Race And Ethnic Disparities Report Pushed Back To Spring 2021

The Race and Ethnic Disparities report into racial inequality has been pushed back to Spring 2021 due to delays caused by Covid-19. The report had been commissioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests which were sparked by the death of George Floyd. It had originally been scheduled for release at the end of this year, with the commission being headed by Tony Sewell.

At the time, campaigners and civil groups had reacted to the news with caution. The anti-racist advocacy and campaigning charity, The Monitoring Group, were vocal opponents of the decision. Likewise, The Muslim Council of Britain claimed that Sewell was the wrong choice, saying he was "keen on downplaying race disparities".

However, owing to 'Covid-19 related challenges' this will no longer be the case. In a letter to Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, Sewell highlighted the pandemic's impact on the commission's engagement with public, private and voluntary organisations as ultimately being a significant factor.

Kemi Badenoch later took to Twitter to say she was “happy to grant the requested extension” and that they were focused on “avoiding passing fads.”

I'm pleased with the progress being made by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. This update before their full report shows the scale of the challenge. As we saw with our unconscious bias training announcement today, this govt believes in an evidence-led approach to tackling all discrimination, not box-ticking. We are focused on implementing what actually works, and avoiding passing fads. I’m pleased that the commission shares this approach and as sponsoring minister happy to grant the requested extension.

While the report has been pushed back, he was able to reveal some of the early findings from the data. Sewell revealed that the commission's findings highlight marked differences between ethnic groups which render the BAME “increasingly irrelevant”. The letter says that the commission has found similar examples of ‘obscured disparities’ within education, health, employment, enterprise, crime and policing.

The Runnymede Trust have reacted with disappointment to the news claiming that the decision confirms what they have "known all along".

They state:

"Today's direction set out by Dr Tony Sewell confirms what we have known all along. The commission will down-play the role of racism in the lives of BME communities and fly against public opinion and evidence on the impact of racism in the UK.

That the report would represent one in a long line which has come before is a red flag of its own. It suggests that previous recommendations have either not been up to par or more likely that racial inequalities are yet to be adequately addressed. The apparent lack of support for the members of the commission will be a cause for major concern also. If its findings are to be of any use, then the communities which will be affected by its findings must have confidence that any new report will actually yield substantial change.

The late call for evidence from the public received 2,300 responses which suggests there was some, albeit not significant appetite from the public and organisations to further the aims of the findings. In any case, we will now have to wait to see the full findings from this latest in a shamefully long line of reports on racial disparities.

Mayowa Ayodele

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