Making the Race Relations Act Work

When I the Guardian carried my article in April about the failure of most Government departments to implement race equality laws, one of the first things that happened was that I received quite a bit of hate mail from racists. Nothing new there, but what surprised me was how little members of the BNP know about what the law on racial equality actually says. But they are not alone. It seems that a number of Race equality Units in Government Departments also don’t know what the law says and what they are required to do.

It is not only the racists who emailed me in April who assume I am advocating bias in favour of Black people and that the Race Relations Amendment Act supports this. What is far more worrying is that most Government Departments have produced Race Equality Schemes which show that this is what they to think the law says. However the advice from the Commission for Racial Equality states clearly that all three parts of the general duty are have to be applied.

The s71 of the Act which has now been extended beyond a duty for Local Authorities alone to all Public Authorities. They must all show that in carrying out their functions they have due regard to: Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and to promote good relations between people of different racial groups. These are called the 3 parts of he general duty of the Act and it is clear that many people wrongly believe that this means that the law gives sanction to ‘special measurers for Black people’.

What we find is many of the schemes list of actions which have a direct impact, in their view, on Black and Ethnic Minority communities. Some of the schemes appear top boast the special measures, for example mentoring schemes for Black workers or in the case of DfES the Ethnic Minority Attainment Unit . But the scheme does not show much evidence of looking at the polices and procedures of the Department to see whether they have the effect of discriminating. Instead the focus is on BME people, consequently it mean that if the adverse impact of an existing policy or procedure discriminates against white working class people it will not be spotted.

The purpose of a Race Equality Scheme is not to list every action that might have some kind of ‘flavour’ of ethnicity as though if it contains a touch of garlic or chilli pepper it should be listed. A Race Equality Scheme should demonstrating how in carrying out all of its polices and procedures a public authority will show that it is eliminating unlawful racial discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and promoting good relations between people of different racial groups.

My own frustration at the failure of Government to understand and implement the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 is precisely because I see that the potential to bring about fairness for everyone and to add to social cohesion but it is being ignored. Only days after my article in the Guardian, Margaret Hodge prophesied that large numbers of voters and would vote for the BNP, and of course they did. There is no point blaming Hodge for this but she and other members of the Government can be blamed for not apply the race equality laws which would and can undermine the basis for the BNP appeal.

I have no doubt that the Governments intentions in all aspect of it actions are not meant to be racist, indeed they are horrified at any inference that the outcomes of their actions have th effect of racial discrimination nonetheless this is the case. My own belief at what lies at the heart of this misunderstanding, aside from pure ignorance of the racial equality laws say, is that underlying philosophy of racial equality is essentially a pathological view of race and racism.

They sees the problems of racism not with the systems and assumptions that create barriers to full participation and equality but by focusing on those who experience racism by seeing what it is they ‘lack’, for example written English or knowledge of traditional values, alternatively the problems lie in the structure of the family, per haps absent fathers or the assumed ‘backward’ cultures. But in addition to problematising ethnic minority people per se, is the confusion that exists about class. As a matter of fact most ethnic minority people in the UK are working class, whatever class position they may have occupied ‘back home’. But according to Margaret Hodge all working class people are White, and they are seen as being seen hostile to Black people. We only see reference to white working class people in relations to alleged hostility to Black people, but rarely in their own right or in positive terms.

The major problem that arises from this approach is that Government fails to recognise the extent to which White Working class people experience similar discrimination, for example under-achievement at schools etc but then largely ignores it. By focuses only on the impact of such outcomes of ethnic minority people the policies have the effect of alienating white working class people.

The irony of this failure is that the very law designed to tackle this discrimination is being used to reinforce it. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 is meant to be for all ethnic groups including English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish. The Act is not about protecting Black people from racial discrimination it is rightly about protecting all people from unlawful racial discrimination. But this is not how it is understood or implemented by Government departments or many Councils, Schools or NHS Trusts.

For months now I have been writing to Government Departments and to Inspection Bodies set up to see that laws are being upheld. What I have received by way of reply are a serious of arrogant and ignorant defensive statements that confirm that the writer do not know what the law says and consequently are not meeting their requirements. I don’t doubt the intention of these official, I am sure that their hearts are in the right place, and that they are genuinely committed to equality and fairness, but this is not about me verses them, it is about what does the laws on racial equality require and whether those laws are being implemented.

On a positive note the Housing Corporation have published and are promoting a proper understanding of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, they are the only public body aside from a small number councils including the GLA who are meeting their requirements, good on them.

If in applying the general duty of the Act, public servants had due regard to the need to promote good relations between people of different racial groups, instead of ignoring this duty, they would think about the effect of policies on all sections of communities not just their patronising assumptions that Black people, because they are Black require special protection.

Linda Bellos

posted by Linda Bellos @ 10:23 AM