This report provides a summary of the work undertaken by the Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Inequality Commission and provides details of some of the main findings and recommendations from the health theme of the Commission. The questioning on the main points of the discussion on the Strategy may be summarised as follows.

The Sub-Committee:

v  Acknowledged that Tower Hamlets has always been a borough committed to creating a cohesive, fair, and inclusive community. One of the Borough’s’ biggest strengths is its proud history of fighting racism and fascism and its continued commitment to diversity. With over 137 languages spoken and 43% of residents born in over 200 different countries Tower Hamlets is one of the most diverse places in the country.  However, recent events have once again shone a spotlight on racial inequality and has required that everyone including leaders of public, private, faith, voluntary and community sector organisations and institutions, to consider their position and what more must be done.

v  Noted the disproportionate impact of Covid on the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic population has exposed the severe consequences of the unacceptable structural disadvantages and discrimination faced by these communities especially in key areas such as housing, employment, education, and criminal justice.

v  Noted the constraints of structural racism are most apparent when considering health outcomes of the Borough’s Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic residents which are worse than those of White residents in many areas, with many Blacks, Asian and Minority Ethnic residents suffering from a higher burden of multimorbidity.

v  Observed a considerable emphasis needs to be placed on improving the partnership approach to tackle the wider determinants of health, with too many Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic residents experiencing poorer employment and housing conditions.

v  Indicated that access to health services needs to be improved by ensuring services meet the cultural needs of the Borough’s diverse communities and developing strong and effective relationships with these community.

v  Was reminded that digital exclusion is a prevalent access barrier, exacerbated by the pandemic, alongside ineffective communication, and inadequate translation services.

v  Agreed that the need to work with the local Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities should be at forefront of the Boroughs recovery agenda ensuring that Tower Hamlets using good ethnicity data to provide targeted programmes  is able to deliver real improvement in health outcomes.

v  Noted that whilst Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic children are achieving good academic success however this has not translated into careers in the professional, corporate world.

v  Commented that many children from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic families lacked the confidence and networks to compete with their White peers. Too many young people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic families are unfamiliar with the testing and recruitment processes employers undertake, and have not been exposed to the professional, corporate world.

v  Indicated that key local employers must consider how they can develop pipelines, structures, and support to engage Black, Asian and Minority young people and how they can accelerate the pace of change.

v  Wanted to see representation in these organisations significantly improved and any structural barriers to be removed immediately. Otherwise efforts to increase the capacity of young people in education settings will not succeed so long as the structural barriers remain.

v  Observed that the Commission had spent a lot of time speaking to the leading organisations in the Borough and the lack of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic representation, particularly those from Black African and Caribbean groups, was of great concern.

v  Noted that the Commission has called for the development of a leadership programme to nurture the next generation of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic leaders. Alongside this, it was agreed that organisations must embrace a cultural shift at all levels. Which requires there to be a “safe space” to have open and honest discussions about race this being key in this process to improve kinds of the discussions around race inequalities.  The Commission has therefore recommended that a subgroup of the Tower Hamlets Partnership Executive Group be established to lead on delivery of the recommendations and work with the voluntary and community sector Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Network to ensure the voice of the community is reflected in the delivery.

v  Noted the commission’s findings around housing and health inequality.

v  Noted that a report should go to Cabinet in July with a timeline and actions plan.

The Chair Moved and it was RESOLVED to:

1.            Thank all those attendees for their contributions to the discussions on the Commissions; and

2.            Recommend that further work on housing and health inequality may need to be considered via the sub-group

3.            Agreed that these discussions will form the basis of the feedback to be submitted the Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Inequality Commission.