Ethnic Minorities

Lord Touhig Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Touhig (Lab)]

My Lords, this is a timely debate, because it provides us with the opportunity to put on record the immense contribution that ethnic minorities make to faith communities and to our society more widely. In a climate where public attitudes towards migration and even asylum are often distorted by misinformation or negative stereotypes, it is more important than ever that we acknowledge the extent to which ethnic minorities enrich this country.

I shall focus my comments on the Catholic community, which is one of the most ethnically diverse faith groups. Given that more than one quarter of Britain’s 5 million Catholics are from minority ethnic backgrounds, it is hardly surprising that they play such a prominent role in the church’s education and social action work. Many noble Lords will be aware that the Catholic Church is responsible for 10% of schools throughout England and Wales, educating more than 800,000 pupils at any one time. Those schools play a particularly significant role in serving the most deprived areas, while consistently outperforming national standards in both Ofsted inspections and examination results. Perhaps less well known is that almost one in five teachers in Catholic schools is from an ethnic minority background, a higher than average proportion across the education sector as a whole.

Catholic schools also have a long and positive record of supporting the integration of new migrant populations into local communities. Similarly, ethnic minorities play a prominent role in the country’s many Catholic charities. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are helped by food banks, shelters, children’s centres, advice centres or youth projects linked to the church. Often, the staff and volunteers belong to minority communities and in many cases are first-generation migrants or refugees. The Cardinal Hume Centre, not far from this House, which I know well having worked in the charity shop and in the programme teaching people to read, provides support to homeless young people and families in poverty. It is a fantastic demonstration of the difference ethnic minority volunteers and staff can make to the lives of those in need. For example, over half the volunteers in the centre’s assessment team are from ethnic minorities. Their understanding of the cultural and social needs of different client groups greatly enhances their work providing advice or support to 100 new people every month. The wider range of languages in which services can now be offered has proved especially valuable. A Spanish volunteer is now able to support clients from the Latin American community, and a newly recruited Arabic-speaking volunteer is currently helping the centre’s work with increased numbers of clients from countries like Syria.

It is worth giving a specific mention to the church’s work tackling the abhorrent practice of modern slavery. Through the Bakhita initiative—named after a Christian saint who was herself trafficked—the church is delivering education and training. It is raising public awareness, providing supported accommodation for victims, and assisting those who wish to return home voluntarily. An international alliance has been established under the leadership of Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and Cardinal Vincent Nichols to co-ordinate efforts between the church and law enforcement agencies on prevention, pastoral care and reintegration. All this work is considerably enhanced by the involvement of minority communities and ethnic chaplaincies, which are often at the forefront of identifying, supporting and rehabilitating victims.

The church’s annual migrant Mass takes place across the river at St. George’s Cathedral in Southwark on the feast of St. Joseph the worker, 1 May. It marks the significant contribution of migrant and minority workers in our businesses and public services. It is fitting that the church’s own work providing high quality education and caring for the most vulnerable in our society is also made possible by the contribution of ethnic minority communities. I hope that the Minister will have the opportunity to acknowledge this when she responds.