The Plan for Advancing Race Equality in Our Workforce, Communities and Schools
North Lanarkshire Council · 3 February 2023
Back to Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee — 3 February 2023 and its agenda
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Wellbeing & Tackling Poverty Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref FW/AC Date 03/02/23 The Plan for Advancing Race Equality in Our Workforce, Communities and Schools From Fiona Whittaker, Chief Officer (People Resources) E-mail cameronau@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07793 598962 Executive Summary This report provides information on the ongoing work that has continued to progress from the legacy of the Elected Member/Officer Black Lives Matter Working Group to advance race equality in our workforce, our communities and our schools. The report provides details on: • the extensive quantitative and qualitative information gathering that has been undertaken by the Council to understand the experiences of North Lanarkshire’s BAME workforce, communities and schools' environments; • a summary of what the information tells us; • what has been achieved to date; • the action plans now in place to address the issues that have arisen from this work; and • how the plans will be implemented, monitored and reviewed. Recommendations It is recommended that the Wellbeing & Tackling Poverty Committee: (1) note the positive work set out within this report; (2) approve the action plans and arrangements for monitoring and review; and (3) approve that progress be reported to Committee through yearly reports. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Enhance participation, capacity, and empowerment across our communities Ambition statement (20) Improve the involvement of communities in the decisions, and development of services and supports, that affect them
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1. Background 1.1 Committee will be aware that in August 2020 the Council unanimously endorsed a motion supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and proceeded to form a cross party Member and Officer Working Group. It was agreed that the purpose of the group was to ensure that the ambitions set out within the Plan for North Lanarkshire take cognisance of and understand the historical and ongoing systemic and institutional discrimination, racism, social injustice, human rights abuses, and inequalities experienced by Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic people. 1.2 The group agreed to explore how the local authority and its partners could work to ensure that all residents are able to live their lives free from racism or discrimination of any form. 1.3 The work of this group focused on the following key areas: • the Council’s historic links with the Transatlantic Slave Trade; • the education curriculum; • the Council as an employer; • community engagement and empowerment; • promoting the work of the BLMWG within the organisation and externally; and • hearing input from people with lived experience and acknowledged experts in the field of race equality. 1.4 This report provides members with information on the work that has continued to progress from the legacy of the Black Lives Matter Working Group and in particular: • the extensive quantitative and qualitative information gathering that has been undertaken by the Council to understand the experiences in North Lanarkshire’s BAME workforce, communities and schools' environments. • the progress to date to advance race equality; and • the plan to address the issues that have arisen from this work. 2. Advancing Race Equality in North Lanarkshire 2.1 NLCs BAME workforce Employment gathering information 2.1.1 The Council’s ambition is for North Lanarkshire to be, amongst other aspirations, the place to work. To achieve that we need to be an exemplar employer that is manifested in the diversity of its workforce. However, we know through the extensive exercise we undertook in 2021 to gather and analyse information about our workforce, as reported in the Equality Mainstreaming Report, that we have some way to go. In relation to BAME employees: • 92 (0.63%) employees recorded their ethnicity as Black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME). This does not include white minority groups. The number of employees not recording is 26.4%; • the largest minority ethnic employee group is Asian Pakistani, followed by African and Asian Chinese; • the ethnicity pay gap is 2.3%. Those who have recorded that they are BAME earn £0.41 more /hour than those not from a BAME background. The calculation does not include those employees we do not know about;
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• the number of promoted posts has reduced significantly between 2018 and 2021 from 226 to 76. No promotions were made to BAME or white minority people; and • disproportionately low numbers of BAME people were interviewed in 2020 (16.4% of those who applied) in comparison to disabled people and men and women. 2.1.2 In 2022 we looked again at the ethnic composition of our employees and found that the number of BAME employees has increased from 92 to 118 employees since 2020. We also found that nearly 58% of these employees are employed across the Education and Family Service. 2.1.3 Some of the information analysed gives cause for concern – particularly in relation to: • the disproportionately low numbers of BAME employees in comparison to the local population; • the disproportionately low numbers of BAME applicants being interviewed in comparison to other groups of people; • there being no promoted posts awarded to BAME people; and • the numbers of employees not self-recording their ethnicity (26%) as this does not afford us a complete picture of employees. 2.1.4 The ethnicity pay gap however shows more positively that our BAME employees are earning above the average per hour so are not concentrated in lower paid jobs. 2.1.5 We will be looking further at our employee information to report and publish in 2023 as required by the Public Sector Equality Duties. 2.2 BAME employee survey 2.2.1 Having statistical information tells its own story about numbers and trends and is important in presenting a picture of what our workforce looks like, but it doesn’t tell us about the culture of our organisation or people’s feelings and experiences of being an employee. 2.2.2 In 2021 our BAME employees were asked to participate in a survey to explore their experience of being an employee of the Council covering four topic areas • The work they do • Job satisfaction • Career progression; and • Workplace Culture This survey was carried out in partnership with the Black Lives Matter Working Group and the Employee Equality Forum. 2.2.3 The survey was issued to 522 Council employees. 92 of whom are recorded as from a Black, Asian or mixed background. The other 430 employees had recorded as other ethnic group and we have decided to discount these. 2.2.4 30% of our BAME employees who recorded their ethnicity on i-Trent responded to the survey. This is about the average response to internal employee surveys. 2.2.5 50% of respondents were Asian – Pakistani, Indian, Chinese or Bangladeshi and 39% were Black African or Caribbean. The largest ethnicity was Black African respondents – 10 in total. 2.2.6 68% of respondents were female and 36% respondents were Muslim.
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2.2.7 In relation to the work they do • 50% work within Education and Families in a variety of roles. The others spread over all other services; • a quarter of respondents were part-time workers who are women and most in lower paid occupations of catering, care and admin; and • 32% of respondents have worked with the Council for more than 5 years. 2.2.8 Job Satisfaction • when asked if you are satisfied in your work 68% said all or most of the time; • 78% feel their job equates to their skills, qualifications and experience. Of the others they said their qualifications and experience are greater than their current job requirements and some quoted opportunities in North Lanarkshire as being limited; and. • 82% have the right tools to do their job while the remainder said some or none of the time. 2.2.9 Career progression • 70% of respondents have never applied for promotion while 21 % have line management responsibility; and • in relation to training opportunities 43% received training to develop in their job, 50% received training specific to their current job. However, 32% hadn’t received any training at all including compulsory training. 2.2.10 Workplace culture • 5% of employees feel they are valued members of their teams • when asked about experiences of racist bullying or harassment in the last 2 years 14% had experienced from a colleague and 14% a service user. More than half of those said they took no action and none raised the issue under the Dignity at Work Policy. A few reported to their line manager. 2.3 BAME employee meeting 2.3.1 In October 2022 the Employee Equality Forum (EEF) hosted a meeting to bring together the Council’s BAME employees. The aim of the session was to: • feedback the results of the BAME employee survey • provide the opportunity to meet and discuss with other BAME colleagues what is important to them and their priorities for the future • provide information on what the Council has been doing to advance race equality in the workforce; and • hear from Derek Brown in his new role as our Executive Sponsor for Race and Cllr Khan the Council’s Elected Member Equality Champion about their hopes and priorities for advancing race equality in the workplace. 2.3.2 Ten BAME employees participated in the TEAMS event that was held at a time that would enable school -based staff to attend. 2.3.3 In conversation with the Executive Sponsor for Race employees highlighted actions to be prioritised that would benefit BAME employees and the Council as a whole. These
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areas were described by the Executive Sponsor as falling under three categories – culture, systems and programmes. The following areas were flagged up as priorities: Culture • create networking opportunities for BAME employees; and • Equality and Diversity training for employees – particularly cultural awareness. Some employees feel that their cultural festivals are not acknowledged and, in some cases, known for instance Eid, Diwali etc. Systems • having BAME people on recruitment panels to reduce unconscious bias and increase confidence of applicants; • facilitating a ‘blind’ recruitment process where candidates’ personal information is removed; and • Dignity at Work Review – people are very reluctant to report as it impacts workplace relationships and culture. Programmes • creating pathways for career progression to include: o building confidence o automatic feedback after interview if unsuccessful with the offer of support to reach the next level. o having a systematic approach to mentoring and galvanise the support of others who are already supportive o continue to monitor promotions by ethnicity • asking some services to work harder and set targets for increasing service diversity via Service Workforce Plans; and • programmes for opportunities – positive action measures 2.4 Progress to date 2.4.1 A race equality in employment action plan was developed in 2021 after the findings from the employment gathering information was analysed as discussed in section 2.1 above. To date the following progress has been achieved: • Council signed up to the seven commitments of the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter • Appointed the Council’s first Executive Sponsor for Race • Undertook a survey to gauge the experiences of our BAME employees • Appointed a BAME employee representative on the short-life Black Lives Matter Working Group • Hosted a BAME employee event in partnership with the Employee Equality Forum in October 2022 • Our Jobs and Training section on the Council website now includes an equality and diversity section to promote our commitments and policies to anyone checking us out as a potential place to work; and • Through iTrent we have developed an anonymous recruitment process that will be fully implemented in April 2023
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2.5 Plan for change 2.5.1 Considering all the information we have gathered as detailed above, our Advancing Race Equality in Employment action plan sets out a clear path for the advancement of equality for BAME people in our workplaces and includes: • an internal campaign fronted by the Employee Equality Forum to promote understanding of the need to self-record under the ethnicity category ion i-Trent. This will allow us a clearer picture of who our employees are; • facilitate an entirely anonymous recruitment process at application and shortleet via iTrent. This has the intention of increasing the number of BAME people being interviewed; • training BAME employees to sit on interview panels for key posts. This will see an increase in successful BAME candidates employed by the Council and reduced feelings of bias by BAME candidates who are unsuccessful; • cultural awareness training for all our employees as an anti-racist approach to making our workplace culture more inclusive; • review the Dignity at Work Policy and procedures; • establish a BAME Talent Programme to increase opportunities for career progression and promotion; • provide opportunities for BAME employees to network to reduce isolation and increase confidence; • targeted promotion of opportunities afforded through Modern Apprentice programme to increase numbers of BAME young people employed in the MA programme; and crucially; • include BAME employees in the monitoring of the Advancing Race Equality in Employment Action Plan. 2.5.2 The action plan for advancing equality in employment is contained in Section 1 of Appendix 1. 2.6 Our communities Black Lives Matter Community Conference 2.6.1 In February 2022 the Black Lives Matter Working Group (BLMWG) hosted a community conference to engage with the BAME communities of North Lanarkshire on the work of the group. 2.6.2 A full report of the conference has been published on the Council website BLM Community Conference, February 2022 | North Lanarkshire Council 2.6.3 While the conference provided information from the Council on its work to raise awareness and advance race equality in schools and workplaces, participants were engaged in exploring important areas of race equality they feel the Council should progress: • there is a need to build on the success of the conference by having more events and workshops that bring people together; • education is key to advancing equality not only in our primary and secondary schools but also in our communities; • our workforce needs to be more diverse and particularly in schools; and • continuing to engage with our BAME people and communities will be key to advancing equality and building confidence and relationships.
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Research to explore the lived experiences of North Lanarkshire’s BAME people 2.6.4 In June 2021 a report was submitted to the Policy and Strategy Committee detailing the findings from the first phase of research into the lived experiences of North Lanarkshire’s BAME people. As this first phase of the research was in the main an on- line survey, because of Covid restrictions, this same report also sought approval to undertake further research to bring out the qualitative aspect of some of the findings from Phase 1. This would allow for a deeper understanding about people’s lives in North Lanarkshire. 2.6.5 The Phase 2 research was undertaken by the University of the West of Scotland in the spring and summer of 2022. The researchers were asked to focus on the following areas: An ageing population – many of our BAME community members who came to settle in Scotland in the 50s and 60s are now older and their needs will require to be better understood. Digital skills and inclusion – we know that there is a digital skills shortage in some of our BAME communities. With a major shift to providing access to services on-line a further exploration of this will help us put in place measures to reduce digital exclusion and increase skills. Employment and skills –at the census of 2011 the unemployment rate in North Lanarkshire was highest for Black and Minority Ethnic people at 10.76%, however this jumped to 17.15% for Black Caribbean or African people. Caribbean or Black males experienced the worst at 29.68%. For all white people the unemployment rate was 9.68%. Exploring our BAME peoples’ experiences of accessing and sustaining employment will allow an understanding of areas requiring positive action from the Council and our partners. Community Cohesion and Integration - findings from Phase 1 found that language barriers and lack of acknowledgement and celebration of different cultures is lacking in North Lanarkshire. This leads to feelings of isolation and poor integration for many BAME people. Understanding the dynamics of people’s experiences in community life will help our key community-based services to engage better with BAME people to improve assimilation and their sense of belonging. 2.6.6 As well as the four topic areas the researchers were also asked to: • explore the lived experiences from a gendered perspective; and • using the Indicators of integration carry out a specific piece of research on the experiences of the Syrian Refugees who have now lived in North Lanarkshire for 5 years 2.6.7 The final research report has provided a rich, deeper understanding of our BAME peoples lived experiences in relation to the asks of the research. It also provides findings that are unique to specific ethnic groups. Quoting the words from the diverse participants has brought the research to life and gives us an opportunity to really listen to what we are being told. The report helpfully makes recommendations for action. The key findings are summarised in the following table:
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Ageing Population • Language was a barrier in making effective use of health and social care services especially for those who had limited or no proficiency in the English language. • The lack of a culturally sensitive care service was leading to personal care being rejected by ethnic minority families. • There was a perception that mainstream mental health services were western-centric and failed to acknowledge and consider alternative perspectives on mental health. • There was frustration at the attitude of receptionists when engaging with primary health care services such as GP services to request appointments. • Some BAME groups compared their experience of health care services in the UK unfavourably with their country of origin. • Overall, the pandemic was viewed as having had an adverse impact on the experience of using health and social care services among BAME communities Digital Skills and Inclusion • In most BAME communities, there was a marked digital divide between the younger and older generations and between those who had better proficiency in English and those who lacked the necessary language skills. • The provision of IT training by NLC and other agencies was deemed helpful. However, there were concerns that some aspects of the training did not meet the needs of learners and consequently uptake was low. • There were mixed views among BAME communities as to whether cost was a barrier to accessing digital hardware and reliable internet services with affluent BAME families not impacted by the cost of digital devices and internet provision. • In terms of future needs, some financial support for accessing digital and IT equipment would be welcomed by specific communities especially over concerns that digital services were overtaking face to face service provision since the pandemic. Employment and Skills • Occupational segregation in the labour market was viewed as being rife with BAME employees overrepresented in low status and low paid jobs. • There was a perception that racial discrimination and lack of opportunities for BAME people in the labour market contributed to unemployment and confinement to low level jobs. • For some BAME groups, language was a barrier to attaining high paid and high-status jobs even for those who possessed good educational qualifications and experience from their country of origin. • Self-employment was an attractive option for many BAME groups as it provided an escape route from unemployment and low paid jobs and compensated for lack of educational qualifications. • BAME groups would welcome training schemes and better support from agencies and organisations to help boost skills that could help enhance employment prospects. • There was frustration that skills and qualifications acquired overseas were not always recognised in the UK and this impacted on the ability to compete in the labour market. Community Cohesion and Integration • Integration with the host or white majority community was broadly supported by all BAME groups but language was viewed as a key barrier especially for those born overseas and the elderly. • Despite support for integration, most BAME groups believed in the importance of maintaining their cultural and religious identity.
