iscre delivers equality services to suffolk delivers equality services to suffolk communities,...

ISCRE delivers Equality services to Suffolkcommunities, bringing significant benefits in

employment, housing, education, social welfareand criminal justice.

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CONTENTS

Messages

Projects

The Financial Report:

Honorary Officers and Board of Trustees .............................................................................6

ISCRE Organisational Chart ................................................................................................7

About Us ............................................................................................................................10

Chairperson’s Report .........................................................................................................11

Chief Executive’s Report ....................................................................................................12

Suffolk Discrimination Law Service.....................................................................................16

Law Advice Centre (LAC) ...................................................................................................19

Education and Criminal Justice ..........................................................................................20

Outreach ............................................................................................................................22

Translation and Interpreting Project - TIP ..........................................................................24

MECAN ..............................................................................................................................26

University Campus Suffolk .................................................................................................27

Positive Impact Project ......................................................................................................27

Income and Expenditure ....................................................................................................28

5

Honorary Officers and Board of Trustees

Honorary President

Honorary Vice-Presidents

Chairperson Vice Chairperson

Treasurer

Company Secretary

Board of Trustees

Bankers

Auditors

The Worshipful Mayor of IpswichCouncillor David Goldsmith

Albert Grant OBEClifford ReedJayanti Patel

Hamil Clarke MBE Christopher Cumberbatch

Tshikuya Kayembe

Christopher Cumberbatch

Albert Grant OBE Jane ChambersChristopher Cumberbatch Hamil Clarke MBEDaisy Weekes Manwar AliDebo Ademokun Mirjam Southwell

Charities Aid Foundation Bank

Izod Bassett

Harold Mangar Pam LittlejohnLester Lewis Sushil Soni

Tshikuya KayembeSandy MartinSara Limerick

Councillor Rosemary Clarke,Suffolk County Council observer

6

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7

We would like to thank all our funders and members, as without your support we wouldnot have been able to do all the work recorded here.

We especially thank:

Ipswich Borough CouncilSuffolk County CouncilBabergh District Council

Equality & Human Rights CommissionLearning & Skills CouncilLowestoft CollegeUniversity Campus SuffolkNHS SuffolkSuffolk Youth and Connexions ServiceSuffolk ConstabularyHMP HighpointHMP Edmunds HillHMP Warren HillAdvice NowOneVoice 4 TravellersNia Project; African Cultural ForumSuffolk and North Essex Law SocietyAdvice UK – Working Together for Advice ProjectLaw WorksBar Pro Bono UnitHelping Hand – the BT Staff Charity Fund

Also there are some important partners without whom we would not be able to deliverthe work that we do:

Suffolk Foundation for the Partnership work on the BME community Champion award.The Law firms who support our Law Advice Centre:AttwellsBirkettsEvershedsGotelee and GoldsmithPrettysWortley Redmayne Kershaw

Paul Smith – Phoenix TechnologyMathias Edoh – Out of the MixMichael Clarke – Local ActorKevin Ablitt for looking after our property

8

Chairperson and Staff(ISCRE AGM September 2009)

A huge thank you to all the Volunteers who helped ISCRE

Allen Chapepa

Shireen Carr

Bethany Parker

Vishnupriya Rajesh

Eleanor Peaty

Vanessa Halle

Awaz Said Khaled

Tracey Henry

Amajit Atwal

Ausilia Matraxia

Debolina Saha

Saghar Roya

Serwaah Hindhaugh

Natalie Bennett

Wendy Charles-Davenport

Graeme Ludwig

Matthew Ludwig

Sophie Mills

Ameera Everest

Farhana Hussain

Ibifuro-Danielle Fausat

Favour Onisarotu

Richard Tweed

Akbar Dzhalilov

Esme Strathcole

Olga Maksimczuk

Sallie Davies Snezhana Sanzharovska

Emma Gillam Henna Beg

Flavia Popescu-Richardson

9

About Us.....

Staff equality monitoring data

Board of Trustees equality monitoring

Staff Training & Development

ISCRE is committed to investing in itsstaff as the chart shows below:

Number of training & development hours- 504

Employee C and I attended long term

training courses

Volunteer scheme

Volunteer scheme Total amount ofvolunteer hours – 2026.5 (excludes Boardof Trustees)

10

LAC, 73.5

ISCRE, 468

SDLS, 1485

Volunteer Hours

This has been the vision of our new ProjectManagerLeon Hall.

ISCRE will continue to try and buildpartnerships with Local Public, Voluntaryand Private sector organisations that willhelp them fulfill their legal and moral dutiesin respect of Race Equality.

We plan to develop the LeadershipAcademy, to support schools to deliver thebest academic results they can for BMEpupils, and to inspire confidence in ouryoung people.

