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The Rt. Hon. Patricia HewittQED Annual Review |
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CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY I am delighted to be here this afternoon. It gives me great pleasure to join so many of you to celebrate another year of the work of QED. Looking through the Annual Report one gets a real sense of achievement. A real sense of making a difference to South Asian people and to their communities. Helping people realise their potential. As politicians we often talk about programmes and initiatives. But what really counts are people – even more so in today's economy which relies so heavily on skills and knowledge. QED concentrates on people. And that is why it is successful. [As Mohammad said,] in 21st century Britain, everyone should feel part of the British community. As a country we gain so much from our diversity. And we suffer the consequences if we don't ensure that people feel a sense of belonging – as we saw last summer with the disturbances here in Bradford, and in Burnley and Oldham. We need to encourage dialogue and help communities build better relations. We need to tackle the real issues. Of isolated communities. A fear of crime. Where drugs, racial intolerance and abuse impact on people's daily lives. Where young people in particular feel that they are not being listened to and that they aren't represented. We need to begin the debate on the core values on which citizenship of a modern multi-racial Britain is based. We should be able to talk honestly and openly about the issues that divide us. Ultimately, we need to reconcile the principle of non-discrimination with the increasingly urgent need to integrate our communities and bring up our children with shared values, as well as a belief in the value of diversity. We need to tackle the causes of the disturbances and implement the findings of the various reports. I can assure you that they will not be left to gather dust. Here in Bradford the Council have developed the recommendations from the Ouseley, Cantle and POCC reports into an Action Plan. Taking practical steps to bring communities closer together. It strikes me that where a community brings so much to the country, it should feel a real part of it. And the Asian community is not only bringing cultural richness but also economic and competitive advantage. We all know that we live in a global economy but we should recognise – and celebrate – that we have the world here our own economy. Helping to create a spirit of entrepreneurship and attract new investment and new businesses. In economic terms, the Asian community makes a contribution that outweighs their population levels. Whilst visible ethnic minorities represent 5 per cent of the population, they account for around 9 per cent of business start ups. People from Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds are more likely to be self-employed than the average. The latest figures we have estimate that total turnover of the South Asian business population was between £5 billion and £8 billion. And these businesses provide us with our strongest trading relationships. Because they bring an understanding of the culture and aspirations of different countries and they have the language to build first class trading relationships. The UK has always been a trading nation and trade with South Asia is significant and growing. Bilateral visible trade between the UK and South Asia was worth nearly £5.5 billion in 2000. The Prime Minister's recent visit to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh shows the value we put on this. I was therefore pleased to see the reference in the Annual Report to Maharaja Textiles and their work with QED. I did find out that they were named joint Asian Business of the Year with another Bradford firm – Dulay Seymour Creative Communications. A real boost for Bradford. Central Government is serious about supporting all businesses. As Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, I want to make sure that ethnic minority businesses can access the help and advice they need to succeed and grow. That is why, as Minister for Small Business, I set up the Ethnic Minority Business Forum: to strengthen the Government's dialogue with the ethnic minority business communities; to tell us where any barriers exist, so that we can, where practical, act upon them; to tailor policies and support to ensure that we help create an environment that allows all businesses to grow. Adeeba Malik, QED's Deputy Chief Executive, sits on the Ethnic Minority Business Forum – and I am grateful to her and the other members of the Forum for their work. Their first report to Government made a number of essential recommendations on how we can work more effectively with, and for, ethnic minority businesses. The Government has responded positively to the recommendations and we are already implementing a number of these proposals. For example, we have instigated a pilot training course in the North West to give Business Link advisors a better understanding of equality and diversity issues. If this proves successful it will be rolled out nationally. The Forum helps us to understand better the needs of the ethnic minority business community and ensure that their needs are taken into account as we develop future Government policy and business support. I am determined that we will continue to work together for future success. There is much we can do at national level to set a framework to support ethnic minorities and we can deliver at a local level - I am pleased to learn that Business Link in West Yorkshire recently secured ERDF funding of almost £190,000 to provide Asian business support and innovation services across West Yorkshire. But without organisations such as QED, we could not achieve as much. QED is an outstanding example of an organisation which proactively forges links between the South Asian and majority communities – to the benefit of both. I have given you some of the facts about the contribution that the Asian community makes to the UK economy. But that masks some of the problems of economic and social inequality within the South Asian community and, unfortunately, particularly within the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities. It is a challenge for us all. It is one this Government is determined to tackle. But I am clear that we need QED and other organisations to help us succeed. The range of QED's work demonstrates some of the obstacles: helping people improve their basic job skills, guiding community groups around the bureaucracies of central and local government funding, working with parents to help them support their children's education. I was particularly interested in the work that QED has been doing with the Cabinet Office to publicise careers in the senior ranks of the Civil Service to the South Asian community. I still sometimes find myself in meetings surrounded by white, middle class men. So we need to do something to change this. I am pleased that my Department is actively supporting the Cabinet Office's Pathways Initiative. I also welcome QED's work with the Government Office based in Leeds – helping them better understand the communities in which they work. I see QED's role as helping people in the South Asian community realise their ambitions. To understand that they can be successful in employment or self employment. Giving them a sense of worth. If they succeed then we all succeed. The cultural and economic benefits of a society in which everyone has the opportunity to contribute is something to which we should all aspire. The impression held by many in British society is that the Asian community's contribution to the local economy is solely through its restaurants or the traditional corner shop. These businesses are a visible, and valuable, part of our economy. But that impression fails to recognise both the diversity of Asian business interests and the fact that young Asians are now working and succeeding in every single sector of our economy. Look around the room at the businesses represented here – in manufacturing, services, construction, textiles. But QED needs support to achieve its own ambitions. I am pleased to see so many companies represented here today who support QED. I always say that the best companies take their social responsibility seriously. Not because it is a 'good thing'. But because it makes good business sense. Increasingly businesses depend on the trust, acceptance and enthusiasm of their staff and consumers. Social responsibility is crucial to winning that trust and thereby keeping good people and winning more business. I was in Bradford last November and visited Morrisons' store in Thornbury. I met a group of female staff there who came from a range of cultural backgrounds and worked in different areas of the company. I was impressed by their commitment to team work – an excellent example of cultural diversity at work. Morrisons has its headquarters in Bradford. It has invested over £50 million in this city in the past 5 years and spends £20 million each year with local contractors. Around 30% of its workforce is from ethnic minority communities. I am sure that it will readily acknowledge that some of its success is down to the company working within, and for, its community – ensuring that its policies and practices reflect the cultural diversity of the community in which it operates and which it serves. Diversity is one of our strongest assets – it brings new dimensions to all our lives – as citizens, as consumers, as businesses. But we need to ensure that our society fully embraces different cultures. And, importantly, that all people feel a sense of belonging. That the opportunities are there for each and every one of us. QED gives the South Asian community that sense of opportunity. Giving people a sense of ambition and worth in the UK – that they matter. I share and support that goal. And I am delighted to be with you today to celebrate not only the achievements of QED but also the achievements of those people they have helped over the last 11 years. |
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Other speeches by The Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt
(the following are available from the archive) |
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