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• The ability to speak English was viewed as important by BAME groups for a variety of reasons. However, some BAME groups did not feel that ESOL classes were effectively tailored to their needs. • There was a broad consensus that the diverse cultures of ethnic minority groups were not celebrated by NLC in ways seen elsewhere in Scotland. • Racism from the white community was not a major issue but children experienced a degree of racial microaggression at school. • Most BAME groups had a better relationship with other ethnic minority groups than with the white community due to facing common challenges and having shared values and interests. • Most BAME groups felt relatively safe in their neighbourhoods and did not have too many concerns when going about their day-to-day activities. • Engagement with the political process was low as most BAME communities did not feel that politicians at local or national level did enough to address the issues they faced. The following provides information on the findings unique to different BAME groups Polish community: • The Polish community perceived themselves as having a stronger work ethic than their Scottish counterparts but felt they lacked confidence in asserting their rights at work rights. • Despite taking on work that was below the level of education and skills that had been acquired in Poland, there was a belief that the UK offered opportunities for career progression. • Polish participants were divided on whether they would stay in the UK permanently with some expecting to return to Poland at some stage in the future. Chinese community: • The Chinese community would welcome a care home service designed specifically for elderly members of the Chinese community. • There was a feeling that some ethnic minority groups received more resources from the Council than the Chinese community. • Although most Chinese people were doing financially well, success came at certain costs such as anti-social hours and poor working conditions. • The Chinese community was underrepresented in politics at both local and Parliamentary level, not just in Scotland but across the UK. This was down to apathy among the Chinese community about participating in politics and mistrust of authorities. Black African and Caribbean community: • Health services, including GPs, needed to employ more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to create a more welcoming environment for ethnically diverse service users of both primary and secondary health care services. • There were concerns that some community centres and community facilities did not have access to reliable internet services. • There was a lack of trust when it came to white co-workers and a perception that they were out to make life hard for black employees in the workplace. • There was perceived discrimination in the allocation of housing with ethnic minorities offered poor and unsuitable housing in comparison to white people. Congolese community: • There is a digital divide between Congolese men and Congolese women due to women having childcare commitments and not having access to affordable childcare and being primarily housebound. This meant men had more opportunity to attend classes to get training in IT skills.
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• Congolese women would like the Council to provide greater access to IT equipment. While libraries did have computers these were always in demand and because libraries had specific opening and closing times, this was not always convenient. • Congolese males were struggling to find suitable employment due to lack of training and prior work experience. • Schools were not doing enough to demonstrate their inclusivity, for example primary schools had no pictures of Black children on their walls. Syrian refugee community: • There was a need for access to doctors who shared the same gender as patients due to cultural reasons as members of the Syrian community felt uncomfortable being examined by practitioners from the opposite sex when accessing health care services. • The adults among the Syrian community were reliant on their young children for language support as the latter had attended school in Scotland. Children were often translating for their parents and the elderly in various situations. • Syrian women who were mothers were keen for their daughters to get educated rather than get married very young and become housewives. • Syrian women are happy to pursue employment and volunteering work once their children are older. • The pursuit of self-employment was appealing to Syrian women, but they lacked the funding to make this a reality. • There was a perception that Syrian men were struggling to find appropriate employment for a number of reasons such as jobs on offer not matching their skills, language barrier, and because some were suffering from health conditions acquired as a result of the conflict in Syria. Agencies geared to help find employment such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were not viewed as supportive. • There was disappointment that Syrian families were not given the choice to send their children to non-denominational schools. • Children had experienced racial bullying at school including name calling and girls were harassed because they wore the hijab. • The value of integrating in Scottish society was accepted but this would not be at the cost of neglecting religious and cultural practices. • The experience of fleeing persecution and the trauma of war had shaped or impacted the engagement of the Syrian community with certain services such as the police. Indian sub-continent community: • There was a lack of awareness of where to seek support in the future as more members of the Indian sub-continent community were becoming older and needed personal care, especially if they lived on their own and had no family support. • A key barrier to the recruitment of more ethnic minority carers was the depiction of care work being a menial job. • Hospital care services were not culturally sensitive with some hospitals unaware of ‘halal’ food. This meant that secondary health care services were not meeting the needs of patients from minority faiths. • It was noted that NLC provided funding and resources for IT training in different languages. However, these were poorly attended and viewed as a lost opportunity. • There was a feeling that the areas where participants reside had an impact on experience of racism. Those living in affluent areas and who attended schools there were less likely to experience issues than those who lived in deprived areas. • It was difficult to gauge the prevalence of domestic abuse in the Indian sub-continent community but it was felt that it did exist and that it was very much hidden as it was considered a taboo area in Asian society.
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• Some men from the Indian sub-continent were viewed as having a backward culture and were keen to push their own career forward whilst holding women back. 2.6.8 The findings reported in this research have implications for all our partners in the public, private and third sector organisations and community groups. The issues faced by BAME communities suggest that a coordinated approach among relevant stakeholders is needed to address the challenges faced by BAME people across the key themes explored in this research if advances are to be made. 2.6.9 In addition, and most importantly: “There is an opportunity for NLC and other agencies to work with BAME communities and allow them to be co-constructors of policy approaches that can help meet their future needs while at the same time instilling a sense of empowerment among those communities” - Dr Mohammed Ishaq 2.6.10 The report, once considered by the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee, will be presented to the Strategic Leadership Board (SLB) in February 2023. It is intended that the SLB partners will consider the findings from both a partnership and their own organisation perspective and approve an approach on how we can respond to the recommendations of the research. 2.6.11 A community conference in the Spring / Summer of 2023 will present the research findings and response to the BAME communities of North Lanarkshire. This conference will also be a key vehicle for considering future engagement mechanisms with our BAME communities to have influence in the realisation of the Plan for North Lanarkshire. 2.6.12 The full report of the research to explore the lived experiences of North Lanarkshire’s BAME people is attached as Appendix 2 of this report. NL Community Boards 2.6.13 It is generally acknowledged that the Community Boards are not as ethnically diverse as would be proportionate to our population. There is an over reliance on the few individuals who do participate to be spokespeople for all BAME people and that is problematic. BAME people are not a homogenous group. Their ethnicities and cultures are diverse as are their experiences. Additionally intersectional characteristics play a role in their life experiences, for instance, South Asian women will have a very different lived experience than South Asian men in certain aspects of their lives and these experiences will be further compounded if you are older or disabled. We need to involve BAME people in finding ways that allow for genuine influence and that may require the Council and its partners being open to adopting different approaches to engagement. 2.6.14 This is an area that will be a key focus for exploring at the community conference mentioned in section 2.6.11 above. 2.6.15 The action plan for advancing equality in our communities will in the main develop from the considerations of the Strategic Leadership Board and the community conference to be held in 2023. It is contained in Section 2 of Appendix 1.
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2.7 Our School Environment Exploring the potential to increase the BAME teaching workforce 2.7.1 In January 2022 the remit for equalities moved to the portfolio of the Head of People and Organisational Development. Concerned at the disproportionate numbers of BAME employees across the Council she tasked the Equalities Manager to look at the potential for increasing BAME teacher numbers. 2.7.2 To begin to understand the potential there was first a need to understand the current situation, so a fact-finding exercise began to determine: 1. the ethnicity of current NLC teachers and pupils; 2. if there were any particular NLC schools where there is an above average cohort of BAME pupils; and 3. understanding the underrepresentation of BAME workers in the teaching profession. 2.7.3 The following provides the findings of this fact finding: 1. With regards to our teaching workforce 1% of teachers are BAME, while the average percentage of BAME pupils in NL schools is 5.78%. Because of the low rates of BAME teachers throughout our education estate many of our young people, at no point in their school life, will see or be taught by a BAME teacher. This will have implications for young people’s experiences at school as well as their aspirations to be teachers and therefore has an impact on the diversity of our future teaching workforce. Furthermore, for our existing BAME teachers they may feel isolated in an environment where they are the only person of colour among their colleagues. This may have implications for BAME teacher retention. 2. High Schools where there is a higher-than-average BAME pupil population were identified – Taylor HS, Braidhurst HS and Dalziel HS. These three schools all have over 12% of pupils who are BAME, over twice the average of BAME pupils. There is also several other schools where there is a much higher than average number. In ASN high schools there is a BAME pupil average of 3%. However, Bothwellpark High School has more than three times the average with 10% of pupils who are BAME. Set out in the table below is the details for all (non-ASN) North Lanarkshire’s high schools: Rank School Total pupils Total BAME pupils % BAME pupils 1 Taylor HS 985 123 12.5% 2 Dalziel HS 1006 122 12.2% 3 Braidhurst HS 527 61 12% 4 Our Lady’s HS 800 70 8.75% 5 Cardinal Newman HS 931 78 8.37% 6 Our Lady’s HS – Cumbernauld 936 60 6.4% 6 St Ambrose HS 1466 95 6.4%
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Rank School Total pupils Total BAME pupils % BAME pupils 8 Clyde Valley HS 876 53 6.05% 9 Cumbernauld Academy 1010 60 5.94% 10 Bellshill Academy 729 39 5.34% 11 Airdrie Academy 1051 55 5.23% 12 Chryston HS 945 48 5.07% 13 Coltness HS 959 48 5% 14 St Aidan’s HS 1018 47 4.61% 15 Coatbridge HS 1142 48 4.2% 16 St Andrew’s HS 1346 55 4.08% 17 Greenfaulds HS 1506 59 3.91% 18 St Maurice’s HS 1009 39 3.86% 19 Brannock HS 617 23 3.72% 20 Caldervale HS 1132 39 3.44% 21 St Margaret’s HS 1171 39 3.33% 22 Kilsyth HS 490 8 1.6% 23 Calderhead HS 440 7 1.59% Total 22072 1276 5.78% 3. In the spring of 2022, the Council was fortunate to have the input of a MSc Human Resources student from Strathclyde University who, as part of their final dissertation, carried out a piece of research to help us ‘Understand the underrepresentation of BAME workers in the teaching profession.’ 2.7.4 The three objectives of the research study were: • to identify a useful framework to understand the underrepresentation of BAME workers in the teaching profession; • to gain a wider understanding of the major drivers that influence the underrepresentation of BAME workers in the teaching profession; and • to draw on the lessons of the literature to develop recommendations for North Lanarkshire Council. 2.7.5 While the research itself was limited given the nature of student research projects and due to the time constraints, it provided some helpful insights to increase our understanding of BAME underrepresentation in our, and other authorities, teaching workforce. 2.7.6 The findings suggest that there are issues at various stages of the teaching pipeline: • this begins with a lack of BAME teaching role models leading to a preconceived idea that teaching is not a viable option; • cultural differences play a part in the low retention rates of BAME teachers as they tend to work in predominately white working environments which can result in ‘classroom bullying and feelings of isolation’. Lack of mentoring support to deal with these issues and career progression opportunities ‘that are offered to BAME people compared to their white co-workers’ also contribute to low retention rates; and
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• this research study also upheld existing literature findings on the biases in the recruitment and selection process and revealed that unconscious bias is not as controlled as it could be within North Lanarkshire Council. 2.7.7 Four key recommendations to assist with increasing the numbers and retention of BAME teachers have come from this research: 1. introduce mentorship and support officers; 2. promote current BAME employees in the organisation e.g. as champions in the workplace; 3. introduce anonymised recruitment and selection; and 4. attract a diverse talent pool by creating job adverts for BAME applicants only to increase diverse hiring. Black Lives Matter Teacher and Pupil Survey 2.7.8 The Black Lives Matter Working Group was keen to know what conversations were happening in schools about the Black Lives Matter movement and wider issues around racism and culture and if staff felt they had the necessary experience, understanding, knowledge and confidence levels to engage with pupils on these topics. Education members of the BLMWG coordinated the undertaking of two surveys to gather this information. Staff Survey 2.7.9 The survey was designed to capture staff’s understanding, knowledge and confidence levels in relation to Black Lives Matters. In summary, findings highlight the challenges associated with supporting staff to develop their skills, knowledge and expertise to ensure all children and young people are educated in an inclusive environment that promotes equality and diversity. Findings indicate that any support provided should: • centre on self-evaluation; • be supported by high quality professional learning; • avoid a ‘one size’ fits all approach; • maximise links with relevant partners and stakeholders; including those with ‘lived experience’; • align with current National and Local advice to ensure consistent terminology; and • be supported by appropriate policy directives. Pupils Survey 2.7.10 A small sample of young people were asked to provide their views through the completion of a survey, similar to the staff survey, carefully designed to enable them to shape the direction of the development work. Colleagues from Community Learning and Development and Education worked together to create a bespoke lesson plan to be completed before distribution of the survey to ensure young people understood the rationale for gathering views. 2.7.11 68% of respondents confirmed that they had participated in conversations about Black Lives Matter, mainly in schools or with youth workers and friends. A high proportion of respondents said that they had not used ‘formal’ Black Lives Matter learning materials in school or as part of youth work.