ISCRE will use its Training, Education,Audit and Monitoring role in order for it tobe recognised as a driver of change.

My task will be incomplete unless tribute isgiven to James Hehir, who was not only animportant Vice President but also a truefriend and supporter of ISCRE. He ismissed by all who have come in contactwith him.

My sincere thanks to Jane, our staff and allour volunteers for all their hard work inmaking this another successful year forISCRE. I also extend my thanks to mycolleagues on the board for their supportduring the year.

Future plans

G. H. Clarke MBEChairperson

11

This year has been one of mixed fortunes.The Ipswich and Suffolk Council for RacialEquality (ISCRE) is travelling through anexciting and challenging period.

We are experiencing a wind of change butunable to plot its direction. There is talk ofmajor cuts and also of the Big Society,devolving more power and decisionmaking to local Communities. Based onour experiences however this leaves me towonder where do the Black and MinorityEthnic (BME) Communities fit in thescheme of things in Suffolk? ISCRE willcontinue to maintain its vigilance in makingsure BME issues are not diluted.

Again we have achieved our objectivesthanks to our hard working staff, and adedicated band of volunteers led by ourChief Executive, Jane Basham. Our trackrecord of exceeding targets set by ourfunders continues, and this is evident inour Suffolk Discrimination Law Servicedriven by Audrey Ludwig, Case WorkManager.

We continue to build on the strong andpositive partnership with Suffolk Policethrough the Stop and Search ReferenceGroup. This Group has gained recognitionnationally and internationally for this pilotand ISCRE was invited to present to a highlevel European conference in Brussels totalk about it. At the time of writing thishowever, there is some uncertainty aboutthe future of thisproject.

Our partnership with the Norwich andNorfolk Race Equality Council has beensuccessfully built on, through our CaseWork service and also the Migrant ImpactFund cross-county project.

We continue to develop our work with 3prisons in Suffolk, a further arm of ourpartnership work to address issues of racialdisparity in theCriminalJusticesystem.

We have set up a pilot LeadershipAcademyin partnership with Statutory andCommunity sector partners, to include stafffrom suchAcademies in different parts of theUK with a track record of success. This willhelp raise the attainment level of boys ofAfrican and African/Caribbean heritage.

Chairperson's Report

Our newly branded Suffolk DiscriminationLaw Service has exceeded all targets setby the Equality and Human RightsCommission, who part fund it. Because offunding uncertainty we spent much of lastyear with only one lawyer – so the casework increase is almost solely down to theamazing hard work of Audrey Ludwig andher paralegal team Letha Evelyn andLouise Gooch. It is a real example of spiritand creativity that through different meansalmost 1,400 legal volunteer hours werebrought into support the service. We havedecided to appoint a second lawyer fromour reserves to meet the increasingdemands for the service. The values andtrack record of ISCRE meant we have builtstrong links with disability groups forexample who refer clients into us.Discrimination on any grounds is thebiggest barrier still for so many and ourwork is just the tip of the iceberg.

Our offices, courtesy of Ipswich BoroughCouncil, continue to be a place wherecommunities and partners feel safe tocome, as demonstrated by the chart.. Thisyear we have hosted around 380 meetingsfor our community and statutory sectorpartners. We know for example that sincethey moved here the Transgender groupparticularly has grown its membership. Weare anxious though that many small grassroots groups, doing really good work,remain too small and at risk of closure.They are underfunded (sometimes notfunded at all) and not considered aspotential providers of services. BMEgroups in Suffolk are particularly invisibleand struggling to obtain funding, and this isin line with the national picture.

I am however cautiously optimistic that thefinancial challenges facing the publicsector will lead to a recognition of theimportance of small grass rootsorganisations. They are the key to highsocial capital in all communities. At someof the tables that ISCRE is placed wecontinue to make this point.

12

Onceagain it is time to reflectonourworkandformetoexpress toyouall that Iamprivilegedto have this role. Without diminishing otherwork we have got into I believe our significantachievementshavebeen:

Keeping race equality on the agendathrough lobbying, our case work andempowering communities

Facilitating relationships betweenthe statutory sector and ourcommunities, particularly in ruralareas and in the North West andNorth East of Suffolk

Considerable case work which bothassists individuals in pursuit of justiceand has a wider social impact

Putting volunteering at the heart ofeverything we do which has benefitsboth for those individuals volunteeringand to expand the services we canprovide

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Chief Executive’s Report

Jane BashamChief Executive

The appointment of Leon Hall in January,to support our growing Criminal Justiceand Education work has resulted in a newdirection for ISCRE. 4years ago, when Iwas appointed, thanks to Suffolk CountyCouncils commitment to having a RaceEquality Eouncil, I would not have believed

