Forth Neighbourhood Partnership
Anti-Racism Working Group
Meeting Date: 1 September 2011
PRESENT: Khalida Hussain - CORE (Chair); Fernando Almeida Diniz –
CORE; Barbara Lawson – Edinburgh’s Telford College; Ruth Stanley- SfC
Community Safety; PC Pete Sparrow – Lothian and Borders Police; George
Gordon – Granton and District Community council
APOLOGIES: Inspector Ian Davis – Lothian and Borders Police; Martina
McChrystal – Services for Communities Dave Hewitt – PCHP; Jim Pattison –
SfC; Christine Mackay – Children and Families; Councillor Day; Councillor
Jackson; Councillor Cardownie; Councillor Morris; Sgt Craig Stephen –
Lothian and Borders Police.
1 Minutes of meeting 7 April 2011
Agreed as correct.
Matters arising:
PC Emma Cowan will be a liaison officer for Core, along with PS.
GG suggested that Core should have membership on the NP Board, and
he will suggest this at the next NP Board meeting. FD strongly supported
this; the ARWG has been seen as having a monitoring role but in that way
CORE remains still on the fringes offering advice, and not an integral part
of the Board. The group agreed with this. It would be up to Core who they
send along to the Board. BL agreed this would also enhance the diversity of
representation on the Board. GG confirmed that the Board is entitled to
appoint special interest groups so this would be a legitimate request.
2
Report back from the Neighbourhood Partnership Board
Meeting of 19 April
RS read to the group the minute of the NP Board meeting in relation to the
ARWG.
GG disagreed that the tasking of the workplan was being put directly to the
Action Groups as he feels that chairs of these groups would not be have
enough understanding of race issues to decide on appropriate action . This
could then dilute the work the NP could achieve on racism, and this is why
he wants Core on the Board. RS noted this is in contradiction to the decision
which was already taken at the NP Board. GG said he had not been at the
meeting when the Board discussed this, or he would have opposed the
decision. The Board had looked at the frequency of the ARWG meetings,
because community activists and NP participants can’t get to all the
meetings which are being held. CGS already had to reduce its frequency for
the same reason.
BL- Felt that AWRG has led to better working links and relationships.
Looking at the workplan, which has some broad objectives, it would be
useful to be clearer about what the NP’s role in relation to achieving this
should be at Board level. In addition all agreed that it would be beneficial if
there was more BME engagement generally e.g. in community councils .
FD – the Board’s decision gave him the impression that they are channelling
work to somebody else.
RS explained that this is in fact the role of the Action Groups. For example,
CGS is a busy and successful group, getting work done. All agreed that the
Action Groups should be doing their work on behalf of the BME community
as much as for everybody else.
BL – recommended that agenda is driven by the NP, the NP needs to work
directly with Core and feed down the issues. RS – agreed this would be an
active and dynamic representation, rather than having a static workplan. BL
– felt NP could then be more informed about what are the key priorities for
the action groups e.g. Children and Families and so on, and also consider
how they might increase the membership of the Action Groups from the
community. GG commented it would be difficult for Clean Green and Safe to
take on the role of agreeing which actions to take in relation to race or
racism as current CGS members don’t have a knowledge base or an
awareness of the issues.
4. Core Service User – sharing experience of racism in Forth
Harry had been invited to the meeting to share with the members his
experiences of racism in the Forth area.
Harry is from China and has lived for 11 years in the UK. He and his friends
in the area have had similar experiences. He has problems with children
throwing stones at his house. Other neighbours who are also minority ethnic
families have had the same problems. Windows have been broken two or
three times, and this is very upsetting when it happens during the night.
Harry’s son has been targeted at school and on the street as well. He is just
looking for a solution. He knows those involved are only a few people, and
they are usually children.
Harry has phoned the Police. They come to his home, and give him a
reference number, but he hasn’t had any feedback. He’s still worried,
because the children are still throwing stones
BL indicated that Children and Families have been working with schools and
LBP on the issues of racism.
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PS acknowledged that if you don’t hear anything, you don’t know whether
anything has happened, and agreed to follow this up. Harry said that the
children involved don’t fear anything. It’s exciting for them. He knows who
they are, and they live just down the road.