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2.7.12 Although a high number of the young people reported that they felt comfortable talking about Black Lives Matter they also felt that increased opportunities to learn and engage in conversation about this area, would increase confidence and understanding. 2.7.13 When asked for suggestions to raise awareness of Black Lives Matters, young people suggested an increased focus on this in schools to dispel any misunderstandings and to support young people to develop a better understanding of barriers faced by black people today. Progress to date 2.7.14 All this information about our schools has provided us with a picture of the ethnic diversity of our pupils and our teachers as well as an understanding through the research, audits and surveys of our pupils and staff. It has showed us where we need to focus attention if we want to make positive change. The following provides information on progress and initiatives undertaken in recent months. BAME Probationer teacher project 2.7.15 A potential way identified that could make a quick impact on the number of BAME teachers is via the intake of the probationer teachers. In 2022-23 the Council had 143 Teacher Induction Scheme probationers - 98 in the secondary and 48 in the primary sectors. If we can encourage BAME teaching students to come to North Lanarkshire for their probationer year we can make an immediate impact on the numbers. Additionally, we would have the opportunity to support and encourage them to continue to want to work in North Lanarkshire. 2.7.16 However, it is important to know what the pool of BAME teaching students approaching their probationer year is, to gauge the potential for increasing numbers. If there aren’t many BAME students, then we might not make a difference. 2.7.17 A key problem is that there is currently no undertaking to share any monitoring of teaching students by either university or via the General Teaching Council for Scotland – if indeed they collect this information at all. Contact has been made with GTCS to look at this and our Probationer Support Officers are now part of a sub-group considering how to take this forward. 2.7.18 For the probationer intake in 2023-24 we provided promotional information to the teaching universities to distribute to the students on what support North Lanarkshire Council has to offer them. This information contained: • a specific message to BAME students from the Council’s Executive Sponsor for Race inviting them to come to North Lanarkshire for their probationer year; • details about our commitment to equality and diversity through the Race at Work Charter, Equally Safe at Work and Disability Confident Leader employer accreditation programmes; and • information on our commitment to ongoing employee engagement on equality issues via our Employee Equality Forum. 2.7.19 However, the universities were reluctant to distribute this information. We are now developing a ‘Teach Here’ section on our website where we will host a variety of information aimed at attracting applications from teachers from a variety of diverse backgrounds.
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2.7.20 Should the opportunity arise, we will engage directly with those future BAME probationer teachers before the selection process is complete. Review of information on MyJob Scotland and the Council website 2.7.21 Where recruitment of fully qualified teachers for vacancies is through MyJob Scotland we have reviewed the information that is contained on our portal, as well as that contained on the sites of other local authorities to see if we could do things differently to attract BAME applicants. 2.7.22 Our Jobs and Training section on the Council website now includes an equality and diversity section to promote our commitments and policies to anyone checking us out as a potential place to work. 2.7.23 The work to review the information on My Job Scotland and the Council website will be of benefit to all applicants applying for Council vacancies not just within the teaching profession. Supporting an anti-racist culture in Education 2.7.24 As part of NLC’s leadership development programme a session entitled: Anti-Racist Education: The School Leader’s Role has been incorporated. 2.7.25 This interactive workshop explores a school leader’s role in fostering an anti-racist culture, enacting an anti-racist curriculum and building racial literacy and confidence in anti-racist leadership and education. This session is facilitated by the Lead Specialist (Race Equality) in Education Scotland. 2.7.26 By offering this session as part of the Principal Teacher, Depute Head Teacher and Head Teacher Leadership programmes continuity of understanding across all levels of school management is supported. 2.7.27 The service has also continued to promote Education Scotland’s Building Racial Literacy programme, with one colleague completing the pilot programme and another enrolled to start in the next cohort. Plan for change 2.7.28 Considering all the information we have gathered, our Advancing Race Equality in our school environment action plan sets out a clear path for the advancement of equality for BAME teachers and pupils in our schools and includes: • the Executive Sponsor for Race implementing a positive action scheme that provides a pathway for BAME teachers to advance in their careers and provide BAME visibility and influence; • opportunities for BAME school-based staff to connect with others to reduce isolation and build confidence; • our Probationer Support Officers within the Education and Family Service is working with the General Teaching Council for Scotland to look at how it can monitor the diversity of its students to allow future action where required; • implement the improvement actions identified in the teachers and school pupils survey and continue supporting an anti-racist culture in Education 2.7.29 The action plan for the schools’ environment in contained within Section 3 of Appendix 1.
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2.8 Legacy actions from the BLM Working Group 2.8.1 As mentioned in the background of this report the BLMWG set out a plan for the Council in relation to tackling racism and advancing race equality and included: • a review all the statues, historical symbols, naming of streets and buildings and schools in North Lanarkshire to properly understand their history and context; • examine and suggest amendments to the school curriculum so we can nurture and ensure an inclusive, anti-racist culture in all school establishments that recognises and teaches BAME contribution and success; • examine current data available on ethnicity and collect further data as required; • explore the potential to develop a Race at Work Charter; and • promote understanding in North Lanarkshire about why Black lives matter. Progress to date 2.8.2 Most of the actions contained within the BLM WG action are complete or are ongoing as detailed throughout this report. The project detailed in the following section has begun but requires the consideration of Committee as it has resource implications. Statues, historical symbols, names of streets, buildings, and schools 2.8.3 The Black Lives Matter Working group was concerned about the links the area has to the transatlantic slave trade and that these have not been publicly acknowledged in any way. The Active and Creative (Museum) Service was tasked with carrying out research to identify any historical links with a view to raising public awareness. This has resulted in a number of prominent names coming to the fore – Buchanan of Drumpellier, Aitcheson of Rochsolloch, Alexander of Airdrie, Bogle of Calderbank, Douglas of Orbiston, William Hamilton, New Shotts Iron Company to name but a few, and highlighted that schools, public buildings, landmarks and streets have been named (and some very recently named) after these known beneficiaries of the Slave Trade. 2.8.4 Under the guidance of the esteemed Professor Sir Geoff Palmer, an academic and human rights activist the Black Lives Matter Working Group considered what would be the best way to raise awareness in the community and also what would have the greatest long-term impact. The renaming of these buildings, streets etc was ruled out in favour of commemorative plaques or inscriptions that would acknowledge history and increase understanding. This approach was also endorsed by the participants at the Black Lives Matter Community Conference held in February 2022. 2.8.5 Installing commemorative plaques across the authority at key sites requires to be resourced. Committee is asked to consider the following: • that the work commenced by Active and Creative Communities to put in place commemorative plaques continues. Key to the success of this will be direct engagement with users of the buildings and communities, including representatives of the BAME community and the appropriate Community Boards to agree the final text and format; • to reduce costs and ensure information can be updated, if necessary, the commemorative plaques could contain a brief statement of the history with a link or QR code to more detailed information hosted on the council website; and • it is envisaged that a one-off budget of £2000 would allow for plaques to be installed in significant buildings such as Buchanan High School and the Buchanan Centre and further plaques across the authority’s streets as appropriate.
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2.9 Next Steps 2.9.1 Over the past two years the Council has invested a substantial amount of its resources into understanding the experiences and needs of our BAME employees, communities, and schools. 2.9.2 We must now build on all the progress to date and use the action plan as our framework for addressing the ‘historical and ongoing systemic and institutional discrimination, racism, social injustice, human rights abuses, and inequalities experienced by Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic people’ who live, learn, work, invest and visit North Lanarkshire. 2.9.3 The action plan needs to be seen as a living document and post committee we will engage with our BAME and other stakeholders in its monitoring and review: • the action plan for advancing race equality in our workplace will be subject to a consultation with our Employee Equality Forum, Trade Union colleagues and our BAME employees who have expressed an interest in engaging with us through its lifetime; • the action plan for advancing race equality in our communities will be presented to our Strategic Leadership Board, Community Boards and a BAME community Conference to ensure it has the broad input it requires from all our partners. In particular, we need to consider a mechanism for continued monitoring and engagement with our BAME communities; and • the action plan for advancing race equality in our school environments will be monitored through ongoing employee monitoring, self-assessment processes and engaging with BAME school based staff and Pupil Voices. 3. Measures of success 3.1 We have increased the numbers of BAME employees in the Council environment. 3.2 We have increased the number of BAME teachers in our school environment. 3.3 A BAME community conference is held in 2023. 3.4 Our Community Planning partners and BAME stakeholders are engaged in the development and monitoring of the action plan for advancing race equality in our communities. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – Advancing Race Equality Action Plan Appendix 2 – Report – An exploration of the lived experience of North Lanarkshire’s Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic People Fiona Whittaker Chief Officer, People Resources
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The work associated with this report aims to advance race equality and therefore positively impacts the Council’s General Equality Duty. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? It has been agreed that any finances required can be met within existing budgets. With respect to the funding of an increased number of BAME Teachers, the service will work with Education & Families to plan within existing resources to create the BAME teacher / leadership pathway and amend and adjust the DSM in accordance with this. Since this is a realignment of resources, the service will not require additional budget. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Impact positively on the Council’s desire for its workforce to reflect the diversity of the people of North Lanarkshire. 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐
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If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Risk impact Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services.
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1 Appendix 1 North Lanarkshire Council Advancing Race Equality Action Plan 1. OUR WORKFORCE Case for Change Issue Actions Measure Responsible Officer Timescale RAG Status and comment 1.1 Low self-recording of ethnicity on iTrent gives unclear picture of the ethnic diversity of our workforce. a. Internal campaign fronted by the EEF to promote understanding of the need to record and encourage action. Increase in numbers of employees self- recording in ethnicity category. Equalities Manager January 23 – March 23 b. NLC Announcement to be made about the importance of self- recording on iTrent Decrease in prefer not to say responses. Equalities Manager January 23 – March 23 1.2 Although there is low self-recording we know that there are low numbers of BAME people in our organisation (0.69%). The local population is 1.7% (not including white minority). We want to at least match this. a. Facilitate entirely anonymous recruitment at application and shortleet via iTrent. Increase in BAME people interviewed and appointed. Recruitment Manager January 23 On track for soft launch in January with full rollout in April. b. Unconscious Bias training for people on recruitment panels and managers. Numbers of recruiting panel members. TOD Ongoing c. Job adverts to say that applications are particularly welcome from BAME people. Increase in applications from BAME people. Recruitment Manager January 23 onwards Equality and Diversity tab being added to MyJob Scotland NLC portal.
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2 d. Targeted recruitment campaigns to BAME and / people representative organisations. Increase in BAME people working for the Council. Recruitment Manager January 23 e. Positive action in recruitment within teaching – probationers intake, Promote to teacher training establishments. Increase in numbers of BAME teachers. Equalities Manager November 22 – Feb 23 Information sent to universities with direct message from Exec. Sponsor for Race. f. Train BAME employees to sit on interview panels for leader roles in Council – particularly when a BAME applicant is interviewed. Increase in successful BAME candidates employed. Reduced feelings of bias by BAME candidates. TOD January 23 onwards 1.3 We want to know about BAME employees’ experiences of working for NLC. a. Undertake a BAME employee survey every two years Numbers of BAME employees completing the survey. Equalities Manager Last completed in 2021 New survey October 2023 2021 survey results fed back to BAME employee event 25.10.22 b. BAME employees are engaged and participate in the Employee Equality Forum. BAME employees participating in the EEF Equalities Manager Ongoing
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3 1.4 No promotions went to BAME people. There are none at Senior Management Level. a. Leadership and Talent programmes targeted at BAME employees. Numbers of BAME employees participating in Leadership programme. TOD Manager January 23 onwards b. Establish a BAME Mentoring / Peer Network support from BLM Working Group and EEF. BAME employees participate in virtual network. TOD Manager / Equalities Manager January 23 onwards c. Sign up to Race at Work Charter. Employees are aware of the Council’s Race at Work Charter and the Council has progressed the 7 commitments. Equalities Manager Complete We signed the Charter in October 2021 1.5 Disproportionately low (in comparison to disabled, men and women) interviews to BAME people in 2020. 16.4% who applied were interviewed. a. Anonymous application process implemented. Increase in % of applications received resulting in interviews. Recruitment Manager January 23 onwards Anonymous recruitment process subject of soft launch in January 2023 with full rollout in April 2023. b. Promote the minority ethnic recruitment toolkit with recruiting panels / training. Increase in % of applications received resulting in interviews. Recruitment Manager /TOD January 23 c. Unconscious / Implicit bias training for recruiting panels. Increase in BAME people appointed. Recruitment Manager /TOD Ongoing In 2022 the training was accessed 419 times.
