Birmingham City Council is to become the first in England to recognise Sikh and Jewish identities when collecting data from residents as part of a groundbreaking move to ‘tackle inequalities’.
A motion tabled by Birmingham Labour group to change the way the information is collected in the future was carried at a full council meeting. The Labour group said the historic move would help the council understand its communities better and tackle discrimination.
The city council said Birmingham’s estimated 2,000-strong Jewish community and over 30,000 Sikh residents made an “enormous contribution” to Birmingham’s culture, diversity, and prosperity. But its current demographics questionnaire does not include specific ‘Sikh’ and ‘Jewish’ categories as options for a person’s ethnic group.
Birmingham Labour said the historic move would help the council understand its communities better and tackle discrimination.
It said that while Sikhs and Jews had been legally recognised as ethnic groups for more than 40 years, they were largely absent from ethnicity data as it was not routinely collected by public bodies.
As the Office for National Statistics advises public bodies to only use existing ethnic categories in order to deliver public services, the Labour group argued Jewish and Sikh people were “rendered invisible” to policymakers.
The motion had the backing of Edgbaston MP Preet Gill, who previously raised the issue at Parliament.
“For local government to deliver for its citizens, it must have an accurate picture of the people it serves… Sikhs and Jews have been legally recognised as ethnic groups for over 40 years. It is absurd that most public bodies don’t include these groups in the equalities data they collect. I am delighted Birmingham City Council is taking action to put this right.” she said.
The motion was brought by Councillor Jamie Tennant and seconded by Councillor Rinkal Shergill.
Tennant said it showed Birmingham was “leading the country as a diverse and welcoming city” and he would lobby colleagues in other authorities to follow suit.
Describing herself as “a proud Sikh woman who lived in Birmingham the last 34 years”, Shergill said the change marked an important step forward. She pointed out the NHS did not classify Sikh and Jewish communities either, despite them being disproportionately affected by particular diseases and during the pandemic.