RS outlined the different actions that can be taken, depending on the type of
tenancy of the parents. A Community Safety Officer will contact Harry to
discuss any further help that can be given.
PS - landlords vary as to how active they are in dealing with these issues.
Harry had been told that only the Council and police can help but all hoped
the conversation today had clarified that .
KH - Core have a new surgery starting on 14 September, supported by
Janice Russell, CSO.
PS said that getting and giving feedback has been recognised as important.
The recent police experience regarding Simon San will now change the way
police deal with racial incidents. Looking at these in more detail, to consider
underlying causes will in future be given a higher profile. There has been
difficulty for LBP in identifying the difference and relevance between
conventional evidence that a racial crime has taken place, and the
perception that an incident has been racial. Now, when someone suffers a
series of incidents, this will be tied together more firmly, and will happen
quickly.
GG commented that there’s also problem that has come to light in that
Victim Support only offer an English line when people call, but the
information card implies support will be available in a number of languages.
PS – the Simon San report acknowledged that language difficulties are a
problem. GG – it has been confirmed that this can be a big issue especially
when people are flustered and upset. PS – agreed that referrals by LBP to
Victim Support and Core should be pushed more, and done more routinely
than they have been .
5. Recommendation from ARWG on how to Allocate workplan tasks to
Action Groups
e.g. ORG 1 – Reduce Racial Inequalities: BL – the NP at Board level could
look at some key statistics and decide what the priorities should be. The
task also involves NP knowing how racial inequality is being tackled in the
ward and how they will know what impact it has had FD – we want to look at
how this comes alive locally in the Forth Ward, rather than citywide. BL – we
should start at Board level by establishing a baseline view. What data is
relevant? Are there gaps in the datagroups we need? Then we need to start
making some decisions on SMART (Specific Measureable, Achieveable,
Realistic and Timebound) actions. The workplan tells us what are some
critical areas for action, but the ARWG group had not been provided with or
analysed the statistics indicated in the workplan .
GG - The Clean Green and Safe Action Group already has a lot of business
in its remit and long meetings, and doesn’t have the capacity to take on the
tasks suggested in the workplan. RS noted her concern and disagreed.
BL – Proposed that the first task is to request relevant data collection
relevant to FNP, and this should inform the NP view, and inform action
setting.
FD – agrees – the agenda should be Board led, and it needs to be more
timebound and practical
GG – we need to have a actions that are appropriate for each Action Group,
are less labour intensive and achievable. This group – the AWRG- would be
the one that advises on what’s important. We need to take information from
the statistics and drill it down into priority areas for action.
BL – asked if we contact all the members of the groups referred to in the
workplan and ask what relevant information is available? FD – who is going
to be asking whom for the baseline information?
GG – explained that the Chairs of each Group only have a limited remit
through which they can ask for information. The NP has wider powers to ask
for information.
BL –suggested that the data should be for services that are within the remit
of the NP membership.
The Group agreed to ask the NP on 19 September to seek a set of
statistics, and to request if the information on these statistics would be
available by December. All agreed that statistics are not the only means of
gaining information on racial inequality in Forth , but they should help inform
the NP Board.
The Group agreed that the statistics needed to form a baseline assessment
of Race Equality practice in Forth are:
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Police and Community Safety data on racially motivated incidents
reported and BME victims are supported.
Feedback from vulnerable communities gathered via Core – do they
feel safe at home and in public areas?
Number of Racially motivated bullying incidents in schools
Levels of take up of services by BME communities – information from
all of the agencies who are members of the NP. As a subset of this,
information on employability access by BME communities
BME pupils Educational Attainment levels in cluster schools (primary
and secondary)
In summary, the Group agreed to go back to the next meeting of the NP
Board and ask for Core to be given a place on the Board to inform the NP
on Race Equality issues and on the main areas which need to be tackled.
Not all members of the Group agreed with the tasking of the workplan to the
Action Groups. It was decided that the matter would be put back to the NP
Board at its next meeting for reconsideration. RS dissented. It was decided
to ask the NP Board to begin collecting the data noted above, and then to
decide on some key, achievable tasks. GG and BL will speak to this at the
Board meeting.
6. AOB
KH asked about a Community Grants application for Core. RS advised this
should be discussed with Martina McChrystal.
7 Date of next meeting
None set pending the outcome of the next NP Board meeting.