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4 1.6 There is no specific training for - employees on race equality / anti-racism. a. Develop e-learning course on race equality. Course developed and numbers participating. TOD / Equalities Manager December 22 onwards Awaiting EMLC materials for review. b. Develop the Diversity Champion Training into a one- day course. Course developed. Numbers of employees trained. TOD January 23 First draft being considered by Equalities Manager. On track to be developed by end of January 2023. A pilot course will be undertaken thereafter 2. OUR COMMUNITY Case for Change Issue Actions Measure Responsible Officer Timescale RAG Status and comment 2.1 BAME Research and recommendations NLP Strategic Leadership Board. a. Present findings to the NLP Strategic Leadership Board for action. Report presented to NLP SLB. Equalities Manager /Business Partnership Manager February 23 b. Include in Programme of Work 2023/24. Action Plans developed by NL Partner organisations. Equalities Manager April 23 c. CPP officers group set up to advance research findings. Group meets and CPP have developed action plans. Equalities Manager April 23 d. Present findings to Community Boards. Community Boards input. Equalities Manager / CP Manager March 23 onwards
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5 e. Host Community Conference in 2023 to feedback to BAME communities. Conference has taken place Equalities Manager CPP Team Summer 23 2.2 Community Boards and their influencing and engagement structures are inclusive. a. Equality and Diversity information is included in the CB Members hub. CB Members are accessing the information via the hub. TOD / Equalities Manager December 22 onwards Information is being developed 2.3 There has been very little uptake in Modern Apprentice jobs by BAME young people. a. Targeted promotion in schools / youth settings / faith-based organisations of opportunities afforded through MA programme / Foundation programme to senior BAME pupils. Enlist the support of the EMEC to promote this. Meet the team events for BAME pupils. Uptake of BAME young people in FA programme. Uptake of BAME young people in MA programme. MA Team September 21 – June 22 2.4 Support provided to NL BAME business owners. a. Targeted promotion of opportunities to BAME business owners. Number of BME Managing Directors accessing Business Growth Fund Enterprise Manager Ongoing BAME business are monitored and reported Number of new BAME business starts Enterprise Manager Ongoing BAME business are monitored and reported
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6 2.5 Procurement is a powerful tool to tackle underserved BAME communities. Our contracts should be accessible to BAME businesses in our authority area. a. Target SME that are owned by BAME people. Monitor value of contracts to local BAME businesses. Increase in value of contracts to local BAME businesses. Procurement Team January 23 onwards *This action is being considered by procurement team so is draft. 3. OUR EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS Case for change Issue Actions Measure Responsible Officer Timescale RAG Status and comment 3.1 In schools 1% of teachers are BAME while nearly 6% of pupils are. In some schools 12% of pupils are BAME. a. Positive action in recruitment within teaching. Link directly with teacher training establishments to attract BAME students approaching probationer year. Increase in numbers of BAME teachers in schools. HRBP / Equalities Manager August 23 onwards b. Work with GTCS to monitor characteristics. The ethnicity of teaching students and probationer teachers is known. Probationer Support Officers November 22 onwards A sub-group has been set up by GTCS which the Council has representation on c. Develop leadership pathways in schools for BAME teachers. Increase in BAME teachers in promoted posts. TOD / HRBP/ Equalities Manager January 23 onwards
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7 d. Work with Head Teachers to encourage uptake of leadership opportunities. Increase in BAME teachers participating in leadership programmes. Increase in BAME teachers in promoted posts. HRBP / Head Teachers / Ed. Lead January 23 onwards e. Work with Teacher Trade Unions re BAME networks. BAME teachers take up opportunities to network. Equalities Manager / HRBP January 23 onwards f. Work specifically with HTs in schools with disproportionately high numbers of BAME pupils to target job opportunities to BAME teachers. Reduced BAME pupil Teacher ratio. Equalities Manager / HRBP January 23 onwards g. Develop ‘Teach Here’ section on Council website to promote Council as the place to come to teach Increase number of BAME teachers in our schools Equalities Team / HRBP January 23 3.2 Curriculum – inclusion of BAME experience / skills and excellence. a. Promote Education Scotland’s Building Racial Literacy programme. Numbers of teachers enrolled in and completing the programme. Numbers of schools with teachers enrolled Head Teachers / Ed. Leadership Lead Head Teachers / Ed. Leadership Lead January 23 onwards January 23 onwards
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8 in and completing the programme. 3.3 Culture - tackling racism. Taking an anti- racist approach. a. Anti-Racist Education: The School Leader’s Role included in the Leadership Development Programme. Numbers of teachers' leaders enrolled in and completing the programme. Numbers of schools with teachers' leaders participating. Head Teachers / Ed. Leadership Lead January 23 onwards b. Materials on the Equality and Diversity tile within the Improvement and Innovation Hub include up to date training/e-learning modules around aspects such as unconscious bias etc. Satisfaction rates of participants. Ed. Leadership Lead January 23 onwards 3.4 Pupils are engaged in understanding Black and Asian history and culture. a. Participation in Black History Month. b. Schools actively acknowledge celebrate significant cultural and faith-based events – Diwali, Eid, Ramadan. Monitor number of schools actively participating in BHM activities. Monitor number of schools actively acknowledging / celebrating events. Head Teachers/ Ed, Leadership lead Head Teachers / Ed, Leadership lead October 23 August 23
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FINAL REPORT Dr. Asifa Maaria Hussain School of Social Sciences Heriot-Watt University Dr. Mohammed Ishaq School of Business and Creative Industries University of the West of Scotland Lives An exploration of the lived experiences and future needs of North Lanarkshire’s Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic people. Our
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01 Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Key Findings ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 1. Introduction and research aim ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 2.1 Research approach and design ....................................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Data analysis........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 2.3 Research ethics ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 2.4 Challenges and limitations ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 3. Demographic profile of participants .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 4. Findings ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16 4.1 Key findings by theme ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16 4.1.1 Ageing population ........................................................................................................................................................... 16 4.1.2 Digital skills and inclusion .................................................................................................................................. 19 4.1.3 Employment and skills ........................................................................................................................................... 20 4.1.4 Community cohesion and integration ..................................................................................... 22 4.2 Gendered perspectives ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 4.3 Findings from the experiences of the Syrian refugee community in the context of the indicators of integration framework .................................................. 27 5. Discussion ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28 6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 30 7. Recommendations ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 31 7.1 General recommendations ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 7.2 Gender-specific recommendations.......................................................................................................................... 34 7.3 Lessons from the experiences of the Syrian refugees: 7 years on .............. 35 References ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 Appendix 1: Focus group and interview schedule .......................................................................................................................................... 38 Appendix 2: Participant information sheet .................................................................................................................................................................. 40 Appendix 3: Consent form.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 42 List of tables Table 1: Composition of focus groups by ethnicity, gender and number of participants .. 11 Table 2: Demographic profile of research sample .......................................................................................................................... 14 Table 3: Geographic areas represented in the research ..................................................................................................... 15
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Acknowledgments The authors of this report would like to acknowledge all those who participated in this research. This includes focus group and interview participants, without whose involvement it would not have been possible to have undertaken a meaningful investigation. Thanks also to North Lanarkshire Council for funding this important research project. In particular, thanks to the following individuals who played a vital role in various capacities: Audrey Cameron (Equalities Manager) and Anila Ansari (Support Worker) who were the chief architects of the initial idea to undertake the research and who formulated the research brief along with Nicola Barlow and Lauren Casey; Chaimae Baqqari, Teresa Collins, Vatican Kayembe, Councillor Ayeshah Khan, Isbah Khan, Kin Wa Li, Helena Mundell, Angela Nduka, Ting Ng, Mahvish Rizvi, and Ghulam Siddique MBE who all helped in the process of recruiting participants and identifying suitable venues for the focus groups. Finally, a special mention to Lizanne McMurrich (former Head of Communities) who backed the idea for undertaking this research. The views expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and research participants, and do not reflect those of North Lanarkshire Council. 02
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Executive summary This research was commissioned by North Lanarkshire Council (NLC). The objective was to explore the lived experiences and future needs of Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic (BAME) people residing in North Lanarkshire in relation to four key themes identified by NLC as being of interest in relation to this project: ageing population; digital skills and inclusion; employment and skills; and community cohesion and integration. Key findings Ageing population: • Language was a barrier in making effective use of health and social care services especially for those who had limited or no proficiency in the English language. • The lack of a culturally sensitive care service was leading to personal care being rejected by ethnic minority families. • There was a perception that mainstream mental health services were western-centric and failed to acknowledge and consider alternative perspectives on mental health. • There was frustration at the attitude of receptionists when engaging with primary health care services such as GP services to request appointments. • Some BAME groups compared their experience of health care services in the UK unfavourably with their country of origin. • Overall, the pandemic was viewed as having had an adverse impact on the experience of using health and social care services among BAME communities. 03
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Digital skills and inclusion: • In most BAME communities, there was a marked digital divide between the younger and older generations and between those who had better proficiency in English and those who lacked the necessary language skills. • The provision of IT training by NLC and other agencies was deemed helpful. However, there were concerns that some aspects of the training did not meet the needs of learners and consequently uptake was low. • There were mixed views among BAME communities as to whether cost was a barrier to accessing digital hardware and reliable internet services with affluent BAME families not impacted by the cost of digital devices and internet provision. • In terms of future needs, some financial support for accessing digital and IT equipment would be welcomed by specific communities especially over concerns that digital services were overtaking face to face service provision since the pandemic. Employment and skills: • Occupational segregation in the labour market was viewed as being rife with BAME employees overrepresented in low status and low paid jobs. • There was a perceptions that racial discrimination and lack of opportunities for BAME people in the labour market contributed to unemployment and confinement to low level jobs. • For some BAME groups, language was a barrier to attaining high paid and high-status jobs even for those who possessed good educational qualifications and experience from their country of origin. • Self-employment was an attractive option for many BAME groups as it provided an escape route from unemployment and low paid jobs and compensated for lack of educational qualifications. • BAME groups would welcome training schemes and better support from agencies and organisations to help boost skills that could help enhance employment prospects. • There was frustration that skills and qualifications acquired overseas were not always recognised in the UK and this impacted on the ability to compete in the labour market. 04
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05 Community cohesion and integration: • Integration with the host or white majority community was broadly supported by all BAME groups but language was viewed as a key barrier especially for those born overseas and the elderly. • Despite support for integration, most BAME groups believed in the importance of maintaining their cultural and religious identity. • The ability to speak English was viewed as important by BAME groups for a variety of reasons. However, some BAME groups did not feel that ESOL classes were effectively tailored to their needs. • There was a broad consensus that the diverse cultures of ethnic minority groups were not celebrated by NLC in ways seen elsewhere in Scotland. • Racism from the white community was not a major issue but children experienced a degree of racial microaggression at school. • Most BAME groups had a better relationship with other ethnic minority groups than with the white community due to facing common challenges and having shared values and interests. • Most BAME groups felt relatively safe in their neighbourhoods and did not have too many concerns when going about their day-to-day activities. • Engagement with the political process was low as most BAME communities did not feel that politicians at local or national level did enough to address the issues they faced. The findings reported above are broadly representative of all or most BAME communities who took part in the research. However, there are also findings that are unique to specific BAME groups that are highlighted below. Polish Community: • The Polish community perceived themselves as having a stronger work ethic than their Scottish counterparts but felt they lacked confidence in asserting their rights at work. • Despite taking on work that was below the level of education and skills that had been acquired in Poland, there was a belief that the UK offered opportunities for career progression. • Polish participants were divided on whether they would stay in the UK permanently with some expecting to return to Poland at some stage in the future.
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Chinese Community: • The Chinese community would welcome a care home service designed specifically for elderly members of the Chinese community. • There was a feeling that some ethnic minority groups received more resources from the Council than the Chinese community. • Although most Chinese people were doing financially well, success came at certain costs such as anti-social hours and poor working conditions. • The Chinese community was underrepresented in politics at both local and Parliamentary level, not just in Scotland but across the UK. This was down to apathy among the Chinese community about participating in politics and mistrust of authorities. 06 Black African and Caribbean Community: • Health services, including GPs, needed to employ more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to create a more welcoming environment for ethnically diverse service users of both primary and secondary health care services. • There were concerns that some community centres and community facilities did not have access to reliable internet services. • There was a lack of trust when it came to white co-workers and a perception that they were out to make life hard for black employees in the workplace. • There was perceived discrimination in the allocation of housing with ethnic minorities offered poor and unsuitable housing in comparison to white people.
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07 Congolese Community: • There is a digital divide between Congolese men and Congolese women due to women having childcare commitments and not having access to affordable childcare and being primarily housebound. This meant men had more opportunity to attend classes to get training in IT skills. • Congolese women would like the Council to provide greater access to IT equipment. While libraries did have computers these were always in demand and because libraries had specific opening and closing times, this was not always convenient. • Congolese males were struggling to find suitable employment due to lack of training and prior work experience. • Schools were not doing enough to demonstrate their inclusivity, for example primary schools had no pictures of Black children on their walls. Syrian Refugee Community: • There was a need for access to doctors who shared the same gender as patients due to cultural reasons as members of the Syrian community felt uncomfortable being examined by practitioners from the opposite sex when accessing health care services. • The adults among the Syrian community were reliant on their young children for language support as the latter had attended school in Scotland. Children were often translating for their parents and the elderly in various situations. • Syrian women who were mothers were keen for their daughters to get educated rather than get married very young and become housewives. • Syrian women are happy to pursue employment and volunteering work once their children are older. • The pursuit of self- employment was appealing to Syrian women but they lacked the funding to make this a reality. • There was a perception that Syrian men were struggling to find appropriate employment for a number of reasons such as jobs on offer not matching their skills, language barrier, and because some were suffering from health conditions acquired as a result of the conflict in Syria. Agencies geared to help find employment such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were not viewed as supportive. • There was disappointment that Syrian families were not given the choice to send their children to non- denominational schools. • Children had experienced racial bullying at school including name calling and girls were harassed because they wore the hijab. • The value of integrating in Scottish society was accepted but this would not be at the cost of neglecting religious and cultural practices. • The experience of fleeing persecution and the trauma of war had shaped or impacted the engagement of the Syrian community with certain services such as the police.
