key themes and early areas of work to take forward the Council’s commitment to tackling race inequality and disadvantage, and promoting inclusion particularly for Black, Black British, Caribbean, African and dual heritage people and communities living and working in Leicester.

The Committee is recommended to provide feedback on the proposed approach, and provide feedback and any further ideas on the proposed themes and areas of work leading to the development of an action plan.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submitted a report to update the Overview Select Committee on the governance approach along with an outline of key themes and early areas of work to take forward the Council’s commitment to tackling race inequality and disadvantage, and to promote inclusion particularly for Black, Black British, Caribbean, African and dual heritage people and communities living and working in Leicester.

The Committee Members were recommended to provide feedback on the proposed approach and provide feedback and any further ideas on the proposed themes and areas of work leading to the development of an action plan.

Councillor Hunter, Assistant City Mayor, Tackling Racism and Disadvantage, introduced the report, which provided an update on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement which began in 2013 and global protests. It was noted that most people had an understanding of the reaction to the issues and the impact that racism and inequality had had around the world and in the UK overall, and that Leicester as a diverse city was not without its challenges. It was recognised that further progress required concrete commitment from Elected Members, officers and meaningful dialogue with Leicester’s diverse Black communities.

Councillor Hunter, working with Councillor Patel, Assistant City Mayor for Communities, Equalities and Special Projects had held meetings with officers and community members to begin building a picture of the city to help formulate a plan of action.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance presented the report, which had been developed working closely with both Assistant City Mayors Councillors Hunter and Patel, and Corporate Management Team colleagues to look at how the work could be supported going forward in terms of how the governance and resources would be focused. A Corporate Steering Group, chaired by the Chief Operating Officer had been set up, which was due to hold its first meeting. Involving staff representatives from different departments the group would meet once a month to shape the action plan, looking at how to measure progress and outcomes, and report back regularly to both the Executive and Overview Select Committee on the progress of work and impact it was having. The working group would be supported by a Race Equality Officer once recruited, but the group was pushing ahead with work in the meantime.

It was highlighted that it is of course really important the work has credibility with the wider city, stakeholders and community. Over the next few weeks there would be work to shape with Cllr Hunter and Cllr Patel, an external reference group who could both challenge and provide input for shaping the work as we move forward.

The Director highlighted 4.2 of the report which set out what had been identified in terms of key themes of areas of inequality that were well understood in terms of many reports that had gone before nationally and locally, and provided initial actions as a starting point. The Working Group would shape the actions into a more detailed plan, identifying other areas of work to focus on.

The City Mayor thanked the Assistant City Mayors for the work on the report through their related portfolios and thanked the Director and colleagues for working very quickly on the topic and noted the work underway and recruitment outlined.

Members thanked the Assistant Mayors and Director for the report. In response to Members questions, the following responses were made:

·         A comment was made around metric measurements and when setting for things like discrimination and disadvantage, to look very strategically to what needed to be delivered, to take account of the more challenged and nuanced metrics which would be more impactful in disadvantaged communities. It was agreed it needed to be shown that any action was having desired impacts. Looking at the most obvious impact and measures would be the first task of the Group.

·         With regards to the External Reference Group, the importance of Black communities having a voice was emphasised. It was noted the Group would be made up of representatives from trade unions, voluntary sector, relevant community groups, the universities and people in and around the city.

·         The issue of slave traders and slave labour was raised as it had been identified in many cities, amongst them Leicester.

·         Members were pleased to see the issue of hate crime was identified and hoped the Council would improve its policy on hate crime and its practices to protect people who were vulnerable or had experienced hate crime which had a profound effect on people.

·         Mental Health was noted to be increasing, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and within the BAME community, and asked that it be recognised as part of the theme for tackling health inequalities for Black communities.

·         Members stated education was the key factor and the best way to tackle issues were by educating children at a very young age, that they be taught and understood the history of black people and the contribution they had made. Though the Council had no direct control over the practice of schools, they should be encouraged in relation to the teaching of Black heritage and culture.

The Assistant City Mayors thanked Members for their comments and support. It was noted there was a statutory duty to challenge discrimination, and that it was important to find out the lived experiences of black people and what they faced on a day to day basis, how it impacted on the work of the council, and measured to make sure actions taken were impacting on peoples’ lives for the good.

The Chair asked that a timeframe be given for the work to provide some completion target. He further added it was important that the Group link with the work of other Scrutiny Commissions, for example, Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission who were working on the achievement of black children in schools, and a future report being brought to Overview Select Committee from the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Commission looking at the experience of Black people working in the Health Service.

The Chair further added there were people involved in the arts and culture that would be valuable to the work, and it would be good to have funding or sponsorship for the arts to portray some of the issues.

The Chair welcomed the report, as had other Members and looked forward to the challenges that would be faced.

AGREED:

1.    That the report be noted.