Minority councillors help urged

The report said a fund should be set up to help ethnic minority candidates

Positive discrimination should be used to increase the number of councillors in Wales from an ethnic minority background, according to a panel.

It also said support should be given to help more women into politics, such as paying for child care.

The panel of experts was set up by the assembly government amid concerns the race and gender profile of councillors does not represent society as a whole.

The local government minister is considering the recommendations.

They include making it legal for political parties and local government to discriminate in favour of selecting ethnic minority candidates - as they currently do for women.

The 35 recommendations include:

• Councils should undertake equality monitoring of candidates standing for election and all newly-elected councillors.
• Officers and members should engage with communities, in particular with marginalised, seldom heard or so called "hard to reach" groups.
• A communication allowance should be considered to fund communication between councillors and their electorate.
• The UK government should consider allowing political parties to use special measures for the selection of black and minority ethnic candidates, in the new Equality Bill.
• The possibility of establishing a fund to support specific needs of people from under-represented groups to become candidates.
  

Councillor Mohammed-Sarul Islam has represented the Riverside ward of Cardiff since he was elected in 2004 In an area like mine, it is important to have at least one ethnic minority councillor. It's a lot easier for a resident to communicate with someone who comes from their own community There are a lot of language barriers, for example, and lots of understanding of their culture and religion needed. To be honest, I get contacted from people with ethnic minority backgrounds who live all over Cardiff, not just in my ward. For example, there's a Bangladeshi community in Cardiff of at least 10,000. They think I might understand their issues better than a white male councillor. I suppose there are certain issues that they think I can help with because I have a better understanding - issues such as racism, for example. I was involved quite heavily with issues at the mosque in Roath following the 7/7 bombings (in London). I was able to speak to the community about their issues because they trusted me and I could act as a link between them and the police. I do think more needs to be done to bring in more diverse councillors. Cardiff has a few councillors from ethnic minorities but we need them all over Wales as ethnic minority communities are growing. Positive discrimination may work but we need more action - not just talk and policies.

The panel also said more was still needed to be done to encourage women to become councillors, such as supporting and helping those with children.

It noted that even with some progress in last year's elections, it would take until 2060 to achieve gender balance at the current rate.

The panel's chair, former Cardiff councillor Sophie Howe, said it was time to change the negative public perception of councillors

The report warned that many members of the public "believe that councillors are in it for self gain, either financially in terms of allowances or because of a desire to be an important figure within the community".

The panel said it was essential for attempts to be made to promote a better understanding of the role of councillors amongst the public.

Dr Brian Gibbons, the local government minister at the assembly government, said he would welcome the public's views on the panel's recommendations.

"Ensuring that we have a healthy democracy is an essential task for us all in Wales," he said.

"We must do all that we can to encourage people from a wider range of backgrounds to consider standing as a councillor in Wales."