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Number of bookings

Use of ISCRE Meeting Room

ESOL Classes English Classes Refugee Forum

Ipswich Hindu Samaj Ipswich International Church Youth Group

TIP training Diamond Worth Islamic Weekend School

Ipswich Trinity Paise Red Roses School

Hate Crime Ipswich and Suffolk Indian Association

Lesbian, Gay, Bi sexual & Transgender Group (LGBT) Like Minds Group

Racial Harassment Forum Stop & Search reference Group

MECAN Migrant Impact Fund (MIF)

Suffolk Link BME Group LGBT Drop in centre

Ipswich Caribbean Association LGBT Women's Group

Ipswich Rape Crisis Group Edopro Studio

Highpoint REAT One Voice 4 Trevellers

13

Translation & Interpreting Project (TIP),under Annie Chow's leadership hasdemonstrated real growth. This is not justthrough activity but also through theprovision of national qualifications to localBME people, building their capacity andeconomic independence.

14

Mildenhall Show

that ISCRE would be running a LeadershipAcademy.

Our work with our partner Norwich andNorfolk Race Equality Council isstrengthened Not only are we starting todevelop our case work in Norfolk, but alsothe partnership work on the Migrant ImpactFund is breaking down the borders thatonly services, not communities see.I don’t want to miss out any of ISCRE’spaid staff who are all brilliant people likeAubrey, Ines, Joanna, also Cheryl, Nancyand Elizabeth (who have sadly left us),

Mayuri, Jo, Tessa, Tanesha, Karen. Theyall work incredibly flexibly doing things thatreally do not feature anywhere on their jobdescriptions! I do think it is time though thatI publically recognise someone who is verymuch behind the scenes but vital to oursuccess - Maria Mughal our OfficeManager. It is not easy running a RaceEquality Council, a CEO, a meeting space,a Board of Trustees, keeping us legal withthe Charities Commission and CompaniesHouse but she does it brilliantly flexibly andefficiently – thank you.

Race Hate Crime Buddy Training

15

We have had the benefit of a huge army ofvolunteers, as the list earlier on in this reportshows. Finally to Hamil Clarke and my Boardof Trustees – giving their time voluntarily,because they believe what ISCRE standsfor is important and want to help develop itto meet the needs of the future.

On a day to day basis we are regularlycalled upon to attend meetings and areconsulted on numerous statutory sectorpolicies. Whilst we do what we can that cannever be our focus. Where is the evidenceof impact and reduced racial inequalitiesfollowing all the 100's of consultationevents and parties; BME projects andEquality and Cohesion roles? Recently weasked where is the evidence thatdemonstrates significant shift in theemployment of BME staff for example at alllevels of all public bodies? Where are theBlack and Minority ethnic business figuresfeatured in Suffolk Business News? Why isour case work not reducing?

ISCRE is not prepared to sit back and waitfor change. It is a worry when partners

withdraw from us because we are sayingthat the pace of change is too slow. Thisreport, as did last year, shows that we aredelivering services for the good of allcommunities across Suffolk. Our outreachofficers are busy, raising the profile andworking with communities. Our case workallows opportunities for service providers toreview that service in order to improve andto ensure they are accessible for all. Ourclientssay theyvalueandneedourhelp.

I believe that racism and race discriminationis on the increase in Suffolk because ofcomplacency and indifference. Also aseriously misguided belief that somehowthe Equality and Human Rights Agendameans race discrimination is a thing of thepast. We will continue our energy forcreative solutions and fund raising as withlast year, as these are really difficult financialtimes.

Whatever the challenges and as long as weremain relevant we will continue working torid Suffolk of the scourge of racial and thewider formsofdiscrimination.

BME Community Champions at the High Sheriff’s Award Ceremony 2010

16

Suffolk Discrimination Law Service

We relaunched as Suffolk DiscriminationLaw Service as the brand for our caseworkservice. This is to reflect that we assistwith all forms of unlawful discrimination;and are prepared for the implementation ofthe Equality Act 2010. We give advice byphone, by email and in person, in the officeand at other locations to anyone in Suffolkand Norfolk experiencing discrimination.

We exceeded all the client targets set forus by the EHRC.

We assisted 158 clients with discriminationenquiries, up from 124 in 08/09.

We continue to run outreach service inLowestoft and are planning to extend thisto Norwich and Newmarket.

We obtained over 1400 hours of legalvolunteering for our clients made up by:

7 students on our groundbreakingSummer Placement Scheme for LawUndergraduates.

8 unemployed so l ic i to rs ontemporary volunteering “Choices”project with the national charityLawWorks whilst job-hunting – somecommuted from as far as Watfordand East London.

Gotelee and Goldsmith Solicitors.

