§ 13. Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with the implementation in the private sector of the recommendations of the Commission for Racial Equality concerning ethnic monitoring.
§ Mr. NichollsProgress is being made. The indications from recent visits to major private sector employers by the Department's race relations employment advisory service are that one third have introduced, or are considering introducing, ethnic monitoring.
§ Mr. JannerDoes the Minister accept the unanimous view of the Employment Committee that discrimination against people because they are black is rampant and rife throughout private industry? Does he not know that people are not treated equally—that is all that anyone asks—and that the ethnic monitoring rules in the code are not being complied with? Why is he not prepared to take action when he has just admitted that the vast majority of private industries have not complied with the code?
§ Mr. NichollsI do not accept that analysis, and I am surprised that the hon. and learned Gentleman accepts it. The Government's commitment against racial discrimination is total, and the hon. and learned Gentleman knows that.
Let me give the hon. and learned Gentleman some of the good news, because he seems to wish to concentrate on the bad news. If he considers his own city of Leicester, he will know that, on the advice of the Department's advisory service, five of the 11 major public and private employers in Leicester have introduced ethnic monitoring. A great deal of good work is being done. It is a pity that the hon. and learned Gentleman does not concentrate on that, instead of trying to pretend that things are as bad as he suggests.