04.03.2022

© WalesOnline Image: Matthew Horwood

A report that highlights the community engagement work, key initiatives and next steps of the Race Equality Taskforce, 20 months after it was set up to help address racial inequalities in Cardiff, has been published today.

The taskforce was proposed in July 2020 by the Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, in response to the tragic death of George Floyd in the USA, and the campaign by the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK calling for greater justice and equality for Black Communities.

The taskforce identified Cardiff's priorities through a consultation with residents and developed a programme of change to drive equality in employment, citizen's voice, services for young people, health and criminal justice.

Key initiatives from the Race Equality Taskforce include:

• Employment

Cardiff Council is looking to maximise the community benefits that it delivers by asking tenderers what 'added value' they can deliver if they secure a contract, including employment, training and work placement opportunities. 

The successful contractors are signposted to the Council's Into Work and Cardiff Commitment Teams so that they can ensure opportunities are made available to under-represented groups including ethnic minority residents.

The Cardiff Bay arena development, due to open in late 2024 and operated by Live Nation, could create up to 2,000 jobs during the construction phase, with a further 1,000 jobs when the venue is up and running.

As well as securing the arena's position as a pivotal centre for live events in the UK, a priority will be to establish the venue as a community hub for the local area, that is firmly embedded within the community.

As an employer that recruits using name and address blind CVs in recruitment, addresses unconscious bias by introducing training for interviewers and has committed to paying the Living Wage since September 2012, Cardiff Council will sign the Community Jobs Compact on March 7 which will help promote job opportunities in the community and support local people to apply.

• Citizen's Voice

Cardiff Council is committed to continuing to improve diversity in democracy across the city and become a Diverse Council.

The passing of the Diverse Council Declaration in February 2022 provides a clear public commitment to improving diversity in democracy in our city and signals intent for future collaboration to improving representation in democracy and participation.

Following the adoption of the Diverse Council Declaration, an ambitious local ‘Diversity in Democracy' action plan will be developed following the Local Government elections in May 2022.

This action plan will contribute to an invigorated local democracy and help to deliver a Council which reflects the great diversity of our city's communities.

Cardiff Council will sign the Race Alliance Wales Manifesto on March 7, making a commitment to the 10 steps to make Wales an anti-racist nation.

• Services for Young People

Cardiff Council's education teamhas produced a statutory ‘Rights, Respect and Equality guidance document to provide advice to enable the values of respect, tolerance, and kindness to be embedded in our schools and across the wider community.

Find the document here.

Additionally,Mount Stuart Primary became the first school in Wales to pilot Anti-Racism Training created by Betty Campbell's granddaughter as a result of a proposal by the taskforce in September 2021.

The ‘Promote Equality' toolkit aims to Educate, Empower and Enhance schools with the resources, support and skills to help broaden understanding and challenge perspectives to embed long-lasting change in the education system and beyond.

Since the launch in December, St Teilo's has also committed to introduce the training in the schoolto ensure a better understanding and empower school leaders which will also benefit the well-being of students and teachers.

Find out more  here.

• Health

An Engagement Coordinator focusing on ethnic minority health and health improvement has been funded through Cardiff and Vale University Health Board with Prevention and Early Years resources.

The initial focus of the role has been to increase uptake of childhood immunisations and bowel screening.

Community engagement work has taken place with various groups including Cardiff and Vale College, South Riverside Community Development Centre, Friends and Neighbour Groups (FAN), The Mentor Ring, Women Connect First, Race equality first, Oasis, Kiran Cymru, Diverse Cymru, Flying start, Hindu Council, Sikh Council, Cardiff's Chinese community, places of worship, Cardiff Third Sector Council and Vale of Glamorgan voluntary services.

Focus groups to promote bowel screening to Older People, including Age Connect, 50 plus forum, Care and Repair Cymru, Cavamh, Ty Hapus, Older People Wales have also taken place across the city.

Going forward, work has been completed on a survey to investigate potential barriers in in engagement in bowel cancer screening among ethnic minority communities and visits to activities attended by young parents with a survey designed to find out more about barriers in childhood immunisation. The findings of this work will shape the plan from 2022 onwards.

• Criminal Justice

To support the work of the Race Equality Taskforce's Criminal Justice Sub-Group, existing criminal justice data was examined to understand current data trends and gaps.

It was agreed that the local Cardiff partnership would support the further investigation and development of criminal justice data sets, supporting relevant pilots and requests as the national Wales Data Task-Group project develops.

Further to this, criminal justice partners in Cardiff have offered to work in continued partnership with local community organisations to share relevant local data that would be helpful in informing and shaping community-led solutions to crime prevention, diversion and rehabilitative support.

Chair of the Race Equality Taskforce and Councillor for Butetown, Cllr Saeed Ebrahim, said: "Cardiff has always been a proudly diverse city and holds one of the oldest settled ethnic minority communities in the UK with people from across the world making it home.

"The work led by Cardiff's Race Equality Taskforce since its inception in July 2020, has gone beyond just making recommendations, we have got things done. By consulting with insightful individuals across a range of industries and organisations and with theBlack, Asian and Minority Ethnic community to gather views on what the taskforce's priorities should be, we have ensured some real change.

"Additionally, the Taskforce's extensive efforts has culminated in new policies, initiatives and actions that will become embedded within the relevant areas across the city.

"I'm proud of the solutions and proposals this taskforce is putting in place to build a positive and inclusive city and help to ensure future generationshave the same chances and opportunities in life; and education and work will be two key areas where we can continue to help make a difference to people. I feel positive to look to the future at the possibilities of what is still come."

Yaina Samuels, Founder of NuHi Training,  a St. David Award winner (the first black person to win this award), a qualified manager, mentor, award-winning global recovery activist and Taskforce member, said: "We've pioneered major change by listening to the communities we serve, and to see that change happening on the ground means it's not just lip service.

This isn't just a document that we've spent hours developing, creating, consulting, informing and then gets put away. This is a document that's going to change as it progresses and I just love being a part of that change. It's been absolutely amazing.

"This is not the end. If I can be a part of the monitoring and evaluation, where we're feeding in evidence of change, then I'm with you."

Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council said: "The people, groups, industries and organisations involved in this taskforce have really committed to putting ideas into action, focussing on tactical issues where the Council - and other partners - can act quickly, and galvanise change in others, responding to the real needs of our communities. It is a robust and comprehensive and robust report, and I am grateful to everyone involved in its development.

"My commitment, in return, is to do everything in my power to enact the recommendations that have been put forward. People of colour in this city - and across the world - still today, deal with racism as part of their everyday lives, continuing to face barriers and challenges as a result of their skin colour. That is simply unacceptable, and I believe and hope the recommendations from the Taskforce offer a concrete roadmap to change things for good in Cardiff."

What happens next?

The Race Equality Taskforce proposals will be built into the relevant areas of Cardiff Council's Delivery Plans for 2022 - 2023 to ensure the continuation and development of these initiatives for the benefit of Cardiff residents.
 

The full task force report can be found here.

Follow #RETCDF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for highlights and interviews with Race Equality Taskforce members, recognising the work that is being done to tackle racial inequalities in Cardiff.