A ‘mission driven government’ with a long-term plan will be a welcome change from the recent experience of the development of ten-year plans for mental health, dementia and cancer, amongst others, abandoned with little notice. The replacement for these plans was the major conditions strategy, a blueprint for improving outcomes over the next 5 years covering cancer, heart disease, musculoskeletal disorders, mental ill health, dementia and respiratory. However, it had no money committed to its implementation.
Much of the discussion has suggested that this mission driven approach, which focuses on the change rather than the mechanism for delivering these changes, is a better approach as it embeds ‘long-termism’. But it should ensure flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. Some suggest it will also usher in new ways of working, focusing on collaboration across national and local government and with citizens.
Those looking to see what this means for tackling racism and racial inequality will note that this is not one of the Governments five missions. Kickstarting economic growth will have an impact on people of Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds, but without specific action we are likely to find the persistence of racial inequality.
Our research found that most of the people who joined the workforce since 2002 have been from Black, Asian and minoritised backgrounds, with the gap in employment rates between these communities and their White counterparts narrowing in London. However, for many from these communities’ employment is often in the realms of insecure employment accompanied by poor rates of pay. Analysis suggests this is a key contributor to the persistence of poverty for them and their children.
Similarly, making Britain a clean energy superpower has the potential to affect the lives of people of Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds both because of the potential impact of energy security, but also due to the climate crisis. However, once again this needs to be accompanied by specific actions, such as combatting the higher risk of poor air quality in the areas where these communities are more likely to live. We have seen in London, with the roll out of ULEZ and the cleaner public transport, a significant improvement in air quality. Importantly, the greatest improvement has been in areas where people of Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic are more likely to live. Again, the missions and the manifesto do not provide any detail that would show that this analysis is informing the Government’s agenda.
It is likely that the Kings Speech will contain a new Race Equality Act. There was little exploration of this during the election campaign. However, there was a small focus on ending racial discrimination in employment, including requiring employers to report on their ‘ethnic pay gap’. This will be welcome but will only go so far if it is not accompanied by changes such as addressing the failures of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to regulate existing laws on discrimination. As importantly, many people of Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds do not work for employers with more than 250 employers and therefore ethnic pay gap monitoring is unlikely to have a direct role in their employment.
If this mission drive Government is serious about addressing racism and racial inequality, it not only needs to make it a priority, but also propose mechanisms that are going to make a difference. Importantly, our work on parenting provides a key lesson – when you support people of Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds, it has a positive knock-on effect for all.
