Race Relations in Employment (Hansard, 24 October 1984)

§ Lord Orr-Ewing
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, the Government have firmly set themselves against all unlawful discrimination and are resolutely committed to promoting good race relations in employment by securing equal treatment and opportunity. The Commission for Racial Equality has a statutory duty to work towards these ends, and has produced a Code of Practice, which came into operation on 1st April.
The Department of Employment's Race Relations Employment Advisory Service gives help and guidance to employers and trade unions on issues which can arise in the management of a multiracial workforce. It is currently giving priority to advising on the Code of Practice.
The Manpower Services Commission seeks to ensure equal access for people of different races to all its public employment and training services and also supports language training to improve the employment prospects of members of ethnic minorities.
In addition, the Government have adopted, in agreement with the Council of Civil Service unions, a policy for race relations in the Civil Service. The Government are determined to ensure full equality of opportunity in the Civil Service for people from the ethnic minorities both at the recruitment stage and in their subsequent careers.

§ Lord Orr-Ewing
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that it will give considerable satisfaction in all parts of the House that the Government have taken an initiative in this field? Could he say whether not just manufacturing industries but service industries, recreation and sport, are all being encouraged? Has he any special areas where there is a good success story of achievement?

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for his welcome to the reply which I gave. In the difficult employment climate that we are in there are two hopeful signs so far as this question is concerned. Black people have undoubtedly made some advances in employment in the public health and transport services, and there has been a significant growth in self-employment and private businesses among Asian people.

§ Baroness Seear
My Lords, can the Government, as an employer themselves, say what evidence there is of the results of their own equal opportunities policy, which I think they produced in 1974? What evidence have they to show that this policy is achieving results? In particular have the Government at any time as an employer made use of those sections of the Race Relations Act which allow special training for members of ethnic minority groups for areas of occupation in which they are greatly under-represented?

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, there are no recent Government statistics available of unemployment 205 among the ethnic minorities. So far as concerns the second question that the noble Baroness asked, it is appropriate and helpful under Section 37 of the Race Relations Act for my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Employment to designate other bodies to provide discriminatory training. I understand that some of the London boroughs and the industrial training boards have been so designated.

§ Lord Somers
My Lords, would the noble Lord agree that on this question not really a great deal can be done by legislation and that it is much more a question of education generally? Would he also agree that it would be a good thing if those who came to this country from abroad were a little more prepared to adopt our way of life, and that all the effort cannot be made just on one side?

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, the noble Lord mentions education. I think that the House will be glad to hear that the Manpower Services Commission language training for linemployed young people under the training opportunities scheme last year reached out to 1,750 people in the ethnic minorities who needed language training. The industrial training service, which is funded by the Manpower Services Commission and is administered by local education authorities in areas of high ethnic population, reached out to over 11,500 people last year. The third point which is interesting is that this year we are spending some £70 million on Section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966, which of course is money precisely for trying to reduce racial disadvantage, including support for salaries of training and career officers.

§ Lord Elwyn-Jones
My Lords, while the House will welcome the statement of the noble Lord on the actions of the Government in the field of employment in regard to ethnic minorities, is it nevertheless not an unhappy fact that the percentage of linemployment among ethnic minorities, especially, alas, the young blacks, is far higher than in regard to the rest of the population?

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, I think that that is undoubtedly true. The remedy of course must lie in the success of the Government's policies to promote an economic climate conducive to competitiveness and growth, but at the same time we must not underestimate the importance of the employment and training special measures of the Manpower Services Commission on which £2¼ billion are being spent this year.

§ Baroness Seear
My Lords, is the Minister aware that he did not really answer my question? Perhaps I did not make myself clear. I was concerned to find out what the Government as a direct employer inside the Civil Service have done to promote the employment and promotion to appropriate levels of members of ethnic minorities and whether they have made use for their own internal purposes of the special training facilities?

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, as I said in my. original Answer, a policy was worked out with the Council of 206 Civil Service Unions earlier so that we have a written document about non-discrimination with the Civil Service, but that indeed is not to say that the Government were not recognising and complying with the provisions of the 1976 Act since that Act came into force: indeed they were.