This was a partnership event between Black Training & Enterprise Group (BTEG), Black South West Network, and Interim Commission for Race Equality to launch and discuss national and local data on racial disparity. Nationally, BTEG is proposing to establish a shared platform to link and support organisations that are taking action on race inequality in the UK, which was introduced at the event by Chief Executive Jeremy Crook. Chair of the Race Equality Leaders Group and Strategic Director Bristol City Council, Alison Comley, launched data sets from key public sector bodies in the city to gain a better understanding of racial inequality in order to develop effective interventions for addressing areas of concern. We were also joined by Mayor, Marvin Rees to further discuss policy interventions needed to reduce racial disparity across all policy areas in the city.

The workshop part of the event focused mainly around what key policy interventions are needed to reduce racial disparity, and whether there might be other, more effective ways that race equality organisations, public sector bodies and private sector can work together, and with local communities, to take action on race inequality.

During the discussion, several themes arose when the participants were asked what key policy interventions needed to reduce racial disparity were. The most prominent responses included looking at accountability and where the responsibility to reduce racial disparity lay, the necessity better contract scrutiny, and changing institutional & organisational culture which produces many barriers for BME. Participants also suggested that there was a need for early intervention regarding equalities (education level), to move beyond discussing unconscious bias and focusing on top down change.

For a full report from the event, please see here.

To see the Report on consultation findings produced by BTEG, please click here.

For the Public Sector Race Equality Data launched at the event, please see here.