Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Transversal study on the theme of cultural policy and cultural diversityCommonwealth) citizens. However, discrimination is experienced by most nonwhitegroups in the labour market – although this is more true of some groups(Bangladeshis, West Indians, and Pakistanis) than of others (Indians) – and in thedelivery of housing, social, health and educational services, while institutionalracism is acknowledged as a problem in many areas of policing. There are no separateconstitutional provisions guaranteeing rights to diversity for these groups, inpart because, reflecting its common law traditions, Britain has no written constitution,nor a Bill of Rights. However, a variety of race relations laws provides protectionagainst discrimination on the basis of race, religion or ethnicity in mostareas of public and civil life. Proposals have also been made for the establishmentof an overall Human Rights Commission that will address issues of inequality dueto gender, race and disability.Cultural policy and cultural diversityWhile the London-based Department for Culture, Media and Sport plays a coordinatingrole in cultural and media policy development, many responsibilitiesare now delegated to the separate national administrations. Autonomous ArtsCouncils now exist in the four countries – a development that has been underwaysince 1994. The concerns of the Arts Council of Wales and the Scottish ArtsCouncil focus mainly on the provision of specifically Welsh and Scottish language,cultural and media development; those of Northern Ireland on the relationsbetween the two main religious-cum-political cultural traditions. This is not tosuggest that a concern with minority ethnic cultures is lacking in any of thesecouncils; however, the lead agent here has tended to be the Arts Council ofEngland which, since the 1970s, has developed a range of policies and programmesin support of, as they have been successively described, ethnic minorityarts, multicultural arts and, now, cultural diversity. This change in terminologyreflects a change in perspective as questions of cultural diversity are now seen asconcerning the nature and character of British culture as a whole rather than solelythe needs of distinctive ethnic minority communities. The regulations covering theactivities of broadcasters also make provision for programming related specificallyto the cultural needs and interests of non-white Britons, while the recentdevelopment of satellite and cable television have provided important contexts forblack cultural producers and audiences.43