Originally Published 21 November 2002

Coventry's Race Equality Council is partnering with the University of Warwick to help the city's public sector bodies meet the challenges of the new Race Relations Amendment Act. The University has agreed to host on behalf of Coventry Racial Equality Council a half-day workshop specially designed to help local public sector bodies with the new Race Relations Amendment Act on the morning of Wednesday 27th November.

The University has also agreed to kick-start the first workshop by outlining the details of its own procedures for recording the ethnicity of its employees. The University will explain how those procedures have evolved over the last 15 years to become a useful model for others. One of the effects of the new Race Relations Amendment Act is to considerably strengthen the requirement of employers to monitor the ethnicity of its employees, and the workshop offers public sector bodies to exchange best practice in ethnic monitoring and promoting race equality across their functions.

Speakers at the workshop include Ken Grainger, Head of the CRE's Public Duty Team, and Chief Inspector Christine Spriggs, Diversity Co-ordinator for West Midlands Police. Any representatives of public sector employers wishing to attend the event should contact Sawarn Malhotra, Coventry REC, on 02476 632236.

Interview opportunity: There will be an opportunity to interview the speakers at the workshop at 10.30am on Wednesday 27th November. Reporters should come to the University's Senate House reception at 10.30am and ask for Peter Dunn