improving government service delivery to minority ethnic ... - NCCRI

Housing
In regard to housing issues of multiple occupancy were raised. Some respondents said that they were aware of
cases where a family may be housed with numerous other people.
133_PSNI Statistical
Report 1st April 2004–31st
March 2005.
Other respondents were also aware of rent being increased in areas with a high migrant worker population.
This led to racist attitudes as many of the ‘indigenous population’ were resentful of minority ethnic population
and blamed them for this increase not the landlords who were in some cases taking advantage of the situation.
The migrant workers spoken to in this study did not report increased rent but rather an increase in deposits to
cover any potential damage.
Conclusion
This report highlights some of the emerging issues in how public authorities provide services for ethnic and
immigrant groups in Northern Ireland. The public authorities focused upon, health, employment, education,
policing and housing show some examples of interesting initiatives and approaches but these examples have to
become more mainstreamed to begin to have a real impact on outcomes.
Effective and suitable service delivery for minority ethnic groups brings challenges for public authorities, with
all interviewees referring to the language and communication barriers that exist. Within the health sector there
are examples of emerging initiatives in overcoming this specific barrier as evidenced by the United Hospital’s
Trust. The employment of two bilingual advocates at two of their hospital sites is currently only a pilot project
but has been received favourably among the minority ethnic groups targeted, the Portuguese and Chinese
communities. It would be encouraging to see such projects receiving more funding and where the need is
identified becoming mainstreamed.
Raising awareness of minority ethnic groups and the issues they face is a challenge for all public authorities
but unfortunately presents a very clear challenge for the PSNI. Incidents of racist attacks have been increasing
throughout Northern Ireland from attacks on property to attacks on individuals themselves. In 2004/05
813 racial incidents were reported to the PSNI with 1 murder, 10 threats or conspiracy to murder and 187
wounding or assaults. 133 These ongoing attacks led the PSNI to launch their ‘Hate Crime is Wrong’ Poster
Campaign in January 2005. The aim of which was to bring the seriousness of the situation to the attention of
the Northern Ireland public. One interviewee stated that it was to “prick the conscience” of the public.
The issue of data collection has been recognised as problematic in the Racial Strategy. The first step in
improving this would be to reassess the ethnicity categories to be more reflective of the current population
therefore expanding the ‘White’ category and including questions on Nationality/Citizenship and Country of
Birth. Within all the sectors consulted there was the attitude that data collection was not essential in front
line service delivery but it must be emphasised that it is essential for planning which ultimately affects service
delivery.
It was encouraging to note that there were examples of engagement between public authorities and minority
ethnic groups. It was recognised that it was essential to assess needs and ensure that these needs were being
met. The groups being formed, such as Ballymena Inter Agency Forum, are examples of how public authorities
are trying to engage with communities and ensure that their service is being customer led.
In relation to the questionnaire, the lack of awareness of Section 75 among some participants would suggest
that much of the information at managerial level is not being filtered down to staff on the ground. This was also
evident in the focus groups as was the fact that some of the information that is passed down is too detailed for