CRE forced Brent Council to act on the damning equalities report they surpressed

1.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 19th Jun 2003

The Commission for Racial Equality is forcing Brent Council - serving the second most diverse population in Britain, and an ethnic majority community - to put its house in order following a damning report on Equalities and Diversity they tried first to suppress, then to rubbish.

The CRE confirmed its move in a letter to the Liberal Democrats in response to a complaint they made in February after uncovering a shocking report by Diversity experts TMP detailing Brent's extensive failure to promote equality or to meet CRE guidelines.

The Liberal Democrats say the Labour Council suppressed the report to stop its findings coming to light. Despite the fact they were being monitored by the CRE for historical Equalities failings, with quarterly meetings scheduled between Party Leaders and the CRE, Brent did not tell the CRE of the Review or take it to a meeting with them, even after Lib Dems sent them the Report.

The Council also tried to "rubbish" the Report with one Officer writing to the Lib Dem Leader calling it "a shoddy and superficial piece of work... a limited, unrepresentative report." Brent also tried to claim the report was an "internal document" not meant for councillors.

The CRE didn't agree, and have forced a retreat. After months of Liberal Democrat pressure and private CRE talks, Labour Leaders have been forced to agree they WILL implement TMP's findings. The CRE is now seeking a meeting with Leader Ann John to discuss the issues raised.

Liberal Democrats remain sceptical after the attempt to bury the Report, and are demanding:

· The Report is sent to statutory and community organisations for comment and consultation;

· A statement on how Labour will implement TMP's recommendations, and when;

· A commitment to review the appropriateness of Brent's services across the board.

Councillor Chunilal Chavda, Chair of Brent's Liberal Democrat Opposition Group, said:

"I'm glad the Labour Cabinet have finally accepted what we all knew - that Brent has been failing on Equalities, and must radically change its approach.

"Brent has been in denial for too long. Without our uncovering TMP's report and putting so much pressure on them to act, they would have buried this, and all the issues with it. That's no way to run a Council, serve your community or improve services.

"Now Labour must publish the Report, explain how they will address the failures TMP found and on what timescale, and say how they will fund the changes needed - as they were still denying the need for comprehensive action when they set the Budget in March."