our bme manifesto for 2016

8/17/2019 Our BME Manifesto for 2016

1/5SCOTTISH LABOUR BME MANIFESTO

FRONT COVER

SCOTTISH LABOUR

BME MANIFESTO

BOTH VOTES LABOUR


2/52 SCOTTISH LABOUR BME MANIFESTO

HOW WE WILL ACHIEVE EQUALITY FOR BLACK AND MINORITY

ETHNIC PEOPLE AND CREATE RELIGIOUS INCLUSION

Scotland’s diversity is what makes it great. A society with dierent cultures, languages and

backgrounds within it should be celebrated, but we need to reect these dierences within

our institutions and ensure that Scotland is a welcoming place to all.

BME People and Opportunity

Too few of our young people starting a modern

apprenticeship are from BME backgrounds and

BME people are less likely to take up lifelong

learning opportunities. Communities facing

exclusion, bigotry and Islamophobia prevent

people with talent getting to the places they

deserve to be. This must change.

Our plan

• We will deliver a promotional campaign

to specically encourage BME

young people to consider modern

apprenticeships.

• We will expect every part of Government

to oer internships, specically for

Scotland’s disabled, black and minorityethnic communities, opening up

experience of public service to people

from more diverse backgrounds.

• We will deliver a “celebrating diversity”

campaign to tackle bigotry towards

immigrants and the BME community.

• We will continue to back specialist

support and representative bodies for

the BME community, as well as ensuring

equality mainstreaming in local services.• We will make more of the Scottish

Parliament’s multi-faith cross-party

group, with an emphasis for MSPs to

meet with not only BME community

leaders but members of the community

on the ground.

• We will provide multi-lingual resources

for training and development

• We will train educators on cultural

sensitivity and inclusion.

BME People and Public Life

The BME population in Scotland is not

represented in our public life; in the last

Parliament only 1.5% of MSPs were BME and

in the 2012 local authority election, only 17

councillors identied as BME. Scotland’s decision

makers need to reect society so that all of

Scotland feels part of our democracy and ourpolicy making. By increasing this representation,

we not only create better outcomes but come a

step closer to eradicating bigotry.

Our plan

• We will create a Scottish Parliament paid

internship scheme for BME people.

• We will consult with communities to

develop a strategy laying out how we

break down the barriers that disabled,

black and ethnic minority people face to

participate in public life.

• We will ensure that multi-lingual

resources on engaging in politics are

made available across Scotland.

• Ensure that consultations on policy

development are available in multiple

languages and ensure that BME

representative bodies are given support

to assist the BME community to take

part in consultations.• We will host regular “in your community”

events where the Scottish Government

cabinet tours communities with

interpreters in attendance where

necessary.

• We will introduce a Refugee Integration

(Scotland) Bill, setting out refugees’ rights

to access services, enshrining national

standards for integration, and simplify

the many provisions in Scots law relevant

to refugees.



BME People and the EconomyScotland’s BME communities play a vital role

in our economy, creating jobs and wealth

across a variety of sectors. But as a country

we can do so much more to utilise the

diverse talents BME people oer. We need

an economy that recognises and celebrates

that.

Our plan

• We will create an “Equal Business”

pledge to encourage employers to

recruit a diverse range of candidates.

• We will encourage unconscious bias

training as standard within the public

sector.• We will continue to invest in support

and advice for employees who

have experienced racial or religious

discrimination.

• We will ensure work preparedness

training programmes are rooted

within communities.

• We will ensure the provision of social

enterprise and business supportcatered to the BME community.

BME People and JusticeScottish Labour wants a justice system

in Scotland that all people have faith in

and that delivers fairness. The creation

of a single police force across Scotland

has created problems not only in delivery

but in perception. The creation of a single

police force should have been used as an

opportunity to overhaul institutionalised

issues. Scottish Labour wants to revisit thisopportunity.

Our plan

• We will work to link police more with

their local communities and renew a

sense of local democracy in policing.

• Police and frontline sta will be

trained in unconscious bias and

cultural respect.• We will deliver a recruitment drive to

increase diversity within our police

force and justice system.

• We will ensure that multi-lingual

support is provided for victims and

those appearing in court in Scotland.

• We will continue to invest in and

support third party hate crime

reporting.• We will adopt a zero-tolerance

approach to hate crime.

• We will work with local authorities

and third sector organisations to

welcome and support refugees and

we will continue to argue that the

UK should take a more humane

approach to welcoming those eeing

conict and persecution.



BME People and Health

The NHS is one of Labour’s greatest

achievements, but as pressures on it increases

and as Scotland’s population ages, it is in need

of more investment so it is t for 2040s, not the

1940s. We know that the BME community, like

any community in Scotland, rely upon our NHS

and we need to make sure it is t for purpose for

every individual.

Our plan

• We will encourage diversity

awareness and cultural respect

training for frontline sta as

standard.

• We will make health literature

available in a variety of languagesacross Scotland.

• We will support the availability

of interpreters in primary health

settings.

• We will support specialist services

providing culturally relevant mental

health intervention.

• We will ensure healthcare

information is made available incommunity faith centres such as

mosques, ghurdwaras, temples and

synagogues.



Printed & Promoted by Brian Roy, Scottish General Secretary, Scottish Labour Party, 290 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4RE

our bme manifesto for 2016

Documents