Group set up to look at racial equality within Warwick District Council

Warwick District Council has set up a group to look at racial equality within the organisation and how it deals with members of the BAME community.

But the proposal met opposition from councillors who said a review needed to look at all forms of inequality rather than singling out race relations.

Cllr Mini Mangat (Lab, Leamington Willes) outlined the planned approach of the task and finish group to members of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee at their meeting this week [WED].

It was agreed by full council last month that the group would carry out a review of the council’s approach to equality and diversity, especially with regard to race following a proposal by Cllr Mangat and Cllr Naveen Tangri (Green, Leamington Brunswick).

They will be joined on the task and finish group by Cllr Mary Noone (Con, Warwick Myton and Heathcote) and Cllr Carolyn Gifford (Lib Dem, Leamington Milverton).

Cllr Mangat summed up what the review - which will be completed by March 2021 - hoped to achieve.

She said: “It is around looking at the racial equality in the workforce within WDC and also in the services and contractors - generally looking at if we are promoting racial equality.

“It is also about encouraging the BAME community to be more involved in the democratic process. If we look around our own council there are just two councillors of BAME origin - is that a true representation?”

But Cllr Trevor Wright (Con, Cubbington and Leek Wootton) objected to the focus being so targeted.

He said: “What you can’t do is set up a task and finish group within a council which is focussed on one section.

“You cannot take one group of people in society and subject them to one set of rules - you have to look at everything.

"If we were to pass a motion today that this task and finish group was going to do just one element of it then I am afraid I would not support that.”

But Cllr Noone said a wide-ranging review would be too unwieldy.

She added: “I don’t think Trevor understands the sheer volume of work that would be involved in doing what he wants to do.

"There are so many different aspects to quality and diversity that this task and finish group will still be there in ten years time.

“It is a huge area, throwing up so many fields. You won’t know where to begin and you certainly won’t know where to finish. It will become completely unwieldy.”

Councillors agreed that the group should focus primarily on race issues but that it would flag up any other forms of inequality uncovered during the investigation which could be the focus of a future task and finish group.