§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness and financial efficiency of the Commission for Racial Equality. [68186]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienA study of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was conducted by a senior Home Office official in July 1998 for budgetary purposes. This raised no serious concerns about the financial propriety of the CRE's expenditure of public money. It did, however, make recommendations to improve its business planning, including closer working links with the Home Office. Officials are in regular contact with the CRE and are taking these forward.
§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he met the former Commission for Racial Equality member, Mrs. Blondel Cluff; what detailed response he has made to the paper on the Commission for Racial Equality which she submitted to the Home Office; and if he will place a copy of his response to her paper in the Library. [68185]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI met Mrs. Cluff on 6 July 1998. At this meeting she passed me her report.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary wrote a private letter to Mrs. Cluff thanking her for her service on the Commission. In this he said that her points on the role and philosophy of the Commission would help inform the Government's thinking on the future shape for race relations legislation.