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- Ruth Kelly announces chair of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion
Ruth Kelly announces chair of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion
| Published | 28 June 2006 |
|---|
Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, today appointed Darra Singh as Chair of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion.
Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, today appointed Darra Singh as Chair of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion.
The Commission will consider how local areas can make the most of the benefits delivered by increasing diversity - but will also consider how they can respond to the tensions it can sometimes cause. It will develop practical approaches that build communities' own capacity to prevent problems, including those caused by segregation and the dissemination of extremist ideologies.
Ruth Kelly said:
"As a nation we continue to face questions about how different groups can live side by side, respecting differences, but working together to develop a shared sense of belonging and purpose. Visiting local communities, I have been struck by how increasing diversity can bring great benefits to an area; but also by how tensions between groups can sometimes undermine this.
"There are of course examples of great work in local communities where people are balancing the needs of different groups, and I look forward to visiting them in the coming months. We must learn more about what works and how government can best support areas to overcome problems themselves.
"I have therefore asked Darra Singh to chair the Commission on Integration and Cohesion. He has direct experience of the challenges and barriers to greater integration in a number of areas, and I am confident he will put this to use in developing practical solutions for local and political leadership."
The Commission will report directly to the Secretary of State, and will undertake a significant programme of consultation and public meetings and events across the country. Its recommendations are expected in June 2007.
Speaking for the first time since his appointment, Darra Singh said:
"I am honoured to be invited to take this position and am looking forward to getting started.
"What excites me is the possibility of bringing together a group of people with different experience for a vigorous debate on how we can do better in building cohesive communities.
"The implications of recent changes to the make-up of our communities
are an urgent and important issue."I will certainly use my experience gained in Luton and Ealing to ensure the Commission will be able to act as a thinking space for discussions, but above all be a body that delivers practical solutions for how we cope with those changes at a local level."
Darra Singh was appointed Chief Executive Ealing Council in April 2005 after four years as chief executive at Luton, during which time the council received several national awards including 'Beacon' and 'Pathfinder' status. He has led Ealing Council's work to improve its services to tackle race hate crime and is a member of the awards panel on the Let's Kick Racism Out of Football campaign. He was born in Wolverhampton but grew up in Bradford, and is married with a young daughter. He graduated from university with a law degree.
Notes for editors
1. The Commission will report directly to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with recommendations expected in June 2007.
2. Darra Singh will now work with the Secretary of State to identify and appoint the remaining Commissioners.
3. Ealing Council leader Jason Stacey has welcomed the announcement. He said: "We are extremely proud of Darra's appointment to the Commission. The council will provide all the support and practical assistance he needs in his work to build stronger, more cohesive communities."
4. The first meeting of the Commission will be arranged in the next few months.
5. It is expected that there will be approximately 10 Commissioners in total, taken from a cross-section of local communities, and with different experiences in this area.
6. The Terms of Reference for the Commission will be:
- Examining the issues that raise tensions between different groups in different areas, and that lead to segregation and conflict
- Suggesting how local community and political leadership can push further against perceived barriers to cohesion and integration
- Looking at how local communities themselves can be empowered to tackle extremist ideologies
- Developing approaches that build local areas' own capacity to prevent problems, and ensure they have the structures in place to recover from periods of tension.
7. The Commission will undertake its work within the context of existing Government policy, for example on managed migration and preventing extremism. It will be grounded in an understanding of current and future patterns of diversity, but will focus on developing practical solutions for local communities based on the best existing practice.
8. The focus will be on different local areas and geographical communities. But the Commission will also consider the role of communities of interest - such as race or faith groups.
9. Recommendations for local areas will cover England only, but will consider issues which affect Scotland and Wales, and good practice from other countries.
10. The Commission will hold public meetings and events around the country and will actively engage young people and women and those who have traditionally had less opportunity to contribute to this type of debate.
11. Establishing the Commission on Integration was in Ruth Kelly's appointment letter from the Prime Minister when she was appointed as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
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