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08 Indian Sub-continent Community: • There was a lack of awareness of where to seek support in the future as more members of the Indian sub- continent community were becoming older and needed personal care, especially if they lived on their own and had no family support. • A key barrier to the recruitment of more ethnic minority carers was the depiction of care work being a menial job. • Hospital care services were not culturally sensitive with some hospitals unaware of ‘halal’ food. This meant that secondary health care services were not meeting the needs of patients from minority faiths. • It was noted that NLC provided funding and resources for IT training in different languages. However, these were poorly attended and viewed as a lost opportunity. • There was a feeling that the areas where participants reside had an impact on experience of racism. Those living in affluent areas and who attended schools there were less likely to experience issues than those who lived in deprived areas. • It was difficult to gauge the prevalence of domestic abuse in the Indian sub-continent community but it was felt that it did exist and that it was very much hidden as it was considered a taboo area in Asian society. • Some men from the Indian sub-continent were viewed as having a backward culture and were keen to push their own career forward whilst holding women back.
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09 1. Introduction and research aim North Lanarkshire is Scotland’s fourth largest local authority area by population and in relation to ethnic diversity, the 2011 census revealed that the area is home to a number of BAME communities (National Records of Scotland, 2021). It is envisaged that data from the most recent national census carried out in 2022, will show an increase in the ethnic diversity of the overall Scottish population including in North Lanarkshire. Until recently, there had not been an undertaking by North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) to examine the lived experiences of BAME communities. However, in 2020, a working group was formed with a commitment to explore and understand the needs and issues facing BAME people. The group agreed an approach to carrying out a piece of research over 2 phases. Phase 1 involved a questionnaire of BAME communities and was conducted between December 2020 and February 2021 (Policy and Strategy Committee, 2021). Although some useful quantitative data was generated, it was deemed that phase 1 did not capture the qualitative aspect of the lived experiences of BAME communities. It was felt that this could be addressed through a qualitative study involving focus groups and interviews with BAME communities that would provide a voice to those communities and a deeper insight into their real-life experiences. Hence, NLC commissioned phase 2 of the research, the aim of which was to develop an understanding of the lived experiences and future needs of North Lanarkshire’s BAME communities in relation to: an ageing population; digital skills and inclusion; employment and skills; community cohesion and integration; and the specific experiences of the Syrian refugees.
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2. Methodology 2.1 Research approach and design In line with the aim of the research to capture the lived experiences of BAME communities residing in North Lanarkshire, the research adopted a qualitative approach using focus groups and interviews to collect rich data and insights based on real life experiences of participants. Focus groups and interviews are widely used in qualitative research of this nature (Quinlan et al., 2019; Saunders et al., 2018). Although the original plan was to undertake only focus groups, the difficulties in getting sufficient participation from the Chinese community and the reluctance of this community to partake in a focus group setting led the researchers to revert to the use of one-to-one interviews with members of the Chinese community. This was viewed as a viable contingency plan that was better than opting to forgo the involvement of the Chinese community. The reasons for the unwillingness of the Chinese community to take part in a focus group in a physical setting appeared to be for a combination of reasons such as fear of Covid and concerns of a backlash because of the media spotlight on China having been the possible origin for the virus. Furthermore, initially the research programme had aimed to undertake a separate male and female focus group with each community. However, this was not possible due to insufficient numbers in relation to some BAME groups. In such instances, a mixed focus group was undertaken. A series of focus groups and interviews were undertaken with each of the 6 main ethnic minority groups residing in the North Lanarkshire area. The fieldwork was conducted between May and August 2022 using a combination of face to face and online platforms. Participants were recruited through a blend of the researchers’ contacts and those provided by NLC. In total, 8 focus groups were carried out as illustrated in Table 1. 10
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11 Table 1: Composition of focus groups by ethnicity, gender and number of participants Ethnic background of focus group/interview participants Gender of participants Number of participants Polish Mixed 8 Congolese Female 4 Congolese Male 6 Black African and Caribbean (excluding Congolese) Mixed 5 Syrian Male 3 Syrian Female 4 Indian sub-continent Female 8 Indian sub-continent Male 4 In addition, 5 one to one interviews were conducted with the Chinese community comprising 3 females and 2 males. Further information on the demographic profile of research participants can be found in section three of this report. No interpreter was required for the focus groups undertaken with the Polish, Congolese and Black African and Caribbean communities as participants’ proficiency in the English language was adequate in responding to questions and prompts. Interpreters were recruited for the Syrian focus groups and for interviews with the Chinese community. For the Indian sub- continent focus groups, the researchers assumed responsibility for interpreting as they were proficient in the languages spoken by participants. Proposed focus group and interview themes were piloted with gatekeepers and the project team. Following the pilot, an agreed focus group and interview schedule was constructed that was used as a basis for the fieldwork (Appendix 1).
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12 2.2 Data analysis The qualitative data that emerged from the research was exposed to thematic analysis. This process involves the use of categories and codes for common themes that emerge from the findings. The analysis of the data was further supported by the rich insights captured directly from focus group participants and interviewees which shed further light on the findings and increased the reliability and validity of the research. The approach adopted in the analysis of the data will allow the outcomes of the research to be interpreted by a broad audience of stakeholders thereby increasing the value and impact of the research. 2.3 Research ethics To ensure that the research adhered to ethical practices, the lead researcher submitted plans for the proposed research to the University of the West of Scotland’s (UWS) Ethics Committee for formal approval. This process assessed all stages of the planned research to ensure that it complied with the principles of anonymity, confidentiality, data protection and consent in relation to both participants and the data collected. UWS is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, which implements the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Formal notification that ethical approval was granted was received in March 2022. All data collection instruments used involved the dissemination of a participant information sheet which provided would-be participants an overview of the research and laid out the purpose of the research (Appendix 2). The information sheet also communicated the voluntary nature of the research and the right of would-be participants to withdraw their involvement at any point. The information provided set out the level and nature of involvement required on the part of participants and how the data collected would be managed, including, how it would be stored, protected, used and disposed of. For the focus group and interviews, participants were required to sign a consent form confirming their willingness to take part and their consent to being audio and video recorded (Appendix 3). Data captured was stored securely on a password protected device to ensure that it could not be accessed by any unauthorised party. Further security of the data was ensured through all files being password protected. Focus group and interviews conducted in-person were recorded using a digital camera while online focus groups and interviews were recorded via Microsoft teams and zoom. Transcription of the files was undertaken by a professional transcription service who signed a data processing agreement to ensure the safeguarding and confidentiality of the data.
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2.4 Challenges and limitations Phase 1 of the research that involved a questionnaire of North Lanarkshire’s BAME communities had identified a number of shortcomings such as a low response rate and gaps in the following areas: • Responses from the Indian sub-continent and Chinese communities • Responses from the Northern Corridor and Kilsyth areas • Responses from the Congolese refugee community • Response from males While phase 2 of the research also has limitations, it has however plugged most of the gaps that emerged from phase 1 by managing to engage with the Indian sub-continent, Chinese and Congolese communities as well as with male participants from all targeted BAME groups. As with phase 1, participation from BAME individuals living in the Northern Corridor and Kilsyth was low. On reflection, phase 2 presented the researchers with a number of challenges: • Initial reluctance and lack of engagement from BAME communities to take part in the research due to lack of trust and confidence in the purpose of the research. • Lack of engagement and apathy from ‘gatekeepers’ representing various BAME communities in supporting the recruitment of participants and slow response time. • Complexity in finding a convenient time and date suitable for all would-be focus group participants. • Unwillingness of the Chinese community to participate in a focus group. These challenges impacted on the initial timeline for the research. However, the researchers used their experience and perseverance to navigate the challenges and managed to recruit a sufficient number of participants and carry out the fieldwork despite the initial delay. As noted above, in relation to the Chinese community, the researchers resorted to undertaking one to one interviews in an online setting. It is also worth pointing out that uncertainty over Covid restrictions and the general reticence created by the pandemic impacted on getting the research underway. 13
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3. Demographic profile of participants During the process of recruiting participants for the focus groups and interviews, the aim was to ensure that the cohort of participants were as representative as possible of different age- groups, gender, and employment status among the targeted BAME communities. While this task proved quite challenging given the initial lack of engagement and interest from would-be participants, the researchers managed to compile a reasonably diverse cohort of participants. Table 2 provides a breakdown of the characteristics of the overall sample of participants who were recruited for the research. Table 2: Demographic profile of research sample Ethnic background Total number of participants Polish 8 Congolese 10 Black African and Caribbean (excluding Congolese) 5 Syrian 7 Indian-sub-continent 12 Chinese 5 Gender Female 27 Male 20 Age-group 16-25 4 26-35 12 36-45 14 46-55 7 56-65 5 Over 65 5 Employment status Employed (including self- employed) 20 Unemployed 3 Student 6 Retired 5 Housewife 7 Disabled/unfit to work 1 Other – including unpaid carer and volunteer 5 Total number of participants 47 The research managed to recruit participants from both sexes as well as from all age- groups above 16. In terms of employment status, participants were representative of a wide range of categories including those who were employed, unemployed, students, retired and housewives. Table 3 lists the geographic areas of North Lanarkshire where participants resided. While most of the main areas of North Lanarkshire are represented in the research, as noted above in the limitations, it was not possible to achieve a satisfactory level of engagement of individuals from BAME communities that resided in areas such as Kilsyth and the Northern Corridor where relatively low numbers of BAME individuals reside. 14
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Table 3: Geographic areas represented in the research Airdrie Bellshill Coatbridge Cumbernauld Motherwell Shotts Stepps Wishaw 15
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4. Findings Findings from the analysis undertaken of the focus groups and interviews are reported in this section. These findings are deemed to be representative of all or most of the BAME communities that participated in the research. The findings are presented under each of the 4 key themes in relation to this research: An ageing population; digital skills and inclusion; employment and skills; and community cohesion and integration. Given the additional interest of the research in understanding lived experiences from a gendered perspective and a desire to gauge the specific experiences of Syrian refugees, some findings in relation to these areas are also presented. It should be noted that quotes cited from responses by participants in their mother tongue were translated into English by interpreters. 4.1 Key findings by theme 4.1.1 Ageing population Language was a barrier in the ability to make effective use of health and social care services especially for those who had little or no proficiency in the English language. This was particularly the case among elderly ethnic minorities and those who were born outside the UK. The problem was accentuated by regulations which prohibit patients from using family and friends to interpret at appointments and consultations. In instances where professional interpreters were provided, they were not always available on a consistent basis: “I think the main area is the language barrier….it is quite hard to get the necessary support if the service provider cannot provide the language support. I think a lot of older ethnic minorities still cannot speak fluent English. How can a home help be of any use if they can’t pick up what support the client needs?” (Chinese interviewee 2 - male) “In the household we have people who can speak English but because legally my child or my wife is not allowed to translate or interpret that is where the barrier comes in…the council, the NHS need to provide an interpreter” (Congolese male focus group - participant 4) 16
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“I had interpreting service support for a while when I went to see the GP. That was given for a short period of time and then it was stopped. It also depends on which staff you are dealing with. Some staff are very aware of who to phone to arrange for an interpreter but other staff just don’t have a clue” (Chinese interviewee 3 - female) The lack of a culturally sensitive care service was leading to personal care being rejected by ethnic minority families and subsequently increased the burden on family members and relatives. Effective personal care at home required more paid carers who represented the ethnicity of patients and who were therefore culturally sensitive to the needs of service users. Where this was not possible, an alternative could be to provide training in cultural awareness to white carers. The current gap in providing effective and culturally sensitive personal care to BAME communities was viewed with pessimism in the context of the future needs of disabled and elderly ethnic minority communities in North Lanarkshire: “Asian families want people coming into their homes who understand the religious requirements, the personal hygiene requirements, all those sorts of things, and the trouble with home carers is the majority of them are non-Muslim and where families have them coming in after a few weeks they say ‘no thank you’ because it is not working” (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 1) “It is a big gap (the lack of ethnic minority carers)…I am not aware of a lot of Chinese carers out there. So, I think there is a need for maybe a kind of drive or incentive to recruit the carers who can speak the ethnic minority languages” (Chinese interviewee 2 - male) “There is not enough people from our culture to understand what the elderly will go through during the time when they need personal care…. I think maybe more research in how those people in that community live and look for people who have at least knowledge on the culture and the needs and values of that person. So maybe before they (social and personal care services) send people to support the person, they need to make sure that person has at least the knowledge of the culture” (Congolese male focus group - participant 6) There was a perception that mainstream mental health services were western-centric and failed to acknowledge alternative perspectives on mental health, which in turn reduced trust in the services among BAME communities: “All services including the mental health department need to actually understand Islamic beliefs because they have got a viewpoint of psychology and they think everything is medical when in fact there are spiritual issues involved which need to be looked at when dealing with mental health issues” (Indian sub-continent male focus group - participant 3) “Mental health is not just about someone being depressed or going crazy. There can be other forces at work which had led to this situation. These need to be explored with the help of religious people” (Syrian male focus group - participant 2) There was frustration at the attitude of receptionists when engaging with primary health care services such as GP services when requesting appointments. Over inquisitive receptionists were endangering patient confidentiality and lack of respect from receptionists towards BAME patients was discouraging engagement with GP services: 17
