§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Commission for Racial Equality made a favourable recommendation for a self-help grant for the Community Roots and Resource Centre; what other representations were received on this project; and from which bodies.
§ Lord BELSTEADYes, The chairman of the Federation of Self-Help Organisations has also recently written in support of the application; no other representations have been received.
§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Community Roots and Resource Centre declined to comply with any conditions which it was suggested should be imposed on them as a qualification for a grant.
§ Lord BELSTEADNo conditions were suggested.
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§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the policy of the Home Office concerning Commission for Racial Equality staff participation in the Community Roots and Resource Centre; and whether they will publish any guidelines which apply in cases of this kind, including the case of the National Association of Community Relations Councils.
§ Lord BELSTEADThe Home Office discussed with the Commission for Racial Equality the possibility that participation by their staff in the Community Roots Resource Centre, in the event of the Commission making a grant to the Centre, might lead to a conflict of interest. The Commission agreed that such participation would be inappropriate. Although the Home Office has not yet had occasion to issue specific guidance about staff participation in outside organisations, the general principles relating to conflict of interest have, we understand, always been appreciated and applied by the Commission in relation to such organisations, including the National Association of Community Relations Councils, and we also understand that the Commission is now preparing its own formal guidelines.
§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is their policy that the Home Office should support self-help organisations such as the Community Roots and Resource Centre; and whether they believe that encouragement of such organisations may help to forestall unrest such as that recently experienced in the St. Paul's area of Bristol.
§ Lord BELSTEADWe consider that self-help organisations have a valuable contribution to make to the promotion of equal opportunities and the development of harmonious community relations. For this reason funds are made available to the Commission for Racial Equality for the support of such organisations. It is impossible to say how far these organisations may also contribute to preventing this kind of wide-scale unlawfulness which occurred in Bristol.