Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations

Another significant area of our work is the dissemination of relevant information to minority ethnic communities at the grass-root level. In the past three years, we have carried out a number of UK-wide campaigns on Tax Credits entitlements for working families on low income. The campaigns comprise a combination of publicity through ethnic media (i.e. radio, press, etc.) as well as outreach work among local communities (i.e. drop-in surgeries, Roadshows, workshops, etc.); in addition, work with faith communities and groups has been carried out directly in religious premises, such as Mosques, Hindu and Chinese Temples, Black Churches, etc.

Key Achievements

• National Tax Credit Programme: funded by HM Revenue and Customs, the programme resulted in 100 events carried out at community level, including 10 Workshops, 20 Drop-in Surgeries, 58 Faith Surgeries and 12 Roadshows across Britain. The programme, which also included ethnic press and e-media outlets, managed to reach a total of 2,815 people and members of the public.
• National Minimum Wage (NMW) Campaign: this London-based campaign to raise awareness among minority ethnic individuals on low income managed to reach 401 people directly, as well as having 107 NMW videos (produced by the DTI) distributed to community-based voluntary organisations. The campaign was featured in a number of ethnic papers including Eastern Eye, Asian Times and India Weekly.
• Policy Responses: we responded to the following public consultations: Crown’s Prosecution Service’ Review of the Code for Crown Prosecutors (12.05.04), Draft Charities Bill (13.07.04) OPM/Active Community Unit’s Capacity Building Infrastructure Draft Framework (11.02.04) and Big Lottery Consultation (30.09.04).
• Publications: during the past year, we have produced a number of publications including:
  • Julios C. ‘The BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Voluntary Sector in the UK’, in K. Wilding et al. (eds.) (2004) The UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2004, London, National Council of Voluntary Organisations, pp. 179-92.
  • CEMVO (2004) Understanding, Accepting and Valuing Each Other: The Challenge of Ethical Ambition, London, CEMVO.
  • Julios, C. (2004) ‘Religion or Belief: A Guide to Legislation and Good Practice on Religions and Beliefs’ The Independent Diversity Supplement, 29th April 2004, pp. 6-7.
  • Reid, M. (2004) The Black and Minority Ethnic Voluntary and Community Sector: A Literature Review, London, University of Glasgow/Ethnic Minority Foundation, 55 pp.
• Steering Groups: our presence at Government policy tables and steering groups include: Department for Work and Pensions Ethnic Minority Working Party, Home Office Crime Reduction Group, Crown Prosecution Service Race Equality Board, HM Revenue and Customs Voluntary Sector Steering Group, Big Lottery Equality Forum, and Women Resource Center Policy Forum.