Failed race charity's work must go on, say MPs

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Monday, February 02, 2009
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This is Staffordshire

A NEW body is desperately needed to help defuse racial tensions in North Staffordshire and improve community relations, according to anxious MPs.

The comments come just days after it emerged that the area's race equality council has been forced to shut down after getting into financial difficulties.

The North Staffordshire Racial Equality Council (REC) has made its nine staff redundant and is expected to call in administrators today.

A recent audit by Stoke-on-Trent City Council uncovered huge debts.

The charity received £1 million-a-year of taxpayers' money, but it is unknown how much the independent voluntary organisation owes creditors.

MP for Stoke-on-Trent North Joan Walley said she was shocked to hear of the closure.

She said: "I think the most important thing is that we look at what has happened to see why it has come to this.

"But if the REC cannot continue in its present form then we also need to work with the voluntary sector to see what scope there is for a new single inequality council to be created for Stoke-on-Trent."

Fellow MP Rob Flello, who represents Stoke-on-Trent South, said he feared the REC's demise would be exploited by far-right political groups such as the BNP.

He said: "In a period of our history where more than ever we need organisations that are addressing areas of inequality it is terrible to lose this service.

"It is also a great shame for the staff and all those involved with the organisation.

"It is sad in our own city, to see that inequality is being used by some groups for political gain."

He added: "There is certainly a need for another organisation to deal with inequality."

Former elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent Mike Wolfe, who was a chairman of the REC during the early 1990s, said he was stunned to hear of the group's collapse.

He also called for urgent action to set up a replacement for the organisation to help protect the rights of minority groups in North Staffordshire.

He said: "If Stoke-on-Trent is to remain a leading multi-cultural city it is essential that it has a successful and thriving racial equality council which can address problems that arise from communities getting on with each other."

He added: "I think it is vial that the city council acts to help set up another organisation as a matter of urgency."

The REC had a budget of more than £1 million a year, made up largely of grants from the Government, local councils and other organisations including Staffordshire Police.

But the Charity Commission, which regulates the voluntary sector, said it had not received any accounting figures from the REC since February 2006.

The closure of the REC will not affect initiatives such as the Game On intervention programme in schools or the PARINS support group for recording and tackling racial incidents.

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28 Comments

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by serb chris, bentilee

    Wednesday, February 18 2009, 11:51AM

    “I feel i must add that history is littered with failed civilizations the roman empire,yugoslavia,russia etc because of ethnic and religous tensions and islam is not the solution ahmed since islam is at war with it self most of the time(sunnis and shities anyone?)same with the christian church catholic,protestant,and eastern orthodox all have disagreements! While mono ethnic societys are more stable multi ethnic societys have a lot to offer to but remember this when a socialist type goverment tried to paper over the divisons in yugoslavia it worked for a while but then the old hatreds became revived and renewed stronger than before and we saw where that lead us to.”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by joyce, stoke

    Tuesday, February 03 2009, 11:17PM

    “what a sad sad day when i herd the the REC was folded up, people of stoke on trent including my self could wish it back asap,its been great for the last 30yrs so lets hope its great for the next 30yrs,you never know how important things are until they are gone.”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by Zahid, Etruria

    Tuesday, February 03 2009, 12:32PM

    “"Porky", it's the BNP and other insular and bigoted morons who are making this city even more of a cesspit and parochial laughing stock.
    People only need look at your infantile user name to know where your mindset and politics reside!”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by Phil, North Shropshire

    Tuesday, February 03 2009, 11:19AM

    “Money is better spent elsewhere. If everyone is equal there should be no need for charities such as this.

    Can the tax payer have their money back please?”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by porky, stoke

    Monday, February 02 2009, 8:56PM

    “the BNP are the only party who can sort out this cesspit of a city.”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by A, Stoke

    Monday, February 02 2009, 8:44PM

    “Sarah, You are right to a point. Ahmed can defend what he says. However what he says is part of the problem in todays society. I dont want whether it be a black muslim or white jehovas witness ranting at me about their religion. Equality works both ways. Things will never be equal. You only have to look into things and you would realise that the government tend to pander towards ethnic minorities in fear of offending them. That is why people dont see equality in this country.”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by Mark, Stoke

    Monday, February 02 2009, 8:31PM

    “This multi-cultural experiment will always fail, why? Because if it were to work then these organisations that siphon tax money out of the countries wealth wouldn¿t exist, and if they didn¿t exist then there would be no one to impose their own idiot ideologies onto the white English people.
    England and Britain has survived for years with foreigners coming here to live and work and we probably always will. It is all these people who have to look for trouble where none exists that cause the disharmony within these isles.
    We are having more and more discriminatory laws imposed on us to the detriment of the white indigenous population that it will only end with one solution, and I for one will not be sitting on the fence.”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by anon, stoke-on-trent

    Monday, February 02 2009, 8:16PM

    “No ones more anti BNP than me, but you can't say that white working class haven't been discriminated against. Most young chavs will never have the diginty of a job or their own money in their pockets, because this nanny state thinks they won't spent it have the state wishes.”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by Ahmad, england

    Monday, February 02 2009, 7:15PM

    “Racism is a universal problem which many of the institutions in this country and across the world have failed to solve. Instead race relations organisations try and create a false sense of security amongst ethnic minorities by settling individual cases and not reaching the root of the problem. This is fruitless since it is like trying to bring back to life a dead tree by gluing fresh leaves to the dead branches. The only way to bring a dead tree back to life is to look at the roots and find out what the problem is and solve it from the basis of the problem.
    When we go to the roots of the racism problem we see that racism emanates from the concept of a nation state (e.g. Britain). Each nation has a certain stereotype or definition of what the citizens of that state should look like. A good example of this is the US where the stereotype of an American citizen is a W.A.S.P. i.e a White Anglo Saxon Person. People may argue that if you are born there then you are American regardless of whether you are black, brown or white.However in reality, every nation state defines certain citizens as from that nation and others as not from that nation. This is the real cause of racism. For example, in this country people carry an ideal of what being British really is, whether it is publicly through groups such as the BNP or privately as many individuals do today.
    Those who do not fit into this ideal of the true British citizen will always be treated differently and be seen as foreigners regardless of whether they were born here or not.
    They only way of life that can solve this problem is Islam. Islam does not differentiate between colour , as you see in Mecca with people from all over the world with different colour of skin coming together and praying to the one Allah”

  • Profile image for This is Staffordshire

    by porky, stoke

    Monday, February 02 2009, 6:45PM

    “if this failed multicultural experiment had not been forced upon us then they would not be needed!!
    also how much of this unaccounted money has gone towards the new mosque?”

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