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1 volunteer legal mentor provided by

1 volunteer trainee solicitor for a daya week, provided by Gotelee andGoldsmith Solicitors.

We have closened our ties with the SuffolkHate Crime Service and undertaken legalwork for several of their clients.

We established the Suffolk DiscriminationAdvice Network to identify organisationsthat come into contact with clients withdiscrimination issues to provide specialistt ra in ing , improve awareness ofdiscrimination and improve referralprocesses.

We held 2 specialist training events andthe Network meeting was attended by 15colleagues in various voluntary sectororganisations.

In terms of numbers we have:

Advised 158 clients on their rights

Given ongoing support to 82 clients

Taken 47 full statements

Drafted 10 Questionnaires

Drafted 31 grievances

Drafted 12 letters of claim

Issued 7 employment tribunal claims

Referred 2 test cases to the Equalityand Human Rights Commission

Referred 5 other cases to othersolicitors

Ms A suffered racial and religiousharassment and discrimination at herplace of work. We assisted her through

Our clients

Examples of cases

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17

the grievance process and then issuedEmployment Tribunal proceedings. Shewas offered significant compensation plusagreed reference as a confidentialsettlement to leave which she accepted.

Ms C worked for a multinational company,and suffers from a physical disability. Shealleged that as a result of removing herability to work from home and work moreflexibly her health and work suffered. Shewas then put on performance measuresand her health suffered further. She wenton long term sick. About six months latershe was dismissed on health grounds. Weissued Employment Tribunal proceedingsbut about two months before hearing theRespondents offered £15000 plusreference, which our client accepted.

Mr W is a cleaner working for a cleaningcompany. He experienced racialharassment and discrimination. Weassisted him through the grievanceprocess and then issued proceedings. Ourclient was offered £5000, an apology anddiversity training at his place of work.

Ms H was a care assistant, dismissed foran admitted breach of health and safety.However she considered that the sanctionwas much harsher because she was blackthan that meted out to two white femalecare assistants (previously held to havebreached comparable breaches of healthand safely). We assisted the client with awritten appeal against dismissal and thenwith Employment Tribunal proceedings.We negotiated a confidential settlement of£2500 and an agreed reference

Mr G- We assisted this client through the

grievance process when his public sectoremployer failed to implement the changesrecommended by their own OccupationalHealth Advisers. He succeeded in hisgrievance and all the changes wereimplemented.

Mrs H a disabled woman living on a Gypsyand Traveler site . When her site pitch wasrefurbished they did not undertake anyadjustments to the specification despiteher having severe mobility problems. Wechallenged the failure and after significantcorrespondence they agreed to thereasonable adjustment being made at theirexpense.

Ms K was employed by a not for profitorganisation. She complained of racialharassment by a senior manager. Whenthe complaint was not addressed sheresigned and got a job elsewhereimmediately. We assisted her with agrievance and grievance appeal. We alsodrafted the Employment Tribunalproceedings. We negot iated aconfidential settlement of £3500 plusagreed positive reference

Mr F was a cleaner working for a cleaningcompany in a shop. He was subjected toracial harassment by a shop manager. Weassisted with the grievance and issuedproceedings. A few months before thehearing, our client was offered £8000 tosettle.

Ms Q was a cleaner for a cleaningcompany and suffers from a disability. Hersupervisor allegedly made a disablistcomment and failed to make reasonableadjustments. We assisted her after she

18

One Game One Community – TogoleseTeam organized by a former client

had issued proceedings for disabilitydiscrimination. However the client's healthdeteriorated and she asked us to negotiatea quick settlement with the Respondentssolicitors. She settled for £650 plus anagreed written reference.

Mrs X had ordered a home delivery toy fortheir child in plenty of time for ChristmasDay from a large children's store, someweeks earlier. Having chased the deliveryseveral times, eventually they were toldthat the courier firm did not deliver to anyGypsy sites ‘even like this one localauthority run sites’. The toy was in theirdepot in Bury St Edmunds and the familywere told they could go and collect it. Wemade contact with the courier firm and thestore. The courier firm confirmed they didnot deliver to Gypsy sites as a matter ofpolicy. The store was initially veryunhelpful, and stated that it was the courierfirm's issue. When we made contact withtheir press office, and started to get intouch with our local media – thankfully theyresponded and arranged for a taxi to takethe toy to the store, and the child got thepresent on Christmas day. We tried topersuade Mrs X to let us take legal actionbut she has chosen not to.

As can be seen we often achievesettlements without the need to go to court.However the downside is that our clientsare requi red to agree to st r ic t“confidentiality agreements” which preventthe publicising of the cases.

The repeated comment from clients is thatwe empower them and that, without ourhelp, they do not have the legal skills,confidence or time to challenge what hadhappened.

