Press Release - 27 April 2009

QED Welcomes Narrowing the Gap Proposals

An award-winning charity from Yorkshire has welcomed a new plan by the government that could make public bodies legally required to tackle social inequalities.

QUEST FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (QED-UK), an organisation from Bradford in West Yorkshire that supports ethnic minorities, was commenting after it emerged that Equalities Minister Harriet Harman is to consult on whether to legislate to oblige government and councils to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

QED-UK, an organisation that has campaigned for almost 20 years to narrow the social and economic gaps for a more prosperous and cohesive society, said that although there may be problems in implementing the new law the move would be welcome as a way to reduce the inequalities gap.

The consultation forms part of government efforts to widen opportunities for people and raise levels of social mobility. Ministers are looking at requiring public bodies to recognise and tackle inequalities stemming from social background in the same way as they must already do for race, gender and disability.

In a white paper on social mobility just published the government said that class was still the source of "persistent inequality" in British society.

The bill, designed to increase fairness and diversity in the workplace, would also allow firms to discriminate in favour of female and ethnic minority candidates and require public bodies to disclose the extent of any gender pay gap in their organisation.

Dr Mohammed Ali OBE, Chief Executive of QED-UK, said: "The inequality gap increases if you impose race and religion on top of social class. Over 60 per cent children from Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities live in households which are poor."

QED-UK recently warned that ethnic minorities could suffer most as the recession deepens because they face disproportionately high levels of unemployment and urged government and business to take measures to increase social mobility and to improve the job prospects of marginalised ethnic groups.

A number of recent reports have highlighted the stark issues facing ethnic minorities in the job market in contrast with their white counterparts. In December, a study said that the job prospects of some of Britain's ethnic minorities have declined markedly since the 1970s.

Dr Ali added: "Social mobility for all disadvantaged communities is key to the economic prosperity of Britain; we would urge all sectors of the economy to think seriously what they do to address barriers facing these groups."

Announcing a consultation process on what public bodies could do to enhance social mobility, ministers said they had a crucial role to play in helping people fulfil their potential.

The white paper said: "Given the important role public policies and services play in supporting individuals to make the most of their talents, we will consider legislating to make clear that tackling socio-economic disadvantage and narrowing gaps in outcomes for people from different backgrounds is a core function of public services."

Theresa May, shadow equality minister, said they had not reached a "definitive conclusion" on the best way forward. However, one option under consideration is including a legal provision on public bodies to act accordingly in the Equalities Bill currently before Parliament.