By: JurmoloyaRava
THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE ON INCLUSION BUT MUCH FOR ASIANS TO BE PROUD OF
ON THURSDAY (25) I have the pleasure of celebrating the wealth of diverse talent in the UK when I address the GG2 Leadership Awards.
The awards are a great platform from which to recognise the centuries-old contribution of Asian communities to the UK, one which has grown enormously in recent years.
When post-war Britain struggled to rebuild its infrastructure, it was in part the fantastic response of our brilliant immigrant communities that helped rebuild our economy and shape what Britain is today.
Asian business and professionals in the UK are helping to increase the UK’s reach on the international stage. This year’s Asian Rich List, published by this newspaper, showed that the total wealth of entrepreneurs on the 2017 edition reached a staggering £69.9 billion, a rise of £14.4bn from 2016.
It is vital that we maximise the talent, innovation and different markets and perspectives the Asian community can bring to the UK economy.
It is therefore essential that the UK is a nation where all people have the opportunity to thrive and we remove any barriers to people being able to fulfil their potential.
This is why on her first day in office, the prime minister ordered an audit of race disparity in our public services so that we can identify and tackle injustice and discrimination in our country.
And this month the government published the Ethnicity Fact and Figures website, which allows everyone to look at outcomes across public services for different ethnic groups.
It shows a complex picture on the experience of people from different ethnic backgrounds in the UK.
Some communities are doing remarkably well. For example, people of Indian and Pakistani origin now have similar rates of home ownership to white British people.
But in some areas there are also significant disparities between ethnic minorities and white people.
It’s important that government is transparent about this and publishing the data allows people to see how services are performing for their communities and highlights where changes are needed. It also challenges us all to show leadership, take accountability and identify where we need to do things differently.
I am determined to ensure that this information provides a catalyst for change and drives the delivery of better outcomes for all our people.
As first secretary of state and minister for the Cabinet Office I will ensure the government also takes this challenge seriously.
Every day civil servants in every government department do brilliant work to develop and deliver policies and services that affect the lives of people across the nation and beyond.
For the UK, this means there is a need for more accountable and trusted public services and decisions that are more attuned to the needs and interests of all our communities.
Our country is an incredibly diverse place and will become even more so in the future, so our policies and services need to evolve to meet the needs of our changing population.
We want the civil service to be a great place to work and reflect the people it serves, and that is why the 2016 Workforce Plan committed the civil service to becoming the most inclusive employer in the UK by 2020.
In making such a bold commitment, the civil service aims to be at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion agenda, leading the way in role modelling diverse and inclusive practices, policies and cultures.
There is much to be getting on with. In the meantime, I am delighted initiatives like the GG2 Leadership Awards enable us to celebrate the fantastic people, groups and companies in the Asian communities.
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