Agenda item

6.1

The Committee received a presentation from Homaira Ibrahim, Equalities and Engagement Officer.

6.2

Ms Ibrahim gave a brief overview of the Race Equality Commission recommendations and an update on the whole-city commitment. She explained that it was now time to reflect on the findings and that practice would be progressive so as to embed an anti-racist ethos in all areas of work. She advised that the Race Equality Commission had been commissioned in 2021, and that it was a city-wide commission affecting all organisations across Sheffield. It had an independent Chair and 24 Commissioners, and had heard written and oral evidence of lived experiences of racial disparities across Sheffield. Following this, the Commission had made recommendations and prioritised six areas of focus. She advised that the full report was available on the Sheffield City Council website, and listed all of the recommendations and individual targets. The evidence had found Sheffield to be a racist city; change was needed, and partners across the city would be held accountable through the Legacy Group, which had the responsibility of embedding practice systemically to enable Sheffield to become an anti-racist city within three years. The Sheffield City Partnership Board, community, and anchor institutions were working together in order to have a working model in place by October 2023. She explained that the south of the city had a diverse population in terms of age and ethnicity, with many languages, cultures, religions and beliefs, and that it was important to work in collaboration and to share good practice and learning from communities. She noted that information was available from the Equalities team to support individuals and organisations to share the message and to ensure anti-racist practice and service delivery.

6.3

Councillor Maroof Raouf expressed concern over how seriously the Leadership of Sheffield City Council had viewed this issue, and was disappointed that the Legacy Group had not yet been set up.

6.4

Councillor Ibby Ullah stated that he had received feedback that suggested that individuals and organisations had not noticed any change following the Race Equality Commission report, and he undertook to help with this change.

6.5

In response to a question from a member of the public, Ms Ibrahim explained that the Race Equality Commission report had identified major inequalities within education, and that it was important for issues to be owned, whether by individual academies and their governors, or via Sheffield City Council. The education department had been tasked to identify their individual targets. She noted that research had shown that children’s perceptions of race started as early as age two, and a collective approach was needed to realise the benefits of getting into that space.

6.6

A public questioner asked how community organisations could be strengthened and given more powers and resources to address race inequalities within Sheffield, and queried whether Community Infrastructure Levy monies could be used to address the issues that have been raised.

6.7

Councillor Alexi Dimond also expressed disappointment that the Legacy Group had not yet been set up, and noted the hard work of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities with limited resources.  He believed that there was structural racism across the city, including within education and policing. He believed that improvements could be made in accessibility of Council services for those who did not speak English as a first language. He hoped that Local Area Committees could use resources and make sure that racism was taken seriously.

6.8

Councillor Mohammed Mahroof stated that he had recently been to a meeting involving around 20 young people from different minority communities who felt that no progress was being made and that they were still facing barriers that he had faced as a child. He noted challenges that teachers faced in ‘calling out’ issues, and believed that Sheffield City Council had a responsibility for this and should be held accountable.

6.9

Councillor Paul Turpin expressed his disappointment that recommendations from the Race Equality Commission report had not yet been implemented, and believed that it was important for Sheffield City Council and its partners to be actively anti-racist in order to make positive changes. He noted that the diversity of the city was not represented at senior level within Sheffield City Council.

6.10

Councillor Raouf added that he had first-hand experience of working within schools in Sheffield, and felt that school staffing and governance was not representative and that this had led to a lack of understanding of children’s heritage and their lives outside of school. He stated that BAME histories should be embedded into school curriculums.

6.11

In response to three verbal questions around feedback and support within communities, Ms Ibrahim welcomed feedback regarding lived experiences and advised that the Equalities team could be contacted to assist with support and education.

6.12

The Committee thanked Ms Ibrahim for attending the meeting.