Cardiff Council Update: 09 June

Here is the latest update from Cardiff Council, covering: Race Equality Taskforce devises plans to boost employment opportunities; vaccination totals for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan; Maelfa makeover complete; and Cardiff's COVID-19 case and test numbers.

Race Equality Taskforce devises plans to boost employment opportunities

A Race Equality Taskforce set up to deal with racial inequality across Cardiff has released its first set of recommendations.

The Taskforce, which was proposed by Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, in response to the tragic death of George Floyd in the USA and the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, has been working on a series of proposals designed to help improve the lives and opportunities of Black and ethnic minority communities in Cardiff.

The first set of recommendations include:

Raising awareness of the council's employment agency ‘Cardiff Works' to ethnic minority communities;
Running a series of Into Work advice services designed to increase ethnic minority participation and linked to Cardiff Works' opportunities;
Delivering a mentoring and career progression plan for current council employees;
Improving procedures in schools for reporting and recording of bullying and hate crime;
Enabling schools to join up to the ‘Schools of Sanctuary' network;
Becoming a signatory to the Race Alliance Wales Manifesto;
Young People's Democratic Engagement Project: Creating a scheme which encourages young, working class, people to develop leadership skills and the confidence to take a lead role in representing their communities.

Cllr Huw Thomas said: "Although Cardiff has a proud history of multiculturalism, and a tradition of celebrating diversity, recent events have shown us that we can't allow ourselves to ever become complacent. There are people of colour in our city who have to deal with racism as a feature of their everyday lives and that's simply unacceptable. The Taskforce has been set up to bring forward recommendations which we hope will make a positive difference to the life and employment opportunities of our Black and ethnic minority communities. We want everyone in our city to feel safe and to have the same opportunities to make a better life for themselves and their families regardless of race or colour. I think these initial proposals, and this is only the start, begin a practical process which will help deliver some real and positive outcomes."

Chair of the Race Equality Taskforce, Cllr Saeed Ebrahim, said: "When we set up the Taskforce, we made clear that we wanted to find solutions for the discrimination and disadvantages faced by ethnic minority communities in Cardiff. Disadvantages that were tragically highlighted by the COVID pandemic. Following our initial discussions we have focussed on trying to bring forward practical solutions which can help people into work and offer them a career path once they secure work. We have also thought about how we can better the lives of young people, ensuring they feel safe and confident in school and have the confidence to speak out about the issues they face. If we are to move the dial on racial equality, then people need to have the same chances and opportunities in life, and education and work will be two key areas where we can help make a difference to people."