Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force
The Strategy Unit Report
In March 2001, the Prime Minister commissioned the Strategy Unit to undertake a project on improving the employment performance of ethnic minorities.
The Strategy Unit, which published its final report in March 2003, examined a range of factors influencing the labour market achievement of ethnic minority people, and set out three specific categories of policy measures to address the many barriers to success in employment:
- Action to improve employability by raising levels of educational attainment and skills;
- Action to connect people with work by reforming existing employment programmes, tackling specific barriers to work in deprived areas, and promoting self-employment; and
- Action to promote equal opportunities in the workplace through better advice and support to employers, and through more effective use of levers such as public procurement.
The Task Force
The report also recommended the creation of a Ministerial Task Force, chaired by the Minister for Work, to oversee the implementation of the SU recommendations and ensure that they are fully embedded into the cross-Whitehall ethnic minority strategy.
The Task Force, which meets on a quarterly basis, comprises Ministers from the key departments tasked with taking forward the strategy, together with representatives from other public bodies and the private sector:
Ministers
| Minister | Name | Department |
| Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform |
Rt Hon Jim Knight MP | Department for Work and Pensions |
| Economic Secretary to the Treasury |
Ian Pearson MP | Her Majesty's Treasury |
| Parliamentary Under Secretary of State |
Lord Young of Norwood Green | Department of Business, Innovation and Skills |
| Parliamentary Under Secretary of State |
Shahid Malik MP | Department for Communities and Local Government |
| Parliamentary Secretary |
Dawn Butler MP | Cabinet Office |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equality |
Michael Foster MP | Government Equalities Office |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State |
Meg Hillier MP | Home Office |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State |
Diana Johnson MP | Department for Children, Schools and Families |
Other Members
| Alan Christie |
Equalities and Human Rights Commission |
| Arun Batra |
London Development Agency |
| Leslie Manasseh |
Trades Union Congress |
| Katja Hall |
Confederation of British Industry |
| Mahroof Hussain of Rotherham |
Local Government Association |
| Iqbal Wahhab |
Ethnic Minority Advisory Group |
| Liz Sayce |
UK Commission for Employment and Skills |
Please select this link for the 'Structure to Deliver the Vision' chart. (PDF:46KB, 1Page). 
