In a brand-new report launched on 2nd September, The Alliance for Racial Justice, a coalition of leading race equality organisations, have called for equality laws to undergo major updates to tackle deep-rooted discrimination and inequality across Britain. [1]
In ‘A better way to tackle Institutional Racism’, The Alliance for Racial Justice calls on the UK’s new government to commit to a major review of the Equality Act 2010. [2]
Whilst a landmark piece at its inception, campaigners now believe this key piece of legislation has failed to safeguard against the spread of racism in the UK’s public bodies. This is in part due to a critical gap between the vision of the Equality Act 2010 and the ability for powers within the act to be implemented in practice.
Funding cuts and an absence of political will have also been coined as key barriers to enforcing equality legislation. [3]
To close this gap and to ensure public bodies are actively held to account in becoming anti-racist, the Alliance has outlined a series of recommendations that will work to end institutional racism:
- Explicitly define institutional racism and provide stronger mechanisms to hold authorities to account under the legislation.
- Take a public health approach to ending institutional and systemic racism.
- Appoint a Cabinet Minister for equality
Amongst these action areas is an appeal to invest in a full-time Equalities Minister, as opposed to the current part-time position occupied by Annelise Dodds – which, members state, reflects the Government’s lack of commitment to addressing institutional racism.
Meka Beresford, Head of Policy at Action for Race Equality said:
Over the past 14 years, the Government has relied on the existence of the Equality Act as a shield. As a network of campaigners passionate about ending race inequality, our discussions have made clear that this legislation, in its current form, is insufficient.
We are calling for immediate action and stronger policies to protect our communities and dismantle institutional racism. The recent race riots in August underscore an urgent need for more robust legislation. Despite the unrest, the Prime Minister has refused to engage in policy discussions or acknowledge the underlying issues driving these actions.”
Jabeer Butt OBE, CEO of Race Equality Foundation said:
While the Equality Act was a landmark piece of legislation at its time, it is no longer fit for purpose in 2024. To effectively challenge institutional racism in the public sector, the Labour Government must seriously consider adopting our recommendations. Our communities are already feeling betrayed after a summer of violence and unrest. Policy must go beyond the proposed pay gap reporting for ethnic minorities outlined in the Race and Disability Act.”
About the Alliance for Racial Justice
The Alliance for Racial Justice is a collection of organisations representing people of Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds and communities across England and the UK. They provide a strong strategic voice and hold the government to account on its duty to tackle racism.
Its secretariat is the Race Equality Foundation and is made up of the following organisations:
- Action for Race Equality
- Black Equity Organisation
- Black South West Network
- Caribbean African Health Network
- Friends, Families, Travellers
- HIAS+JCORE
- Housing Diversity Network
- Inclusive North
- Operation Black Vote
- Runnymede Trust
- Traveller Movement
For inquiries about the report, please contact: ARE Head of Policy, Meka Beresford at Meka@Actionforraceequality.org.uk
For inquiries about the Alliance, please contact: Race Equality Action Foundation (the Secretariat of the Alliance) at Nakkita De Silva at nakkita@racefound.org.uk
Notes
[1] Unequal and unfair outcomes have been reported consistently across the UK’s public sector. For example, research from equality charity Brap revealed that racial discrimination was experienced by more than 70% of Black and minority ethnic healthcare staff; insights from Amnesty International UK show that police are 6.5x more likely to strip search Black children, and 4.7x more likely to strip search Black adults, than their white counterparts. Recent health care data shows that areas with a higher proportion of ethnic minority communities have worse access to GPs in England.
[2] The report collates findings from a two-part roundtable series held in April 2024 by the Alliance, with experts in the sector, to determine why progress has slowed and whether stronger legislation is needed to tackle institutional racism.
[3] In 2010 the Equality Act pulled together over 116 separate pieces of legislation into one law intended to create a more equal Britain.