Moreover our casework has a wider impactthan just for the individual clients. Bothresearch and anecdotal evidence is thatwhere an organisation- whether employeror the provider of goods and services – ischallenged about its conduct or decisions,the conduct or decision making improvessubsequently for everyone. In addition theinformation provided by our clients feedsinto the social policy work of ISCRE. The“Big Society” will only work if individualsand communities have the tools andresources to assert their legal rights.

Audrey LudwigCase Work Manager

19

Pretty's, 18

Birkett's, 8

Evershed's , 10

Gotelee &

Goldsmith, 20

Wortley Redmayne

Kershaw, 3.5

Attwell's, 14

LAC

LawAdvice Centre (LAC)

Every fortnight, we run the Law AdviceCentre, which is also officially a LawWorksClinic.

The Centre is supported by volunteers fivelocal firms and one outside our region, andthe dedication of the team of Lawyers isexceptional.

The 108 clients we saw this yeardemonstrates a 30% increase on last year.Of note is the increase in Employmentcases which are up from 5 in 08/09 to 25this year Through partnership working weidentified a growth in employment caseswhich have very tight timescales. Becauseof this an employment lawyer offered to runa specialist employment service, whichnow coincides with the LAC. Also Housingcases are up from 10 last year to 21 thisyear.

These increases we believe are directlyrelated to the economic downturn, and theLAC has helped people not only stay inemployment but also in their homes.

Consumer Debt Employment Family Housing WelfareBenefit

Otherinc.

mediation

Total

7 4 25 30 21 1 17 108

Advice Categories

Gotelee and Goldsmith – and in particularJonathan Ripman, Partner - remain thedriving force behind the legal volunteersand the - coordination of review meetings.It was Jonathan who encouraged JohnWotton Deputy Vice President of the LawSociety to visit us to meet ISCRE and Lawfirm volunteers.

John Wotton quote - 'I was extremelyimpressed by the work that ISCREundertakes for the local community andvery pleased to hear how local firms workcollaboratively with you. It is clearly a verypositive relationship and shows theimportance of partnership workingbetween the profession and organisationslike yours to help improve access to justice’

As we see further funding cuts to Legal Aidand advice agencies, and Suffolkbecomes even more of an advice desertthan it already is, centres like ours are vital.

LAC – total 73.5 hours

Photo: Deputy Vice President of The Law

Society - Visit to ISCRE

20

Education

In response to marked statistics and themany parents who have contacted us withconcerns about schools, ISCRE hassought to make a positive impact oneducation. Black African/Caribbean boysunder-achieved at Kay Stage 2 by 16% in2009/10. This rises to 21% for Key Stage 4.There was a 10% increase in reportedracist incidents in schools. However, morethan half the schools in Suffolk reported noracist incidents.

This August has seen ISCRE launch itsfirst Leadership Academy in partnershipwith Suffolk Foundation, Suffolk CountyCouncil, Suffolk New College, Nia Project,African Cultural Forum and Blyth Valley - abusiness insurance company. There aresimilar Academies in London that have atrack record of success, and they havehelped us develop our own model.Demand for places was high and 17 boyswere accepted – many of these boys areperforming above their schools expectedlevel for their age.

The programme for the Academy includescore curriculum work, sessions on team-building, leadership, art, foreign languagesin the context of the pupils' Africanheritage. It is expected those attending willhave a greater level of confidence in theirown academic abilities when they return totheir schools in September.

Leadership Academy

ISCRE sees this pilot as the catalyst forchange and a positive move towardsAfrican/Caribbean parents feeling moreempowered to engage with mainstreamschools. The Academy will help schoolsgain in confidence in terms of engagingwith African heritage parents.

ISCRE has also supported work within StAlban's High School, Northgate HighSchool and Copleston High School. Allthree schools have an Extended LearningSupport Centre (ELSC) and ISCRE wereinvited to work at the ELSC with a group ofBME students who were selected to bementors. ISCRE provided guidance onhow to report a racist incident at school andwhat should be included in a good RaceEquality policy. It was a positiveexperience for the young people andraised their awareness of race issues andempowered them to make changes at theirschools.

ISCRE has continued to strengthen itsrelationship with criminal justice partnersto support with the trust and confidenceagenda, and to positively impact on racialinequalities.

Stop and Search disproportionality forBME groups continues: however, the workof the Community-led Stop and SearchReference Group has had an impact. This

Criminal Justice

21

Stop & Search Reference Group Meeting

partnership has increased the trust andconfidence between BME groups and thePolice. The Reference Group has alsoattracted recognition nationally from theNational Police Improvement Agency(NPIA) and internationally from the OpenSociety Justice Initiative (OSJI). ISCREwere invited to do a presentation inBrussels at the European Network AgainstRacism Ethnic event looking at EthnicProfiling and good practice. We met andbuilt strong relationships with internationalcommunity activists and academicscholars.

