ARE’s response to the Inclusive Britain Report

EQUAL, Action for Race Equality’s criminal justice arm, has responded to the government’s Inclusive Britain report and called for further action to be taken to address racial disparity across the UK, particularly in the criminal justice system where serious concern remains.

What is Inclusive Britain?

Inclusive Britain, published in March 2022, is the government’s response to the report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED), which was released in March 2021. [1]

It lists 71 measures described as being part of the government’s ‘Inclusive Britain action plan’. ARE shared our immediate concerns when Inclusive Britain was first published in this news story.

In our full response, we acknowledge Inclusive Britain’s emphasis on addressing racial inequality across civil society, yet are disappointed that the government still refuses to acknowledge the systematic nature of racism.

Importantly, the report does not address the intersectional nature of inequality. Race and class are separated without acknowledging the effect of one on the other, and vice versa.

We call for a number of actions including: 

• Home Office to clarify the scope of the new framework on how use of police powers are scrutinised at a local level in consultation with Muslim and ethnic minority communities, and what statutory power it has over forces that do not comply. 
  
• Home Office and local police services to invest in local scrutiny panels so they are truly independent, consistent across the country, and effective. 
  
• Government to outline the cost of the Serious Violence Duty and how the Home Office will mitigate the impact laid out in the Equalities Impact Assessment.
  
• Stop and search data to be broken down by race, gender, age, sexuality, and disability, the data around complaints to be reported, and this data to be linked to connected issues such as strip searches and use of force. 
  
• Stop and search data to also be linked to connected issues such as strip searches and use of force to build a better picture. 

And whilst the report includes some welcome actions regarding criminal justice, ARE and EQUAL remain concerned about the overly punitive approach of government to those who encounter the racially unequal criminal justice system. This should be addressed swiftly by new leaders.

We write in our Foreword:

As the country and the government transition to a new Prime Minister and new leadership, it is even more crucial that this window of opportunity to create a stronger, fairer Britain is not lost. Race equality should permeate government policy at all levels.”

EQUAL policy briefing, 2022

Read our key recommendations and actions in detail on EQUAL

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[1] The Commission for Race and Ethnic Disparities was established in July 2020 to review inequality in the UK, with a particular focus on education, health, employment and criminal justice. Its report included 24 recommendations for government, other public bodies and the private sector. However, many were disheartened by the report’s conclusions that, while there might be overt acts of racism in the UK, institutional racism did not exist.

When it was published, Jeremy Crook OBE commented:

“It is clear to Black, Asian and mixed heritage people that the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has failed to grasp the considerable evidence of institutional and structural racism in the UK. We call on government to rethink its approach and review the 24 recommendations in this report. We will continue to work with Black, Asian and Minority ethnic communities and our allies across all sectors to end racial inequalities”

For more information contact; Payal Bhavsar, Communications and Engagement Officer