§ 3. Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will explain in more detail the meaning of paragraph 109 section (f) of the White Paper on Racial Discrimination, Command Paper No. 6234.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonIt will be part of the task of the new Race Relations Commission to inform and educate public opinion on race relations. How it fulfils this responsibility will be for the new Commission to decide, but it will no doubt do so by seeking to ensure that the results of its investigations are widely publicised and by engaging directly in educative work.
§ Mr. GouldDoes my hon. Friend accept that, while much valuable work 561 has been done in schools and elsewhere to counteract the disadvantages suffered by some racial groups, there is an equally important task to be done in educating the community to the fact that we live in a multi-racial society? Will he therefore ensure that the Race Relations Commission pays adequate attention to this aspect of its work and that proper liaison is established with the Department of Education and Science and the Schools Council and other interested bodies?
§ Mr. LyonWe are using the word "education" in two senses. There is, first, the general education of society about the need to regard ourselves as a multi-racial society and to act accordingly. I subscribe to what my hon. Friend said about that. Secondly there is the syllabus in schools. That is decided by headmasters and not by the Department of Education and Science. However, we bring to the attention of teachers and headmasters all the evidence now available about the needs of immigrant communities in our society and the wider need to educate society about the needs of these communities.