Additionally our work as a 3 PartyReporting Centre for Police Complaintshas seen 10 clients have the confidence toraise their concerns about aspects ofpolicing. The partnership with the police isvital and we support them in other ways,offering advice and guidance to front lineofficers, senior managers and professionalstandards personnel on operational issuesthat impact on BME communities. Wehave also delivered training andworkshops, hosted a Student officer andattend the strategic Diversity ProgrammeBoard.

rd

There have been significant developmentsin our work with 3 prisons, Highpoint,Edmunds Hill and Warren Hill. Here wework with Officers and detained people tohelp embed race equality. This includesattending meetings; reviewing racistincidents; building links with communities.An example of this was engaging a youngoffender from Warren Hill to come andspeak with a group of young people. Thisled to a greater understanding of the prisonsystem and was an empoweringexperience for all involved. A greaterdemand for our services in theseestablishments has led to the developmentof a Community Diversity Officer post towork in Highpoint and Edmunds Hill.

There have been a number of changeswithin all 3 prisons over the last 6 months,as there have been within ISCRE, and sobuilding relationships with key members ofstaff has been problematic at times.However, there is recognition that thepartnership work is vital and we predictmore stability which will help us to have aneven greater impact.

Leon HallProject Manager

22

Outreach

West

ISCRE outreach employs staff who arebased in the North and West of the County.They therefore understand the impact onBME communities living in these moreisolated, sometimes more deprived andrural places. This means that ISCRE canaddress rural isolation by providing aservice to those even on the borders ofSuffolk. It also means that as first point ofcontact for those who have suffered racismand discrimination clients feel confidentthat their voices have been heard and thaton going support is achievable. Immediateresponse and referral for legal advice andgood working relationships with partnerslike the hate crime team, police andvoluntary organisations play an importantpart in successfully combating the everchanging barriers for the established andemerging communities. ISCRE is verymuch about listening, assessing andresponding to the needs of the community.

As my role as representative in the West Iam tasked with informing, advising andsupporting, public and voluntary sectors tomeet their race equality duties andresponsibilities in service delivery. Lastyear I attended the bi monthly RaceEquality Action Team meetings andmonitored Race incident forms inHighpoint and Edmund Hill Prisons. Stopand Search Reference Groups, HateCrime Forums and Cultural events in my

Diverse & Equal Voice YOPEY Award

area, engaging with the new and emergingcommunities with a view of recruitingmembers to set up MECAN West tocompliment those in Ipswich andLowestoft.

I have been mentoring and providing adviceand guidance to Gypsies and Travellers inForest Heath and mid Suffolk, worked inpartnership with Suffolk Youth &Connexions and C.A.B; built good publicrelations with USAF Lakenheath andMildenhall. Co-ordinated events in schoolsand colleges, delivered race equalitytraining, organised cultural activities,sessions by BME professionals, providingan opportunity for local young people toexperience activities from other cultures,and raise awareness of cultural heritagethrough dance, music and introducingpositive role models.Ofnote are:

Mildenhall College of Technology -Diving into Diversity attended by over100 people. This was a student ledevent organised by a group of multi-national students, which I formed andmentored.” Diverse & Equal Voices”won the 2010 YOPEY Award for Suffolkas a result of their contribution forpromoting community cohesion.

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West Suffolk College – 'All about me'attended by over 100 students

The Diversity Bowl, bowling challengebetween young people, families andUSAF

Jo WilsonProject Manager

Diversity Bowl YOPEY

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North

I think it is important in areas such asWaveney, where I am based, that peoplefrom BME communities attend meetingson issues that directly affect them. Thisincludes the Racial Harassment Forumand the Stop Search Reference Group. Myaim is to encourage more people from theBME community to participate in these butmore work is needed to build trust,confidence and awareness in some of ourmost marginalised communities. I havebeen engaging too with key statutory andvoluntary sector partners in the areamaking them aware of what ISCRE isabout, its aims and objectives. Thecontinued work in the college is particularlyrewarding and strong ties have beenformed to help them embed their Race andwider equality duties in their college.

MECAN North is starting to grow, but this isreally early days for a BME network in thispart of the county.

Lowestoft College Celebrating Diversityevent attended by more than 50students from colleges across Suffolk

Lowestoft College “Everyone isWelcome” event May 2010. More than60 students engaged in understandingdifference, and the values of the college

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Developing the MECAN in Lowestoft.This will include the development of anAfrican History Month Celebration andestablishing a MECAN stall, with abanner and promotional merchandisewhich can be taken around to localevents to attract new members.