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“When you go to the reception there is that ‘you are not meant to be here’…….‘you are meant to do it online’….the receptionist was like ‘you don’t have an appointment’, ‘you must leave now’, ‘you can’t be here’… so people are finding that their health is getting worse” (Syrian male focus group - participant 2) “I think the chain of communication needs to be improved when it comes to GPs so sometimes if you call and if you are not dying then you don’t get to see the GP!” (Black African and Caribbean female focus group - participant 4) “There was one incident when there was a mix up with my appointment when I arrived at the surgery and the receptionist said ‘we can’t do anything about it, it’s not our fault’, and while I was speaking to her she went ‘could you wait at the side’ and she started serving the other patient who was white. I felt like this was racism because when it is a white British person they show them more respect” (Indian sub-continent male focus group - participant 1) Although long waiting lists for diagnosis and treatment of long-term health conditions were not viewed as being uncommon, they were causing much frustration. Some BAME groups were making comparisons with their country of origin where they felt they had received a better standard of service: “Oh my god! You can die waiting for everyone….I went to the GP because my daughter had a serious mental health issue and the doctor said he could not do anything but gave me a referral but said I might have to wait for months by which time I thought that my child might kill herself” (Polish focus group -participant 1: female) “It used to be 3 or 4 days waiting for a GP appointment, now you are waiting way longer that that. Then it is on the telephone, you don’t understand them, there is no interpreters or nothing available” (Syrian female focus group - participant 3) “Some people I know are going back home because it is quicker to be seen by a specialist there whereas here it is longer” (Syrian male focus group - participant 1) “I have been here for 4 years and honestly the GP service is nothing to write home about. They don’t care…you won’t believe me when I tell you that I come from a small village in Africa where they are more organised. Here I do not even know who my doctor is as they are always changing doctors all the time” (Black African and Caribbean focus group - participant 1: female) Overall, the pandemic had had an adverse impact on the experience of using health and social care services among BAME communities. 18
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4.1.2 Digital skills and inclusion For most BAME communities, there was a marked digital divide between the younger and older generations and between those who had better proficiency in English and those who lacked the necessary language skills. There were concerns about the ability of the older generation to cope with the increase in services provided online since the pandemic. Given that many services were likely to remain online in the future, this was increasing concerns in relation to future needs. While some communities were able to rely on younger people to bridge the digital divide, those who were alone or had no family or friends were viewed as being vulnerable to further isolation: “They (older people) can’t really use the technology. They are not up to date on that kind of thing and those elderly people who are living on their own they are struggling even more to access important information that is online” (Congolese female focus group - participant 2) “My mum has an i Phone 12 but all she can use it for is to make telephone calls. It is a shame. She can’t use it for any other purpose. She does not have an iPad or Laptop and she would not know how to use it” (Chinese interviewee 5 - male) “I don’t want to generalise, but I think the older generation the majority of them don’t actually know how to read or write in English and because the internet and digital services are geared more towards English, they just cannot cope and are reluctant to learn” (Indian sub-continent female focus group -participant 1) “We can maybe use the phone and stuff like that but when it comes to reserving things or booking things or a GP appointment we can’t do that” (Syrian female focus group - participant 3) “I think you have the issues with the older people…they don’t speak English but there are IT courses available if you look for them. Digital skills are not a problem it is more language skills” (Polish focus group - participant 3: male) The provision of IT training by the council and other agencies was deemed helpful and was welcomed. However, there were concerns that some aspects of the training did not meet the needs of learners and consequently uptake was low. Furthermore, offering IT training in different languages was seen as being more effective and would encourage higher uptake given that poor proficiency in the English language was a contributory factor in the lack of engagement with training: “I would welcome IT classes for myself to increase or enhance my IT skills. I would welcome any support from the Council on this” (Chinese interviewee 1 - female) “The support we would like to see is yes maybe training for us. We would like it to be in 2 languages for it to be effective” (Syrian female focus group - participant 4). “There used to be IT classes I think but they are too basic. They are not really the ones we need when it comes to dealing with real life situations and trying to get a job” (Congolese female focus group - participant 2) 19
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Views were mixed on whether cost was a barrier to accessing digital hardware and reliable internet services with those communities who were relatively affluent such as the Indian sub-continent, Chinese and Polish communities not viewing cost as an impediment, but the Congolese and Syrian refugee communities and the Black African and Caribbean community were concerned about the cost of purchasing digital hardware: “The prices of devices is very expensive. During Covid some of the kids got devices to use at home but now if you don’t have a job you cannot afford these devices” (Syrian male focus group - participant 3) “If you look at the prices at the moment, everything is high. So, wages completely dropping for the income and getting a computer right, what am I going to buy a computer or pay for electricity or food…you have to prioritise” (Congolese male focus group - participant 4) “Cost is an issue because sometimes the only thing you have is the library and the library have a set time for closing and opening…sometimes when you go there all the computers are taken…..more places are required where people can access equipment if they can’t afford to buy it” (Congolese female focus group - participant 1) “Because of cost we are looking at free access to the internet and digital equipment… the council should work hand in hand with charity organisations to get people access” (Black African and Caribbean focus group - participant 1: male) In terms of future needs, some financial support for accessing digital equipment would be welcomed by specific communities especially over concerns that digital services were overtaking face to face service provision since the pandemic. 4.1.3 Employment and skills Occupational segregation in the labour market was viewed as being rife with BAME employees overrepresented in low status and low paid jobs. Many BAME people were working in jobs that were below their level of education and qualifications: “I’ve worked in a few places, I’ve worked in warehouses and home deliveries…I’m working at a takeaway now….I just think it’s slave labour. You’re getting a low wage and barely getting a break. You are sometimes constantly working for 5 or 6 hours in a row…. this cannot be right or even legal” (Indian sub-continent male focus group - participant 4) “You get your CV done, you go to work and you tell them that you have these qualifications and experience from back home… at the end of the day you get a job in a factory and it is nothing related to your experience” (Congolese male focus group - participant 6) “There are barriers that stop people progressing in jobs… I don’t like to use the word discrimination but you know what I mean….There is an element of people finding it quite hard to break into say management when they are obviously qualified so the job they end up with is kind of low down and there is very few people from ethnic minorities in senior management” (Chinese interviewee 2 - male) Perceptions of racial discrimination and lack of opportunities for BAME people in the labour market contributed to unemployment and confinement to low level jobs as well as the inability to acquire the desired experience: 20
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“My son has got a degree and had a job. He lost his job because of Coronavirus. Now he can’t get a job wherever he applies. He’s got education…he says he has submitted 30 or 40 applications. It’s racism that is happening with my son” (Indian sub-continent male - participant 1) “The interview processes are not fair….at the end of the day you hear things like ‘oh sorry we got someone that’s more qualified’… it is silent discrimination…you feel really uncomfortable with the whole process” (Black African and Caribbean focus group - participant 3: female) “Racism can be subtle and not always easy to prove. You go for a job interview and there are ten people going for the interview. They could all have the same skills and experience but the Chinese one will not get picked” (Chinese interviewee 3 - female) For some BAME groups, language was a barrier to attaining high paid and high-status jobs even for those who possessed good educational qualifications and experience from their country of origin: “I think for me, my husband is a gas safe engineer because there was no other option. He has a language problem. So, he could not find a job so he chose to be self-employed” (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 2) “There are people here who came over with great qualifications like electricians and plumbers but they are working for low paid jobs now because they still can’t’ bring themselves to speak English so they are working well below their qualifications and skills” (Polish focus group - participant 3: male) “Nowadays you need to apply online for jobs. Some people can do that very easily but some people can’t. The forms you have to fill in are in English so people whose background is Indian or Pakistani it is a bit hard for them even if they were qualified back home” (Indian sub-continent female - participant 2) Self-employment was an attractive option for many BAME groups as it provided an escape route from unemployment and low paid jobs and compensated for lack of educational qualifications. Furthermore, there was an expectation among some BAME groups that children would carry on with the family business that had been built by their parents at the expense of pursuing education: “Children after they come from school a lot of them have to share responsibilities of the family business. Lots of families don’t have educational aspirations because they have the family businesses to fall back on” (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 8) “I set up a business because I could not find a job. It (self-employment) is very hard but once you go on that path you don’t want to go back to working for someone else” (Indian sub-continent male focus group - participant 3) 21
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BAME groups would welcome training schemes and better support from agencies and organisations to help boost skills that could help enhance employment prospects and assist individuals to gain work experience: “Unemployment is high in our community because when we came here we didn’t have experience. So for every job, they ask for experience and more training and if you don’t have that training then how do you get a job…we need more training and apprenticeships opportunities including for adults” (Congolese male focus group - participant 2) “I think there should be more support in getting more Chinese people back to work especially the work they are looking for. Not everyone wants to work in a Chinese kitchen or restaurant. Maybe some training to help them get the right qualifications to do the kind of work they really want to do” (Chinese interviewee 2: male) “The government needs to provide better support for people who want to set up their own businesses and guide people…we made appointments with organisations but their services were not suitable…we need somebody to take us through step by step and explain the law and regulations that come with that” (Syrian female focus group - participant 2) “To open up a shop or other business you need to do a lot of paperwork…there is a lot of bureaucracy…they will send you to this big Business Gateway who will give you papers and tell you to go find someone who will help you do this (complete the paperwork)” (Congolese male focus group -participant 4) 4.1.4 Community cohesion and integration Integrating with the host or white majority community was broadly supported by all BAME groups. However, language was viewed as the prime barrier to integration especially for those born overseas and the elderly. “Yes I think it (integration) is important…for a couple of years when I first came here I did not want to integrate with anyone especially people from here as I did not feel Scotland was my home. However, after a few years I now see this place as home and I now try to connect with local people” (Polish focus group - participant 4: male) “I think to integrate with the community of any country you are going to have to learn the majority spoken language to have the proper inclusion and integration (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 6) “The main barrier is the language….can you integrate if you do not understand Scottish people?…You struggle with the accent” (Polish focus group – participant 5: male) “I would like to meet more friends and go to different clubs and whatever but due to language barrier I am not able to do that…..I can’t have any in-depth conversations or meaningful interactions with my neighbours” (Chinese interviewee 3 - female) 22
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Despite support for integration, most BAME groups believed in the importance of maintaining their cultural and religious identity and felt they had to strike a balance between the two. Achieving integration and preserving cultural and religious identity simultaneously were viewed as being possible but challenging: “I think it is possible to do both (integrate and maintain cultural and religious identity)… personally I am an ambassador of my own country and my culture…I would go out of my way to try and make friends with my neighbours (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 7) “You can integrate to a certain point…..you can’t fully integrate because you will lose your own cultural and religious heritage so there has to be a limit to integration” (Syrian male focus group participant 1) “I don’t want to integrate completely into Scottish society. I want to maintain my Chinese identity. This is important for me” (Chinese interviewee 4 - female) “My culture is very important. Even though my children are Scottish, I don’t want them to learn one language…..I want them to be bilingual as they have another culture” (Congolese male focus group -participant 5) The ability to speak English was viewed as important by BAME groups for a variety of reasons. However, some BAME groups did not feel that English classes provided were effective or tailored to their needs: “English is very important because we live here but the ESOL classes are not appropriate or sufficient. There should be classes about real life things such as jobs… the English they get in class is not what they need…Unfortunately the way ESOL is run is still kind of like what is your name? What is your address?” (Syrian male focus group - participant 2) “100% if we are staying in the UK, it is an English-speaking language here so to get by we need to be able to speak it. I feel very strongly about that” (Indian sub-continent female - participant 3) “We struggle with the English classes because we cannot read or write in our own language so English classes are hard for us. We would rather that the classes focused on English conversation” (Syrian female focus group - participant 1) There was a broad consensus that the diverse cultures of ethnic minority groups were not celebrated by North Lanarkshire Council in ways seen in other parts of Scotland such as Glasgow: “No the council does not celebrate diverse events like Eid….Maybe the Chief Executive does in his own office! But we don’t know anything about it” (Indian sub-continent male focus group - participant 1) “I would say no (diverse cultures not celebrated). Nothing in Lanarkshire. I think Glasgow is more welcoming that way and there are more signs of welcome there” (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 8) 23
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In general, racism from the white community was not a major issue but children experienced racial microaggression at school: “The girls suffer more bullying because of the hijab. Schools would benefit if they had an awareness of other cultures and showed the positive of each religion….seeing your child bullied and crying makes you uncomfortable” (Syrian male focus group - participant 2) “There is racism and some kids have felt the wrath of it more than others but also if the ladies are in the hijab it’s worse (Syrian female focus group - participant 4) “I used to go to a white majority public school and I obviously made friends with a lot of white people and I feel like some people are very nice but there is quite a big group of people who maybe their parents have given them some stereotypes and they bring these to school and use racist slurs and call you terrorist” (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 6) Most BAME groups had a better relationship with each other than with the white community due to shared values, interests and challenges: “We have more relations and more friendship with Pakistanis than actually white British people because of the similarity in culture and religion (Syrian male focus group - participant 2) “I feel I can relate to Pakistani, Polish and anyone else who is not like white…we can talk about more things with my Pakistani friends and I can eat the same food and talk about similar things” (Syrian female focus group - participant 4) “We love non-Scottish people because I think they are my friends, and they are in the same situation as we are” (Polish focus group - participant 1: female) “Definitely…100% our relationship is better with other ethnic minority groups than whites….I feel that they are facing the same things we blacks have to deal with you know the same issues..” (Black African and Caribbean focus group - participant 2: female) Most BAME groups felt relatively safe in their neighbourhoods and did not have too many fears when going about day-to-day activities. However, the language barrier and cultural differences hindered greater socialising with the white community: “My neighbours here are very nice. When I first moved in, they were trying to help me and said ‘if you need this’ or ‘there’s a community centre here’ and things like that” (Black African and Caribbean focus group - participant 4: female) “I find that some of the older white people are really nice, like my own neighbours. We go over to their house and have dinner with them…they are almost like my Scottish grandparents” (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 6) “Where we stay is alright. We know the neighbours. We know everyone….never had any problems” (Indian sub-continent male focus group - participant 3) “My neighbours are very good and they have been here for a long time. They have become good neighbours so I feel safe in this community” (Chinese interviewee 1 - female) 24
