§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the achievements to date of the hon. Member for Ealing, Acton in respect of his responsibilities in the field of race relations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir George YoungIn any area as important and sensitive as race relations I would be cautious about528W claiming, or even defining, achievements. My broad objective has been to improve relationships between ethnic minority groups, local government, and the Department, and remove some of the barriers in their path which prevent their making a fuller contribution to our society. However, if the hon. Member has specific questions about any aspect of the substantial increase in the level of urban programme funding devoted to projects of direct benefit to the ethnic minorities; the publishing of the booklet describing a number of such projects and offering guidance on the operation of the urban programme; the publishing of the report of a joint local and central government working group charged with disseminating good practice on race relations matters to local authorities; and setting up of more permanent machinery to achieve such dissemination; or on any of my many visits to towns and cities with significant ethnic minority communities to meet project organisers and community leaders, I should be glad to answer them.