20 Migrant workers able to contribute tothe Equality and Human RightsCommission Enquiry into Meat andPoultry industry in Lowestoft, and manyof their stories are quoted in the finalreport.

Tessa TriumphProject Manager

Lowestoft College Diversity Event

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Translation and Interpreting Project (TIP)was launched in 1996 and has provided avariety of services to the public since then.

To ensure that members of BMEcommunities in Suffolk can effectivelyaccess services provided by the public,private and voluntary sectors by removingthe language barrier

Trained 12 interpreters in the Diploma inPublic Sector Interpreting (DPSI) inArabic, Polish, Kurdish and Russian.Trained 15 interpreters in ourFoundation ' Introduction to InterpretingCourse' in Chinese, Czech, Polish,Portuguese, Latvian, Lithuanian.Offered free staff training to serviceproviders using TIP on good practice inworking with Interpreters.Provided Request Cards for people forwhom English is not their mainlanguage of communication to requestthe provision of interpreters and

Aim:

This year we:�

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T (TIP)ranslation & Interpreting Project

translations when accessing services.Provided a support network andsupervision for Interpreters.Showed a growth of more than 30% ininterpreting jobs and 17% in Translationwork.Removed the language barrier on morethan 2000 occasionsBuilt the capacity of Suffolk andNorfolk's BME communities by trainingthem as interpreters and engaging themto provide the serviceE n h a n c e d S e r v i c e p r o v i d e r sunderstanding of the importance of theremoval of the barrier of language alongwith cultural barriersS u p p o r t e d S e r v i c e p r o v i d e r sconsultation events in order to enhanceservice delivery.Contributed to ISCRE's core costs.Reached across County borders byextending the training to BMEindividuals in Norfolk and providing aservice to a range of other counties – asfar as London.

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Figure 1 Languages requested 2009/2010

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The top 12 languages requested in2009/2010 are:

Kurdish PolishPortuguese BengaliChinese FarsiRussian TurkishLithuanian ArabicAlbanian Czech

The proportion of service requested ourservices in the last financial year are at anapprox percentage of : (Please refer toFigure 2)

- General Health Care (IpswichHospital, SCRT & NHS Suffolk)17%

- Mental Health Care (SMHP &Suffolk Hospital) 11%

- Suffolk County Services (SocialCare Services, Education) 22%

- Local Government Services (IBC,Job Centre Plus & MedicalService) 26%

- Legal Requirement (mainlySolicitors) 10%

- Private Customers 2%

- Others 12%

Figure 2 Analysis of Service Providers using TIP forTranslation and Interpreting Services

The Future

Develop TIP as an Open College NetworkCentre

Further develop service specific trainingfor staff working with interpreters

Continue to build the numbers of welltrained professionals from Suffolk's BMEcommunities Campaign on the importanceof the role of Interpreters in the context ofreceiving complex information, where abasic understanding of English providedthrough ESOLclasses is not enough

Annie ChowProject Manager

TIP Self Help Group

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MECAN (Minority Ethnic Community ActionNetwork) is a network for the BME (Black andMinority Ethnic) Community groups andindividuals in Suffolk. It provides a platform forthe BME Community to share information andto keep informed about what is happeningwithin Suffolk.

MECAN is part of the modernisationprogramme which is funded by the CapacityBuilders. It is a partnership between ISCRE,SAVO and SIFRE with ISCRE leading on theproject. MECAN is currently in its second yearof funding and has grown over the past twoyears with around 200 members. During itssecond year MECAN:

Promoted MECAN at Respect Festival andAfrican History Month events reaching over1,000 people from across Suffolk.

A Community led MECAN Steering grouphas been established representing a varietyof BME individuals. The group looks at racialinequalities across a range of areas.

BME individuals have determined prioritiesare focusing on the issues within schools,health, and the need for a more vibrant BMEled 3 sector.

BME Parent meeting with the Director ofInclusive Schools Services to addressissues affecting BME communities.

MECAN commissioned the Gypsy andTraveller report which was then promotedamongst public and voluntary sector. Thereport looked into the needs of the localcommunity in respect of a Community ledGypsy and Traveller support group.

The Steering group organised an ElectionHustings event inviting local politicians andNational Figures to be on the panel. Thisgave the local community a chance to asktheir politicians questions regarding issuesthat concern them. Main topics were Race,Immigration, Faith and CommunityRelations. The Hustings was also broadcastlive on the internet. Around a 100 peopleattended plus another 60 people over theinternet.

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MECAN (Minority Ethnic Communities Action Group)

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Development work continues in Northand West Suffolk.

Steering group developing a businessto plan to aid in future funding andsustainability of MECAN.