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Engagement with the political process was low as most groups did not feel that politicians at local or national level did enough to address the issues raised by BAME communities: “There is not enough representation of Chinese people in local or national politics. Definitely not….you know they are well underrepresented in the Houses of Parliament and in Holyrood. How many Chinese councillors are there or Chinese MPs? I think there is a general apathy about participation in politics” (Chinese interviewee 2 - male) “They (councillors and politicians) just use you. They use you just to get what they want and after that they tell you they are too busy. They just want your votes but after the elections they are not interested” (Black African and Caribbean focus group - participant 1: male) 25
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4.2 Gendered perspectives In relation to gendered perspectives, this research did not extract anything of note from the Polish, Chinese and Black African and Caribbean communities. However, for the remaining BAME groups there were some gender-specific concerns that are worth highlighting as follows: • In the Congolese refugee community, there is a digital and English language divide between men and women due to women being primarily housebound with childcare commitments. Not having access to affordable childcare meant that Congolese women lacked the opportunity to attend English classes and IT training. Congolese women also expressed an interest in pursuing employment but found this challenging because their male counterparts were not willing to share the burden of childcare. • In relation to the Syrian refugee community, women conveyed a desire to pursue employment including volunteering opportunities but only once their children were older and required less monitoring and supervision: “We want to work with something that is giving back to the community. I would love to volunteer on anything to do with care or mental health” (Syrian female focus group - participant 1) Syrian women felt that their husbands would only support their wish to work as long as they did not neglect their household duties: “My husband would not have been happy for me to work before but now he is as long as they don’t have to look after the kids and we do all our house duties” (Syrian female focus group -participant 3) • Women from the Indian sub-continent stressed that domestic abuse existed in their community but was very much hidden as it was viewed as a taboo area in their culture. The lack of a confidential and culturally sensitive support service discouraged women from speaking out: “Domestic abuse I would say is very much hidden because of the communities. The Pakistani community here everyone knows each other, and they are very reluctant to bring it out in the open but it is very much there and there is no specific services here in Lanarkshire to provide that sort of cultural support as well. So, whatever happens, it is behind closed doors” (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 7) Indian-subcontinent women also felt that they were held back from realising their full potential by a dominant male culture among their community: “I think in general it’s a man’s world. This also applies to the white community but is more so in our communities” (Indian sub-continent female focus group - participant 4) “A lot of Asian women in Lanarkshire can only access services if men are ok with it. If they (men) are not happy with women folk accessing a service they can cause hindrances and put up barriers….it is very much a patriarchal society” (Indian sub-continent focus group - participant 8) 26
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4.3 Findings from the Syrian refugee community in the context of the indicators of integration framework If we assess the experience of the Syrian refugee community using the indicators of integration framework devised by the Home Office (2019), the findings disclose the following in relation to those indicators of the framework captured in this research: • Health and social care – Participants from the Syrian refugee community felt that mental health services in the UK were not equipped to deal with those suffering from the effects of war and conflict trauma. Furthermore, health care services were not viewed culturally appropriate, for example: where male patients wished to be examined by a male doctor, this was not always possible. • Digital skills – In comparison to other BAME groups in North Lanarkshire, the Syrian refugee community did not perceive there to be a big digital divide between the older and younger members of the community and digital illiteracy was not necessarily seen as a problem. • Work – Poor health was preventing some Syrian men from gaining employment. Those who were fit for work were struggling to find appropriate employment due to the language barrier and jobs not matching their skills. There was a strong appetite for pursing self-employment including among females but financial constraints hampered this. • Safety – There were no major concerns about safety and security in the immediate neighbourhoods where refugees resided. However, there was disquiet at bullying and racial and religious microaggressions experienced by some Syrian children at school. • Language and communication – Language proficiency among adult Syrians was poor and many were relying on children who had attended school in Scotland to help with interpreting and translation. • Social bonds with those who share a sense of identity – Relationships were very positive with those communities with shared cultural and religious heritage such as other Arab communities and with the Pakistani community. • Social bridges with people from different backgrounds – Relationships were challenging with people who did not share the same language or religion, including members of the white host community. The language barrier and a desire not to compromise cultural and religious principles were key impediments to building social bridges with people from different backgrounds and hence had a negative impact on advancing integration. 27
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5. Discussion How should we interpret the findings about the lived experiences and future needs of BAME communities in North Lanarkshire? The evidence from this research suggests that health and social care services in North Lanarkshire are currently perceived as not being equipped to provide a culturally inclusive service that is able to meet the needs of service users in a number of areas such as interpreting and translation, dietary, spiritual and religious needs. This appears to concur with the situation across the UK as previously echoed by organisations such as Carers UK (2011) and Age UK (2021). The health and social care system needs to develop greater awareness of diverse cultures and provide support that is sensitive to cultural attitudes and practices if it is to meet the future needs of BAME communities. In relation to personal care in particular, the lack of a culturally appropriate care service is putting additional pressure on BAME families to plug the gap. In line with previous studies, this investigation also reveals a familiar story of language being a barrier to access and effective engagement and uptake of health and social care services among BAME communities. Empirical research undertaken by the Centre for Migration, Policy, and Society (COMPAS, 2006) documented how the language barrier among migrant and refugee communities can lead to less favourable outcomes in a number of domains such as health and social care. More recent research provides further credence to this and suggests that barriers related to language and communication and a lack of cultural inclusivity contribute to health inequalities for BAME people (Age UK, 2021; Oluwatosin, 2021) and can stifle attempts to achieve successful integration (Home Office, 2019). Studies across the UK acknowledge that over the next few decades we are likely to see a rise in the number of elderly BAME people needing care (Greenwood, 2018) and if care services are not able to provide a culturally competent service, then negative outcomes are likely to persist for the foreseeable future. Studies undertaken across the UK have identified that digital exclusion is a real problem faced by BAME groups, especially refugee communities (Refugee Studies Centre, 2021). Digital exclusion is likely to remain an issue if IT training does not meet the needs of learners and if elderly service users do not engage with training. There is already growing evidence to suggest that digital exclusion is associated with social isolation especially among the elderly and this was especially obvious during the Covid-19 pandemic (Seifert, 2020). Furthermore, as highlighted in this research, there is a digital divide between the younger and older generations and also between those with differing levels of proficiency in the English language. Engaging older people in IT training and language support classes will help bridge the digital divide among generations. In relation to employment and skills, this research reveals that self-employment is a popular avenue for attaining employment for many BAME communities due to multiple reasons including discrimination and disadvantage in the labour market. In this respect, the findings validate studies that have consistently revealed the disproportionately higher rates of self- employment among BAME groups in the UK (Clark and Drinkwater, 2000). The research 28
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also concurs with literature that underscores problems encountered by BAME individuals in relation to seeking employment and being confined to low-income employment with lower prospects for promotion and progression (Kirton and Greene, 2022). In considering the theme of community cohesion and integration, the findings indicate a general perception that the cultures of ethnic minority groups are not adequately celebrated or showcased across North Lanarkshire. Most BAME groups appear to have a better relationship with other BAME communities than the white community, with the language barrier and differing expectations and practices in relation to culture and religion the main impediment to greater cohesion with the host community. The language barrier appears to be a key denominator in the negative outcomes for most BAME communities in relation to multiple areas. It is evident from the voices of BAME communities in this research that the language barrier is impacting negatively on the experience of services received. It is also worsening digital illiteracy and exclusion as the lack of confidence created by a poor grasp of the English language is hindering engagement with IT training and digital services. Furthermore, lack of proficiency in English is hampering employment opportunities, both in terms of applying for jobs and performance at work, and impacting on the ability to develop social bonds with the host community. These outcomes align with evidence presented in studies undertaken by the Home Office over a number of years which have consistently illustrated the detrimental impact of poor language proficiency for BAME groups (Home Office, 2010). More recent work by Morrice et al. (2021) reiterates how poor language and communication skills impede the chances of successful integration. In relation to gender, for women from the refugee communities in particular, the lack of adequate childcare prevented them from accessing ESOL classes and thereby achieving English language proficiency. This had a subsequent effect on their ability to integrate with the local community and pursue employment. In this research, we have witnessed women from the Congolese refugee community drawing attention to the lack of childcare support. A report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on refugees confirmed the need to provide adequate childcare to allow women from refugee communities to access ESOL classes (APPG, 2017). The findings reported from this research have implications for a range of stakeholders. In addition to NLC, health and social care providers, employment agencies, business support organisations, educational authorities and voluntary and third sector organisations and community groups need to consider the implications and respond appropriately. The issues faced by BAME communities suggest that a coordinated approach among relevant stakeholders is needed to address the challenges faced by BAME groups across the key themes explored in this research. Consideration could also be given to the framework developed by the Scottish Government to support the integration of refugees (Scottish Government, 2013) and its ‘priorities plan’ for race equality (Scottish Government, 2021) when considering policy prescriptions. Local authorities and public sector agencies, in particular, have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 and the public sector duty to tackle inequalities in employment and service delivery (EHRC, 2020). They also have an added moral or social justice duty to tackle discrimination and disadvantage across society (Dickens, 1999). At a national level, there may also be lessons for the Scottish Government to take on board as part of its approach to supporting BAME communities across Scotland. 29
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6. Conclusion This investigation set out to develop an understanding of the lived experiences and future needs of North Lanarkshire’s BAME communities in relation to: an ageing population; digital skills and inclusion; employment and skills; and community cohesion and integration. To date, studies on the lived experiences of BAME communities in Scotland have been rather sparse (Ishaq et al., 2021). As well as adding to the body of knowledge, this research builds on the phase 1 survey undertaken by NLC, the findings of which contributed towards informing the themes for this phase of the research. It is worth noting that the qualitative findings as highlighted in this report broadly support the quantitative data collected in phase 1. The evidence gathered leads to the conclusion that while BAME communities in general are positive about life in North Lanarkshire, there are areas where they face challenges and barriers that will require policy interventions and institutional support from the authorities and agencies at both local and national level. While the challenges experienced by BAME groups reported in this research are broadly synonymous with those revealed elsewhere in the UK, the findings from this research are invaluable as they represent the voices of North Lanarkshire’s ethnic minority communities which up until this point have been largely neglected. The need to gauge the lived experiences of BAME groups was made more pertinent by the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement over the past few years, which placed greater spotlight on the plight of BAME communities. Furthermore, understanding the lived experiences of BAME groups in North Lanarkshire will allow lessons to be learned about the prospective needs of future immigrant and refugee communities arriving in the area as well as improving the present circumstances facing BAME communities. Reflecting on the experiences reported in this research will support evidence-based decision making, and allow for better and more effective planning for the future to ensure that resources and infrastructure are in place to meet the future needs of both current and new communities. A set of recommendations reported in the next section of this report could help in addressing the barriers that are preventing BAME groups from achieving positive outcomes in all aspects of their lives in North Lanarkshire and also allow NLC to achieve progress towards the equality outcomes it set out (NLC, 2021). By providing a platform for ethnically diverse communities to articulate their views, this research represents a potentially significant development. In contemplating the findings, there is an opportunity for NLC and other agencies to work with BAME communities and allow them to be co-constructors of policy approaches that can help meet their future needs while at the same time instilling a sense of empowerment among those communities. We know from research carried out by Collier (1998), the National Audit Office (2004) and Hussain and Ishaq (2008) that managing service delivery to ethnic minority communities and meeting their needs is both challenging and complex. It is hoped that this research can go some way in contributing to an improvement in the lived experience of BAME communities and allow NLC to successfully implement its plan for North Lanarkshire to be “the place for people to Live, Learn, Work, Invest and Visit” (NLC, 2019). 30
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31 7. Recommendations The findings from this research in relation to the 4 areas explored suggest the need for action. A set of general recommendations that could be considered by NLC and other stakeholders in relation to each of the 4 themes are presented here. Further suggestions to address specific challenges faced by women and the Syrian refugee community are also stated. 7.1 General recommendations Ageing population and health care: • Poor proficiency in the English language is adversely impacting the ability of BAME communities to engage effectively with health and social care services. Health boards and other service providers should review the current level of interpreting services they offer and consider recruiting more interpreters to address the language barrier, which is a particular issue among the elderly. • In view of the increasing numbers of elderly people among BAME communities, there is a need for an overhaul of the current system of personal care to ensure that it is culturally sensitive and can meet the demands of BAME families. In particular, service providers need to ensure that the training regime implemented for those who undertake care roles incorporates an understanding of the cultural needs of diverse communities. NLC could also explore ways of recruiting more carers from BAME backgrounds. In this respect, outreach work in BAME communities may prove helpful. • A one size fits all approach based on a western centric model is not effective at meeting the mental health needs of BAME communities. Primary and secondary heath care services therefore need to acknowledge alternative perspectives on mental health. Working with a range of stakeholders including community gatekeepers and faith leaders would be helpful in creating and promoting greater understanding of alternative approaches to mental health. • More trained practitioners are required to support service users from the refugee communities who have experienced trauma and persecution in their country of origin. This is important in helping refugees settle in the UK and provide a sense of stability and security to individuals. • Hospitals should be doing more to meet the cultural needs of ethnic minority patients including in relation to dietary, spiritual and religious matters. Overall, health service providers at all levels of health care need to develop cultural competence.
