When Theresa May first entered 10 Downing Street, she had ordered for a race audit, that would report on biases towards Black and Asian population in different industries in the UK. The report that took longer to publish than scheduled, raised questions about the Prime Minister's real intention, while critics highlighted that the results could be divisive and may increase the gap further.
However, on this Tuesday the race audit was finally published, and as the website went live, it highlighted a huge difference in the experiences of the ethnic minority community across Britain in different sectors—from public services to health to education to employment. The new website, a first of its kind in terms of scale, scope and transparency, contains thousands of statistics covering more than 130 topics.
The report shed light on many disturbing facts as how black people are three times more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts, but it has also given a snapshot of how the Indian community is faring in Britain. Given all circumstances, it has come as a relief as the report reveals that the British Indian community is doing much better than any other ethnic minorities in the UK.
Among the BAME (Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic) community, Indians have the highest rates of hourly pay, in fact above the national average, while their employment level is 73 per cent compared to 75 per cent among the white British. Indians have also done very well in areas of education, achieving at least three As at A levels. They are also the most likely to go for higher education, after finishing school, most likely to live in their home and least to live in social housing. In fact, only 8 per cent of the Indian community lived in overcrowded households compared to the 30 per cent of British Bangladeshis or two per cent of white British.
The Labour party has attacked this report, calling it 'empty stuff'. They have said, what really matters is tackling inequalities, not just listing them. Dawn Butler, the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, said the Prime Minister has “done nothing but exacerbate the problems” of inequality during her time in government.
In a letter to The Times a number of prominent BAME activists as well as former Deputy Mayor of London Munira Mirza hit back at the government's approach to the issue, saying that the policies could “harm the very communities they aspire to help”.
But Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has denied the claims, and said that he believes the audit would have “quite the opposite impact”.
He reportedly told Radio 4′s Today programme: “I think there will be people out there today taking note of this, whether they are from black, minority ethnic backgrounds or not, and thinking this is exactly the kind of thing they want their government to do.
“We are a government that said its going to work for everyone, a country that works for everyone and that means, where there are injustices, that we are doing everything we can to tackle and reveal them.”
Prime Minister Theresa May said, “People who have lived with discrimination don’t need a government audit to make them aware of the scale of the challenge.
“But this audit means that for society as a whole—for government, for our public services—there is nowhere to hide. These issues are now out in the open. And the message is very simple: if these disparities cannot be explained then they must be changed.
“Britain has come a long way in my lifetime in spreading equality and opportunity. But the data we are publishing today will provide the definitive evidence of how far we must still go in order to truly build a country that works for everyone.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable in a statement told THE WEEK: "This audit shows that prejudice and bias based on the colour of someone’s skin continues to blight people’s life chances, and this is utterly unacceptable in 21st century Britain. It is not right that people in the UK find themselves far less likely to have a job or own their home based on nothing more than their ethnicity—it is an unfairness that should have ended long ago.
“This audit lays out the challenges we face as a society and that will only be overcome if we all work together across party lines.
“Theresa May’s decision to shine a light on this issue means she can't now shy away from tackling the causes of this inequality—including cuts to public services and a shrinking state. Tackling inequality will need the devotion of all her ministers.
“Where ministers act, they will in turn have our support. Where they hesitate, we will push, cajole and confront them until they do the right thing."
Labour MP Seema Malhotra said, “Anyone with a genuine interest in equality issues will know that we have persistent and structural race inequality in this country. After seven years some will ask about the motive of the Tories in bringing this forward now3—and might question whether this is also driven by the Tories losing BAME votes at the election.
“The Tories took away targets to increase ethnic diversity on the boards of our public bodies—so vital for ensuring we design and deliver the best public services. I welcome this audit but the PM needs to do so much more. Her record has been more to unwind our progress than take it forward. Labour has a strong track record of fighting for change, to see greater social and economic equality. To tackle inequality is the job of the government and I hope this will inform better debate and action, not words by the Tories.”
Lord Jitesh Gadhia said, “Sunshine is often the best disinfectant. By shedding light on racial disparities, Theresa May’s government is bringing transparency to areas where more work must be done to tackle persistent inequality and prejudice. I would encourage the government to come forward with a pro-active agenda to tackle these issues.
“At the same time, we should also be proud of the fact that certain minority groups, notably the British Indian community, have integrated well and are making an outsized contribution to Britain in many different fields.
“The data released by the government shows that British Indians come top in earnings and education. An analysis of household income shows 35 per cent of Indians earning £1000 or more per week week, versus an average of 24 per cent in this income bracket across the population. Similarly, data on average hourly wages shows British Indians earning 15 per cent above the national average and 38 per cent above the lowest group—British Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.
“On education indicators, British Indian children are consistently the top performing group for academic attainment with 14 per cent of Indians achieving 3 A grades or better at A Levels.
“British Indians provide a role model for how a minority community can integrate successfully into British society and make a positive contribution to this country.”
