§ Baroness Whitakerasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to encourage best practice in ethnic monitoring among private sector employees. [HL1347]
§ The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Baroness Blackstone)The Government, in partnership with the Commission for Racial Equality and others, are actively promoting voluntary ethnic monitoring as best practice to business. Employers are being encouraged to monitor both applicants for jobs and their workforce. This approach is being promoted in a number of ways, including by the Race Relations Advisory Service (RREAS), which works with employers to guide them in implementing race equality strategies. Nearly half of all employers who have worked with RREAS have introduced ethnic monitoring systems.