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• Places of worship could benefit from more resources and support from NLC as they are viewed by some BAME communities as ideal venues to help tackle social isolation among the elderly. • Mainstream day care centres should incorporate more culturally sensitive activities to attract greater engagement and participation from elderly members of the BAME community. Digital skills and inclusion: • The move by NLC and other service providers to move services online since the pandemic has led to social marginalisation among the elderly in BAME communities who have lower levels of digital literacy and language skills. There is a need to review this approach and consider providing more face to face opportunities to address the digital skills gap and consider ways to engage the elderly in IT training to improve future digital competency. At present, some elderly people are missing out on important information that is only available online. • NLC and other stakeholders needs to improve the provision of IT training to BAME communities by tailoring such provision to the specific requirements of BAME groups and offering training in a variety of languages other than English. • NLC should explore the possibility of making more venues available where BAME communities can access the internet, digital hardware and IT equipment. • NLC should investigate possible further avenues for financial support to help low income BAME households acquire better quality digital and IT equipment. Employment and skills: • Employees from BAME backgrounds are overrepresented in low status and low paid jobs and face discrimination in the recruitment and selection process. Employers across North Lanarkshire should sign up to more schemes and charter marks that embrace or promote equal opportunities in employment to help improve workplace and labour market opportunities for BAME groups. • Members of BAME communities have indicated that the skills and qualifications some of them acquired in their countries of origin are not always recognised and valued in the UK and this hampers employment prospects further. Relevant agencies and organisations such as the DWP should implement strategies that could help boost employment skills and opportunities for BAME groups. This could include exploring the extent to which skills and qualifications acquired by BAME communities before their arrival to the UK can be matched to equivalent qualifications recognised in the UK. • Business support agencies such as Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise could explore ways in which they can tailor their advice to assist individuals from the BAME communities wishing to pursue entrepreneurial activity. Agencies and authorities could investigate partnership and collaboration with other organisation to provide specific support to for example refugee communities wishing to engage in entrepreneurship. One such example to draw on could be TERN (The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network), a non- profit social enterprise set up in London to provide business advice, support and start-up training tailored to the needs of refugees (TERN, 2022). 32
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33 Community cohesion and integration: • Given the value of language in helping to promote community integration and cohesion, NLC should evaluate the curriculum delivered in ESOL classes to ensure that it is tailored to the needs of learners. • NLC should take a more proactive approach in celebrating diverse cultures across the North Lanarkshire region. • Children from BAME backgrounds have reported experiencing racial microaggression and bullying at school. NLC should ensure that schools showcase the region’s rich ethnic and racial diversity in their educational provision to promote tolerance and greater understanding between BAME groups and the host community. • NLC should explore the feasibility of allowing families from minority faith communities to choose whether to send their children to a denominational or non- denominational school. • Greater diversity of the workforce in NLC and partner agencies would help to improve the uptake of council services among BAME service users as well as increase BAME groups’ sense of belonging to the host community. • NLC should give greater consideration to the safety and security of BAME families when offering housing in certain areas and this should be considered in the criteria applied by housing providers. • More transparency from NLC about the criteria used to allocate resources to certain BAME groups is required in order to address concerns of favouritism that some BAME groups benefit from more resources than others. • Elected officials at both council and parliamentary level need to do more work to understand the needs of BAME communities, especially out with election time. This would go some way to allay concerns that the views of BAME groups only matter when elections are approaching. • Political parties in North Lanarkshire should work more closely with BAME communities to encourage interest in politics and consider active ways in which to increase representation of BAME groups in the political process. • More work is required to gain access to BAME communities living in areas which are poorly represented in this research. This includes Kilsyth and the Northern Corridor. Perhaps collaboration with third sector organisations and community groups could be beneficial here.
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7.2 Gender-specific recommendations In addition to the above set of general recommendations, it is worth considering specific actions that could benefit women from various BAME groups: • As reported in this research, Congolese women face challenges in their attempts to improve their proficiency in the English language and achieve digital literacy on par with their male counterparts. This is down to their confinement to household chores such as looking after children. NLC and other agencies could consider investing more resources into providing childcare facilities that would allow Congolese women to participate in English classes and IT training. • We have also gathered from this research that Syrian women with children not requiring regular supervision would be open to volunteering opportunities. NLC and other organisations should consider Syrian women for appropriate opportunities within the voluntary sector. This would also have the added benefit of increasing Syrian women’s sense of belonging to the local community. • Syrian females were also more likely to face discrimination as a result of wearing the hijab. The authorities should consider ways to support Syrian women to report such instances of discrimination. Relevant measures should also be put in place through community groups and schools to educate local communities about diverse cultures and practices to promote tolerance. • Women from the Indian sub-continent indicated that domestic abuse was an issue within their community but was very much a taboo area, which made it challenging to address. There was a suggestion that the absence of a culturally sensitive support service made it difficult for victims to come forward. NLC in conjunction with other stakeholders should explore the possibilities of setting up a support service staffed by those with appropriate cultural awareness training. To tackle this issue sensitively and successfully will require a change in mindset among men from the Indian sub-continent and any support networks should therefore also engage with males from the Indian-sub-continent to educate them about the negative impact of domestic abuse. • To help women from the Indian subcontinent realise their potential and develop careers and contribute to the labour market, relevant organisations across North Lanarkshire should consider investment in training courses that can help improve interpersonal skills and empower women within their local communities. There should also be consideration given to setting up a women’s organisation dedicated to the needs of women from the Indian sub-continent similar to those that exist in Glasgow. Women in this research bemoaned the absence of such organisations devoted to their needs. 34
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7.3. Lessons from the experiences of the Syrian refugees: 7 years on Based on the views expressed by the Syrian refugee community in this research there are lessons that the authorities can learn that will allow them to consider appropriate interventions. Some of the suggested policy interventions have already been captured in the general set of recommendations identified above but it is worth recapping that in relation to health and social care, services need to ensure that they are responsive to the needs of the individual. This should include ensuring that services have the capacity to be culturally appropriate when providing care and treatment. There is a need to focus on improving the language skills of the adults among the Syrian refugee community. Without effective language skills, work prospects for those fit and able are being hampered as is the ability to integrate effectively with the host community. Schools in North Lanarkshire could also do a better job at celebrating the rich diversity of cultures including the Syrian culture. This could go some way towards tackling microaggression and bullying faced by Syrian children. As noted in the findings, Syrian females who wore the hijab were concerned about the abuse and discrimination they encountered. 35
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• National Audit Office (2004), “Delivering public services to a diverse society”, available at: https://www.nao.org.uk/ report/delivering-public-services-to-a- diverse-society/ (accessed: 23 August 2022). • National Records of Scotland (2021), “North Lanarkshire Council area profile”, available at:https://www.nrscotland. gov.uk/files//statistics/council-area-data- sheets/north-lanarkshire-council-profile. html (accessed: 15 August 2022). • North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) (2019), “The plan for North Lanarkshire”, available at: https://www.northlanarkshire.gov. uk/sites/default/files/2020-10/The%20 Plan%20for%20NLC%20v.3%20 accessible.pdf (accessed: 11 September 2022). • North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) (2020), “Equality strategy 2019-2024”, available at: https://www.northlanarkshire.gov. uk/nlc-equality-strategy-2019-2024/ our-equality-outcomes (accessed: 11 September 2022). • Oluwatosin, A. (2021), “A perspective on health inequalities in BAME communities and how to improve access to primary care”, Future Health Care Journal, Vol. 8, No.1, pp. 36-39. • Policy and Strategy Committee (2021), “North Lanarkshire Council report”, available at: https://mars. northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/ att96169.pdf (accessed: 9 June 2022). • Quinlan, C., Babib, B., Carr, J. C., Griffin, M. and Zikmund, W. (2019), Business Research Methods, 2nd edition, Hampshire: Cengage Learning. • Refugee Studies Centre (2021), “Refugees and digital exclusion”, available at: https:// www.rethinkingrefuge.org/articles/ refugees-and-digital-exclusion (accessed: 4 August 2022). • Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2018), Research Methods for Business Students, 8th edition, London: Pearson Education Ltd. • Scottish Government (2013), New Scots: Integrating Refugees in Scotland’s Communities 2014-2017, Edinburgh: Scottish Government. • Scottish Government (2021), “Race equality: immediate priorities plan”, available at: https://www.gov.scot/ publications/immediate-priorities- plan-race-equality-scotland/pages/12/ (accessed: 16 September 2022). • Seifert, A. (2020), “The digital exclusion of older adults during the Covid-19 pandemic”, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, Vol. 63, Nos. 6-7, pp. 674-676. • TERN (2022), “We are Tern”, available at: https://wearetern.org/ (accessed: 8 September, 2022). 37
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Appendix 1 - Focus group and interview schedule Theme 1: Ageing population • Views on health and social care services available to cater for the needs of older members of this specific ethnic minority group - specific focus on the perceptions of the challenges faced by older members of ethnic group in relation to health and personal care needs. • Concerns about isolation, especially if no close family at hand and also the impact of health conditions on mobility and the ability to undertake social activities that could accentuate a sense of isolation - explore also impact of mental health. • Consider barriers related to language, dietary needs, religion and cultural practices when accessing health and social care services. • How would you sum up the future needs of your community in relation to health and personal care needs with specific focus on the needs of the elderly? Theme 2: Digital skills and inclusion • Degree of digital literacy among ethnic minority group e.g. the extent of the ability to navigate the internet and use IT equipment and devices - is there a gap in digital skills? Is there a need for support? What kind of support would be welcome e.g. training/education? Is digital illiteracy worse for the elderly? Could it be linked to isolation among the elderly? • Level of access to digital hardware and quality of that hardware e.g. is broadband available for internet services? What support e.g. financial could help bridge the digital divide? What is the level of access to IT equipment? • How would you sum up the future needs of your community in relation to digital skills and inclusion? 38
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39 Theme 3: Employment and skills • Views of those unemployed - reasons for unemployment. What support can you access to help get you back into work? Is more support needed? What skills could be provided and are required to participate in the labour market? Can education and training help? What are the barriers to employment? Would you welcome opportunities for volunteering in your local community? • Views of those in employment - the extent to which job undertaken was desirable and met expectations. For those educated, does the job match the level of education? Does employment meet your needs in terms of standard of living? • For those in self-employment - why have you chosen this form of employment? Were options to enter mainstream employment limited? • What do think your community’s future needs are in relation to employment and job skills? Theme 4: Community cohesion and integration • Level of proficiency and confidence in speaking English; level of importance attached by communities to English. • Whether ethnic culture is celebrated and respected in the North Lanarkshire area. • Relationship with host community or white majority community: How welcoming is the host community? Do you have regular interaction with host community e.g. family visits, share food? Do you engage in traditional UK cultural activities? Any barriers to integrating effectively with host community? • How important do you envisage the need to integrate with the host community? How much value do you place on maintaining your cultural identity? Do you feel a sense of confidence in displaying your religious identity? • How would you rate your sense of belonging to the local area and to the country? • Do you feel safe within your local community e.g. when going to work, school and day to day activities and accommodation? • Do you think integration with the white majority community would help reduce phobias and stereotypical views of ethno- religious groups? • How would you define your relationship with other ethnic minority groups? • Do you engage with third sector voluntary and ethnic minority organisations? The above themes were explored at all focus groups and interviews undertaken. However, the research represented an opportunity to explore a few additional themes in relation to specific ethnic minority groups. For example, given the widely accepted view that men tend to dominate in Indian sub-continent culture, participants in the focus group with female participants from the Indian sub-continent were given the opportunity to comment on the following: • Does the patriarchal system prevalent in Indian sub-continent culture - where men tend to hold more power than women and where there may be perceived prejudice against women (misogyny) - impact on choices for females when accessing services e.g. mental health services? • Similarly, given that the civil war in Syria was the impetus for the UK to accept Syrian refugees, participants in the Syrian focus groups were asked for their views on the following: • Has the trauma of fleeing from war and persecution had any impact on your level of engagement with services?
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Appendix 2 - Participant information sheet Name of Department/School: School of Business and Creative Industries Researcher: Dr. Mohammed Ishaq Title of Research: An exploration of the lived experiences and future needs of North Lanarkshire’s Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic people Dear participant, I would like to invite you to take part in this research. Before you decide, you need to understand why the research is being undertaken and what it involves. Please take time to read the following information carefully. Please feel free to ask questions if anything you read is not clear or you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you want to take part. This research is sponsored by the University of the West of Scotland and is being undertaken on behalf of North Lanarkshire Council. What is the purpose of this investigation? Since the last census, diversity within communities is growing. The council area of North Lanarkshire has welcomed refugees from Syria and many have now applied for settled status having lived here for more than 5 years. The area is now about to receive refugees from Afghanistan. However, there has never been an undertaking to comprehensively examine the lived experience of North Lanarkshire’s BAME communities. This is crucial in order to understand the needs and issues for those communities. This research offers that opportunity. More specifically, the research seeks to develop an understanding of the lived experience of BAME people in relation to: an ageing population; digital skills and inclusion; employment and skills; and community cohesion and integration. Do you have to take part? Participation in this study is voluntary. I or my representative will describe the study and go through the information sheet, which will be given to you. I will then ask you to sign a consent form to show you agree to take part. You are free to withdraw anytime without giving a reason. 40
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What will you do in the project? If you agree to participate in the research, you are required to take part in a focus group or interview. These will be moderated and undertaken by Dr. Mohammed Ishaq and Dr. Asifa Maaria Hussain. During the focus group or interview, the moderators will lead a discussion on a number of themes and issues relevant to this research. You will be free to participate in the debate and discussion that these themes will generate. Why have you been invited to take part? You have been chosen to take part because you represent a stakeholder whose contribution would be valuable in meeting the objectives of the research. What are the potential risks to you in taking part? During the research you will not be exposed to any physical, psychological or legal risk or harm. Focus group and interview themes have been structured in such a way as to protect your privacy and no pressure will be put on you to answer sensitive questions. All information provided will be anonymised and kept confidential. What happens to the information in the project? Every care will be taken to maintain confidentiality and anonymity. All information received will be stored securely and out with the reach of any third party. The University of the West of Scotland is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office who implements the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. All personal data on participants will be processed in accordance with the provisions of this legislation. What happens next? If you are happy to be involved in the research then please proceed to take part in the focus group or interview, which will be viewed as your agreed consent and sign the consent form. If you do not wish to be involved, then thank you very much for your time and you may leave. Research Ethics This study was granted ethical approval by the UWS School of Business and Creative Industries Ethics Committee. If you have any questions or concerns, during or after the investigation please contact: School of Business and Creative Industries University of the West of Scotland Paisley Campus High Street Paisley PA1 2BE Lead researcher contact details: Dr. Mohammed Ishaq E-mail: mohammed.ishaq@uws.ac.uk 41
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Appendix 3 - Consent form Title of research: An exploration of the lived experiences and future needs of North Lanarkshire’s Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic people Name of Researcher: Dr. Mohammed Ishaq Please initial/check box: 1. I confirm that I have read and understand the participant information sheet for the above study and have had the opportunity to ask questions 2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw at any time, without giving any reason 3. I agree to take part in the above study 4. I agree to the interview/focus group being audio/video recorded Name of participant: _________________________________________________ Date __________________ Signature: _________________________________________________ Researcher: _________________________________________________ Date __________________ Signature _________________________________________________ 42
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