Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for social and community cohesion of people living in poverty.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Building a strong economy and increasing employment are the surest way to lift people out of poverty and build strong and cohesive communities. The latest figures show a record 31.6 million people are now in work making a real difference to families on the ground with the number of children in workless households at a record low.

Britain has a claim to be the most successful multi-faith, multi-racial democracy in the world. The Community Life Survey 2014-15 shows a well-integrated society with 87 per cent of people reporting they belong strongly to Britain and 86 per cent that their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together. But we know deep seated inequalities remain between some minority groups and the majority population, and have set in train work to address these inequalities:

• a review by Louise Casey into boosting opportunity and integration in the most isolated and deprived communities to inform a major new Cohesive Communities Programme;
• a 2020 vision to increase Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic opportunities, such as take up of apprenticeships and employment; and
• plans to publish a Life Chances Strategy, announced in January, setting out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity.