(Bloomberg) — The U.K. will examine why access to business finance appears to be a “major barrier” for ethnic minorities, making it easier to spot racism or unconscious bias in bank lending.
Boris Johnson’s government will work with lenders to understand the underlying problems after earlier research showed that the design of programs can influence demand from ethnic minorities.
The measures are part of a new blueprint for tackling racial and ethnic inequality in Britain, including a new history curriculum for schools, action on disparities in pay, and policing reforms. More than a third of ethnic minority entrepreneurs cited access to finance as the reason they stopped working on their business idea, according to a 2020 report by the British Business Bank.
The “Inclusive Britain” strategy was drawn up in response to a government-commissioned review, which controversially found last March that the U.K. was not structurally racist — and that geography, family influence and socio-economic background had a bigger impact on life chances than race.
Still, the report warned that historic racism was causing “deep mistrust” in some communities and made several recommendations. On Wednesday, the government outlined more than 70 actions it would take to tackle disparities and ensure fairness.
These would help “foster inclusion and enable everyone to reach their full potential,” equalities minister Kemi Badenoch said in an emailed statement.
U.K. Is Not Structurally Racist, Report Ordered by Johnson Says
The plans to tackle inequality are a “major step” in delivering Johnson’s promise to “level up” prosperity around the country, the government’s equalities office said. The measures include:
- Establishing a panel of historians to develop a new “model history curriculum” by 2024 to support teaching of “our complex past”
- Developing a new framework for how the use of police powers — such as stop and search — are scrutinized at a local level in order to increase public trust
- Issuing guidance to employers on how to measure and report on differences in ethnicity pay
Systemic Racism in England Affects Health to Wealth, Report Says
Last year’s government-commissioned review was set up following anti-racism protests across the U.K. in 2020, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in the U.S. It was criticized by opposition politicians, think-tanks and charities, which questioned its independence and findings.
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