Alleviating Racial Disadvantage

Ethnic and National Minorities

For centuries people from overseas have settled in Britain, to escape political or religious persecution or in search of better economic opportunities.

The Irish have long formed a large section of the population. Jewish refugees who came to Britain towards the end of the nineteenth century and in the 1930s were followed by other European refugees after 1945. Substantial immigration from the Caribbean and the South Asia subcontinent dates principally from the 1950s and 1960s. There are also groups from the United States and Canada, as well as Australians, Chinese, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Italians and Spaniards. More recently people from Latin America, Indo-China and Sri Lanka have sought refuge in Britain.

In 1989-91, according to the results of a sample survey, the average ethnic minority population of Great Britain numbered about 2.7 million (some 4.9 per cent of the total population), of whom 46 per cent were born in Britain. Just over half of the ethnic minority population was of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin; less than one-fifth was of Afro-Caribbean ethnic origin; and over one in ten was of mixed ethnic origin.

The sample survey also indicated that the proportion of men of working age in Great Britain who were economically active was higher among the white population (89 per cent) than among those from other ethnic groups (84 per cent of Afro-Caribbeans and Indians and 75 per cent of those of Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin). Among women the variation was greater: 76 per cent of those from the Afro-Caribbean ethnic group were economically active, compared with 72 per cent in the white group, 60 per cent in the Indian group and only 25 per cent in the Pakistani/Bangladeshi group.

Although many members of the black and Asian communities are concentrated in the inner cities, where there are problems of deprivation and social stress, progress has been made over the last 20 years in tackling racial disadvantage in Britain.

Many individuals have achieved distinction in their careers and in public life and the proportion of ethnic minority members occupying professional and managerial positions is increasing. In law, for example, an estimated 6 per cent of practising barristers are of ethnic minority origin. In April 1992 there were six ethnic minority Members of Parliament, and the number of ethnic minority councillors in local government is growing. There has also been an expansion enterprise, and numerous self-help projects in ethnic minority communities have been established. Black competitors have represented Britain in a range of sporting activities, and ethnic minority talents in the arts and in entertainment have increasingly been recognised.

The principal means of combating disadvantage is through the economic, environmental, educational and health programmes of central government and local authorities. There are also special allocations, mainly through Home Office grants and the Urban Programme, which channel extra resources into projects of specific benefit to ethnic minorities. These include, for example, the provision of specialist teachers for children needing English language tuition, business support services and measures to revive local economies and improve the inner city environment. Cultural and recreational schemes and the health and personal social services also take account of the particular needs of ethnic minorities.

The Government is encouraging the development of black businesses in inner city areas through the Ethnic Minority Business Initiative. It is also promoting equal opportunities for ethnic minorities through training, including greater provision for unemployed people who need training in English as a second language.

Дата добавления: 2013-12-13