Equality shake up would prevent ‘wasting talent’ of next generation
Labour is set to announce black and ethnic minority quotas for top jobs as part of its election campaign, it has been reported.
Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan is expected to unveil the proposals today in Leicester with party leader Ed Miliband, according to the Guardian.
The quotas are intended to increase the number of non-while and working-class people in senior civil service posts and the police and form part of a broad race equality strategy.
Khan said: “We want a sea change in people’s attitudes and aspirations. People should be aiming for the top, whether it’s in the boardroom, the civil service or the criminal justice system, irrespective of their background.”
His party plans to run the strategy from the centre of government to help different departments work together to promote equality and improve the opportunities for people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
“In past governments, what we have had is well-intentioned ministers in department A not talking to department B – that is simply not good enough. For the first time, equality will be central to everything we do and driven forward across all departments in a coherent way,” Khan said.
An analysis of government figures by the political party found the number of young people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities who had been unemployed for more than a year had grown by 49 per cent since 2010. In the same period, long-term youth unemployment fell 1 per cent overall and dropped by 2 per cent for young white people.
Commenting on the findings, published in March, Khan said: “If you’re under 25 and black, you’re twice as likely to be out of work as the national average. We simply cannot afford another five years of wasted talent under the Tories. It is a huge waste of the next generation’s skills and potential and it comes at a huge cost to young black and minority ethnic people, their families, taxpayers and the economy.”