Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report (Hansard, 22 February 2000)

§ Maria Eagle
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the first annual report of progress on the implementation of the Action Plan he published in March 1999 as the Government's response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report; and if he will make a statement. [111909]

§ Mr. Straw
I will publish the first annual report tomorrow. It will set out details of progress made on each of the areas covered by the recommendations of the Inquiry and will identify action still to be taken. It will show that there has been substantial progress across the criminal justice and education systems. But there is much more to be done and it is vital that all the public services covered by the Inquiry's report maintain their determination to deliver the highest standards of service to all members of society regardless of their race.

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the measures police forces are taking to ensure that policies and practices formed in response to the Stephen Lawrence inquiry report are being effectively implemented across all ranks. [111318]

§ Mr. Charles Clarke
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will publish tomorrow the first Annual Report on progress on implementation of the Action Plan he published in March 1999 in response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report. This will give details of progress made within the police service to give effect to the Inquiry's recommendations. A key element in ensuring that forces turn policies into action on the ground is the new Ministerial Priority to increase trust and confidence in policing among minority ethnic communities which will provide clear measurement of forces' performance on race equality.

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those police forces in England and Wales that are undertaking an examination862W of their policies and practices to identify institutional racism as recommended by the Stephen Lawrence inquiry report; and if he will make a statement. [111317]

§ Mr. Charles Clarke
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will publish tomorrow the first Annual Report on progress on implementation of the Action Plan he published in March 1999 in response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report. The Action Plan amounts to a comprehensive programme to tackle institutional racism and the annual report will give a detailed picture of the steps which the police service is taking to implement it.
Under the "Dismantling the Barriers" Action Plan he launched in July 1999 to help forces meet the targets my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has set for the recruitment, retention and progression of ethnic minority officers, all forces are required to conduct full race relations/cultural audits which will include surveys across all staff to assess the perception of the treatment of ethnic minority officers and other diversity issues. The aim will be to identify all the elements of the organisational culture and their likely impact on policing a diverse society; and to assess the impact on the recruitment, retention and progression of ethnic minority staff.