Joint meeting between All Party Parliamentary Group on Race and Community and All Party Parliamentary Group on Equalities

6.15pm – 7.15pm, Tuesday 19th October

Committee Room 15, House of Commons

Parliamentary Attendees: Rt Hon Theresa May MP (Home Secretary, Speaker at event), Sandra Osborne MP (Chair of session and Chair of Equalities APPG, Labour), David Lammy MP (Vice Chair, APPG Race and Community, Labour), Richard Fuller MP (APPG Race and Community, Conservative), Baroness Whitaker (APPG Race and Community, Labour), Anne Begg MP (APPG Equalities, Labour), Tom Brake MP (Liberal Democrat), Nicky Morgan MP (Conservative)

Minutes

1) Update from Rt Hon Theresa May MP (Home Secretary and Minister for Equalities) on government’s current equalities work

  • Stated that fairness is one the “core principles of the government”.
  • Stated that the government has put into place “most” of the Equality Act but added that they are still looking at a number of issues including dual discrimination.
  • Stated that the Equality and Human Rights Commission “will be significantly reformed”.
  • Cross-government action plan launched on tackling LGBT discrimination.
  • Provided details of government work on women, including work on increasing the number of women on corporate boards and the inter-ministerial group on violence against women and girls.
  • Announced that questions on all aspects of equalities can now be taken in Women and Equalities question time in parliament.
  • Announced details of ministerial group on equalities made up of ministers across departments with an interest in equalities (members include Communities Minister Andrew Stunell MP focusing on race, and Pensions Minister Steve Webb MP focusing on age).
  • Mentioned that the Equality and Human Rights Commission will be “radically reformed”.
  • No details given on whether the government plans to do any specific work on race equality.

2) Questions from parliamentarians and external observers

  • Richard Fuller MP highlighted the over-representation of black men in the UK prison system, to which Theresa May MP responded by saying that in order to solve the problem a “holistic approach is needed”, stating that the part of the disproportionality stems from sentencing and also called for increased opportunities for young people. She added that there is a role for the Government Equalities Office to discuss this issue in more detail with the Ministry of Justice.
  • David Lammy MP highlighted the dangers of reducing monitoring in stop and search, arguing that this will have a negative impact on the relations between the police and particular ethnic groups. He also criticised the government’s stance on positive action, highlighting its effectiveness in the USA. May did not respond to Lammy’s question on stop and search, and on positive action stated that it is “appropriate to a certain point” but added that the government came to its position due to concerns at how it will be interpreted in the Equality Act.
  • In response to a question from Cllr Rabi Matins (Liberal Democrat), May said that transparency will be central to the government’s approach to how the public sector duty will be implemented.
  • Elizabeth Henry, Interim Chief Executive of Race on the Agenda, highlighted the absence of race in the government’s discourse around equalities and asked whether this will be rectified. In response, May said that there is a recognition of race by the government, citing the presence of Andrew Stunnell MP (Minister with responsibility for race) on the inter-ministerial equalities group. She added that specific measures on race will be introduced “when needed”.
  • Marcel Vige, from mental health charity Mind, highlighted the major differences in the way that Black African and Caribbean people come into contact with mental health services compared with the rest of the population, and asked May whether she is involved in specific interventions in relation to this. In response, May said that this is not an issue she has yet addressed but will discuss with the Department for Health.
  • Chris Whitwell from Friends of Gypsies and Travellers highlighted the exclusion faced by these groups, to which Theresa May stated that the Communities Minister, Andrew Stunnell MP, is currently doing a piece of work on Gypsies and Travellers.
  • In response to a question on the restructuring of the EHRC, May said that the government is looking at how some of its functions can be filled by the big society.