Role models
132. An important part of integration is the provision
of role models for young people. One aspect of this is adequate
representation of Black and minority ethnic people in local authorities,
the police and the media. This was not an issue on which we were
able to consult widely, but the Society of Editors drew our attention
to a report by their Training Committee on the employment of minority
ethnic journalists in newspapers.[142]
The introduction to the report notes that a survey in October
2002, covering a very broad workforce in a range of media, showed
that 96% of journalists were white, and commented that the survey
"did not give the detail for a true picture of employment
in newspapers, which was probably worse, particularly in the regional
press." Figures for the ten local papers covered in the
report range from one minority ethnic staff out of 10 (Uxbridge
Gazette) and seven out of 93 (7.5%, Birmingham Evening Mail) to
two out of 65 (3%, Bradford Telegraph and Argus) and none out
of 68 (Yorkshire Evening Post).[143]
The report also noted that the broadcast media had a better record:
for example, in January 2004 the BBC announced that it had hit
its initial target of 10% of all staff and 4% of senior management
from minority ethnic communities (the new target, for 2007, is
12.5% of all staff and 7% of senior management).[144]
133. In 1999 the then Home Secretary set targets
for the recruitment, retention and progression of minority ethnic
staff within the Home Office and its linked agencies and services.
The target for the Police Service was that at least 7% of police
officers and staff should be from a minority ethnic background
by 2009. The latest figures on progress towards these targets
were issued in January 2005. The Police Service has seen a rise
in representation from 3% in 1999 to 4.3% in 2004.[145]
134. Chief Superintendent Twydell, Luton Borough
Commander, told us that about 6% of his police officers were from
minority communities and believed that Bedfordshire Police was
in the top four forces in the United Kingdom in terms of the proportion
of police officers and staff from ethnic minority communities.
He accepted that the proportion of minority ethnic communities
in Luton (approaching 30%) was much greater and that Luton's
minority police officers were mainly African-Caribbean with a
small number from Asian backgrounds.[146]
135. As we observe in our recent report on Police
Reform, in which we consider the issue of diversity in the police
in more depth, despite recent increases in recruitment from minority
ethnic groups, many police forces remain unrepresentative of their
wider communities.[147]
The same is clearly true of some newspapers. It may also be the
case in some local authorities. Diversity is important in police
forces, local authorities and the media, not only for its own
sake, but because it can provide clear evidence that ethnic and
religious minorities are valued in this country. The presence
of individuals from minority backgrounds at all levels in such
organisationsand, indeed, in political partiesalso provides role
models for young people and thus helps integration.
British Muslims: identity and
diversity
136. Our inquiry brought the extent to which British
Muslims are likely to have multiple identities of faith, cultural
or national background, national and local identity. These vary
for person to person and community to community, as does the extent
to which individuals are likely to say that they are comfortable
or uncomfortable with their identity.
137. This complex situation is too often over-looked
in discussions of community cohesion or the much narrower issue
of violent extremism. Indeed, while it is quite right to recognise
the 'Muslim community' in the context of a unifying faith, in
other situations the main factors shaping a particular part of
that community may be the heritage of the original country of
immigration, of social class, or of the town or city in which
they live.
138. The importance of understanding these differences,
as well as the common identity of Muslims, was reinforced by our
visits to France and the Netherlands. In both, there were marked
differences of experience amongst Muslims, shaped both by religion
and the quite different experiences of communities which come
from a range of countries (typically, Morocco, Algeria and Turkey).
139. In our inquiry we found that this diversity
was much better recognisedor at least more openly acknowledgedat
local level than by witnesses for national organizations. In
many ways, the local level is most important, but this perspective
needs to be supported nationally.
140. Public policy which recognises the common
identity of British Muslims but which does not recognise or respond
to their diverse backgrounds is unlikely to be successful in developing
full community cohesion.
108 Q 474 Back
109
Q 475 Back
110
Q 160 Back
111
See paragraph 74 and Ev 117-118, HC 165-III for a description
of this organisation. Back
112
Q 234 Back
113
Q 236 {Ms Bailey] Back
114
Sticking together, pages 17-18 Back
115
Q 446 Back
116
Q 447 Back
117
Ev 116, HC 165-III Back
118
Q 247 Back
119
Q 237 Back
120
Home Office, The End of Parallel Lives?: The Report of the
Community Cohesion Panel, July 2004, p 13 Back
121
Qq 508-509 Back
122
Ev 4-5, 10-11, 54-55, HC 165-II Back
123
Ev 114-116, HC 165-III Back
124
Ev 113, HC 165-III Back
125
Q 407 Back
126
Luton Borough Council, Sticking together - Embracing diversity
in Luton: Report of the Community Cohesion Scrutiny Panel,
January 2003 Back
127
Sticking together, p 41 and Ev 114, HC 165-III Back
128
The Observer, 6 March 2005, p 11 Back
129
Qq 408-411 Back
130
Q 426 Back
131
Qq 434-435 Back
132
Ev 4-5, HC 165-II Back
133
Ev 10-11, HC 165-II Back
134
Ev 54-55, HC 165-II Back
135
Ev 119, HC 165-III Back
136
Q 474 Back
137
Ev 54, HC 165-II Back
138
Q 113 Back
139
Q 184 Back
140
Ev 331, HC 165-II Back
141
Q 185 [Father Sumner, Dr Horrocks] Back
142
Society of Editors, Diversity in the Newsroom, October
2004 Back
143
Ibid, pp 7 and 41 Back
144
Ibid, p 38 Back
145
HC Deb, 19 January 2005, col 40-41WS; see also Home Office, Race
Equality-The Home Secretary's Employment Targets: Milestone Report
2004 (January 2005). Back
146
Qq 422-424 Back
147
Home Affairs Committee, Fourth Report of Session 2004-05, Police
Reform, HC 370-I, para 146 Back