Campaigners welcome race equality probe

Mental Health Nursing,  Mar 2007  

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The decision of the Commission of Racial Equality to launch a formal investigation into the Department of Health has been welcomed by mental health campaigners.

The CRE announced the probe to uncover the extent to which the Department of Health is failing to meet its duty to promote race equality under the Race Relations Act 1976.

As part of their duty under the Act, government departments are required to assess new policies for their impact on race equality as this ensures that there are no adverse or unbalanced effects on different communities.

Rethink's BME initiatives manager Claire Felix said: 'People from black and minority ethnic communities with mental health needs are six times more likely to be compulsorily detained.

'Rethink welcomes this announcement, which we hope will begin to address these inequalities.'

'The Department of Health's efforts to ensure that it complies with the Race Relations Act have not succeeded in mental health. They must take a more proactive approach in ending inequalities for black and minority ethnic service users.

'The police have now taken steps to combat racism, and so mental health services need to do the same.

Monitoring and enforcement action is a significant part of the CRE's legal business as regulator of race relations legislation, and it has monitored the performance of Whitehall departments on race equality since February 2004.

On several occasions the CRE has urged the Department of Health to address inequalities but found that race equality impact assessments of policies were not satisfactorily being carried out.

As regulator of the Race Relations Act, the CRE will be investigating the Department of Health's approach, attitude and commitment, by how it assesses the impact of race equality on its new policies.

Anthony Robinson, the CRE's Director of Legal Services and Enforcement, said: 'We are concerned about the Department of Health as we have reason to believe that they have not been meeting their obligations under the law.

'This is worrying, as they influence and shape local health services, and we have to make sure that as a regulator, communities are not being disadvantaged on the ground because this work is not being carried out.'

'The CRE is determined to use its enforcement powers, where necessary, to tackle organisations which persistently fail to meet their obligations under the Act.'

Claire Felix, who is also the co-chair of the BME Mental Health Network, added: 'For mental health services to be truly inclusive, principles of equality and respect for diversity must be included on the face of the Mental Health Bill, not in the code of practice.'

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