Birmingham city council has become the first in the UK to recognise Jewish and Sikh ethnicities for the purpose of data collection, with Jewish groups praising the move and a local MP calling for councils across the country to follow suit.
A motion passed at a city council meeting on Tuesday means that data collection conducted by the local authority will now include specific ‘Jewish’ and ‘Sikh’ categories as options for a person’s ethnic group.
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, introduced a Private Members Bill in December on this issue.
She told the Jewish News she was “delighted that Birmingham is taking forward my campaign to recognise the Jewish and Sikh identities and include them in the ethnicity data categories it uses across its services. For government to deliver for its citizens, it must have an accurate picture of the people it serves.”
But the MP, who is of Sikh ethnicity herself, said that “while the news from Birmingham is welcome, one Council is not enough.
“Sikhs and Jews are not only religious groups but are also recognised as ethnic groups under the Equality Act 2010. This legal recognition places a clear duty on public bodies to include them in all efforts to fulfil the Public Sector Equality Duty.
“Collecting accurate ethnicity data is fundamental to identifying and addressing disparities in areas such as education, health, policing, and employment.”
Preet Kaur Gill MP (Credit: House of Commons)
The motion was brought by the Labour group, which runs the council. Councillor Jamie Tennant, cabinet member for Social Justice, Community Safety, and Equalities, tabled the motion. He described how it would help to “more comprehensively collect data on the Jewish and Sikh residents of our city, helping us to better understand the communities we serve, tackle inequalities and discrimination, promote equality, equitably deliver public services and allocate resources fairly.”
Jewish groups praised the council’s decision. Andrew Gilbert, Vice President of the Board of Deputies, described how “For too long both communities [Jewish and Sikh] have been made to feel invisible when filling out the ethnicity section of the census, as well as medical and employment forms.
“The Board of Deputies and Sikh Federation are of one mind on this, changes need to be made to the way that this data is collected and we would urge other authorities in the UK to follow Birmingham City Council’s example.”
Andrew Gilbert
Danny Stone, Chief Executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, said: “Tackling racism, discrimination and inequality is more difficult when one cannot find the necessary data to support targeted action. For too long, the Jewish and Sikh communities have struggled to ensure they are properly identified in official records, leading to failures to adequately address the harms both groups face.”
He described the council, and Preet Kaur Gill MP as “taking a leading role… in fixing a historic problem with real-life consequences.”
Ruth Jacobs, Jewish West Midlands community leader, commended the council’s motion, which she said “can only benefit the Jewish community in the delivery of public services.
“By targeting the needs of Jewish people and understanding our lived experiences, Councils will be better equipped to address any inequalities we face. The Government should implement this nationally.”
There are believed to be approximately 2,000 Jews and 30,000 Sikhs in Birmingham.
Dabinderjit Singh OBE, the Lead Executive for Political Engagement at the Sikh Federation (UK) said the city council had “shown leadership” on the issue. Jatinder Singh, President at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick, noted that both Sikhs and Jews had been recognised as ethnicities in law for more than 40 years.
“Gurdwaras up and down the country have for many years been providing support, assistance and services to address inequalities faced by the growing Sikh community as local councils have ignored and failed them”, he said.
“We now look to this Labour government to implement the law and tackle discrimination faced by Sikhs and Jews.
