§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the way in which his Department intend to take forward the twinning of ethnic minority and mainstream voluntary groups. [111691]
§ Beverley HughesIn 2000 the Government launched the Black and Minority Ethnic Twinning Initiative (BMETI) which aimed to increase the involvement of black and minority ethnic people within mainstream voluntary organisations and raise the national awareness of current good volunteering practice in black and minority ethnic communities. In April 2001 an independent external evaluation showed that the initiative benefited both black and minority ethnic organisations and mainstream voluntary organisations. The evaluation contained a number of recommendations for building on the successes of the initiative. They have been taken forward as part of the Home Office Active Community Unit's work with the voluntary sector.