MECAN newsflash continues to ensureMECAN members are kept up to datewith local, national and internationalissues.

Sponsored 7 MECAN members toattend 4 different conferences. Whichinclude: Equality Bill 09-Roundtables -London, Protecting Black Children intoAdulthood - Regional, Race and theRecession-Regional; Be Part of theSolution National; and SupportingWomen and Children from AsianCommun i t i es who Exper ienceDomestic Violence.

For the final year MECAN hopes toestablish itself in North and West Suffolk byhaving steering groups and building on thenumber of members from the two areas sothat it is established and recognisedthroughout Suffolk. MECAN will continueto be of assistance to the BMECommunities and provide a platform forthe BME Communities to build on theirawareness of what is happeningthroughout Suffolk. MECAN believestogether we can make a difference.

Diversity Café (workshops) at LowestoftCollege May 2009

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University Campus Suffolk

ISCRE has been working with UniversityCampus Suffolk (UCS) to assist them withtheir commitment to the positive duty topromote race equality. Although theemphasis is on race ISCRE also deliverscase work across the Equality strands andassists the UCS in any way possible. Thishas been done in a number of ways.

Attends the Equality and DiversityCommittee meetings to ensure thatrace is kept on the agenda.Attends the Equal i ty ImpactAssessment (EIA) sub groupmeetings and have an active rolewithin the development of the EIAprocedures and performing EIAs ontheir policies.Delivered workshops to CharteredInstitute for Personal Developmentstudents. The workshops focused ongiving the students advice on how tomanage grievances on racediscrimination grounds. Drama wasused to engage students morepersonally with a character. Theythen were able to develop practicalsolutions to achieve positiveoutcomes from the grievance.

Tanesha WeddeburnProject Support Officer

July 2010

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This is an exciting cross county projectwith Norwich and Norfolk Race EqualityCouncil which is funded by the MigrantImpact Fund. Activities under this projecthave been designed to recognize thepositive contribution of Migrant workersand to support services that are deliveredto BME communities. It has 4 elementswhich are broadly described below:

1. 1 tier advice – mapping andassessment of how Advice services arebeing accessed by BME communities

Positive Impact Project

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2. 2 tier advice – developing the skills ofBME communities to offer advice withintheir communities on Equalities issues

3. Training providers of publically fundedservices on the Public Equality Duty byBME led groups/professionals

4. Addressing Hate Crime betweencommunities and developing supportwithin communities to deal with racism

Activities this year included:

D e s i g n i n g c o l l a b o r a t i v edesktop/face to face qualitativea s s e s s m e n t t o e n s u r e acomprehensive review of existingadvice and guidance servicesavailable to BME communities

300 questionnaires disseminatedacross Norfolk & Suffolk to advice &guidance service providers

Conference in Suffolk, delivered byBME communities, attended by morethan 90 peop le f r om BMEcommunities, Statutory, Voluntaryagencies including advice agencies

Sustainable DVD capturing Migrantworker stories being used acrossSuffolk and on national website suchasAdvice UK.

Equalities training delivered to 48members of BME communities toraise awareness of rights and identifybarriers to services

BUDDY training developed tosupport victims of racism in BMEcommunities. Pilot delivered to 10members of BME communities

Cheryl PhillipsProject Manager

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INCOME & EXPENDITURE

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The information provided here has been extracted from the audited accounts. It is forinformation only and is not sufficient to gain a full understanding of the result or state of affairsof the group. The audited accounts were subject to an unqualified audit report and wereapproved by Izod Basset and the Board of Trustees on 21 July 2010. Full copies of theaccounts can be acquired free of charge from ISCRE's office. The full audited accounts will befiled at Companies House and the Charities Commission.

Income and Expenditure 2009-10

£73,000

£161,054

£4,340

£779 £9,296

Income

Core and Unrestricted Grants

Restricted Grants

Membership

Translation and Interpreting

£73,000

£237,203£999

£161,054

£4,340

£779 £9,296

Income

Core and Unrestricted Grants

Restricted Grants

Membership

Translation and Interpreting

Training and Consultancy

Investment income

Other income

Expenditure Promotion of racial equality -Expenditure Promotion of racial equality -Direct Costs

Promotion of racial equality -

£31 543 £9,863

Expenditure Promotion of racial equality -Direct Costs

Promotion of racial equality -Support Costs

£257 479

£137,215

£31,543 £9,863



Translation and Interpretation -Direct Costs

£257,479

£25,220

£137,215

£31,543 £9,863




Translation and Interpretation -Support Costs

£257,479

£25,220

£137,215

£31,543 £9,863





Goverance costs

£257,479

£25,220

£137,215

£31,543 £9,863





Goverance costs

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