Our Experiences

Certainly, the experience so far, during the last 30 years or so, for Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities settled in the UK does not reflect that their needs are prioritised by local councils, nor are they really consulted on which services should be provided and how. Our experience is that those who speak the loudest get the services and local authority officers and councillors control the decision-making.

From CCT to Best Value

So is Best Value going to make a difference? Best Value replaces Compulsory Competitive Tendering [CCT] and does not lust focus on value for money, but also considers the quality of a service. In short, all local authorities have to have a 5-year programme of fundamental service reviews where they need to examine if services provided, both by the council and through private and voluntary/non-profit agencies, meet local people's needs and offer value for money and quality of services.

The 4 'C's

They have to examine services using the 4 'C's - challenge - consult - compare and compete. The theory goes that this should offer local authority's own services a fairer opportunity to demonstrate their performance, because quality criteria are included and contracts will not just be awarded on cost grounds. If local authority services do not demonstrate they are better than other providers, predominately the private sector, then the service should be contracted to another provider. However, the most important question for the black, Asian and minority communities surely is where do equity and quality of needs come into the criteria for judgement. This is not stated by the Government as a must, but they do indicate that local needs must be determined in consultation with the local community. That word 'consultation' yet again.

Being Heard

So, how do the needs and priorities of black, Asian and ethnic minority communities get heard, acknowledged and prioritised? Our experience at TAHA is that as in the past, it is an upward struggle. There is no formal way to access the decision-makers.
Consultation events are the public face with token, if any, action based on community responses behind them. Addressing equality and equity is locked into year-on-year budget cuts as a way of avoiding change and the fundamental social justice issue sidelined yet again.
And what will Best Value tests mean for voluntary and community black, Asian and ethnic minority service providers. Their unit costs will be high - albeit their needs-led approach, good quality and high user-satisfaction levels. And will 'value for money' be the over-riding criteria and if so will funding cease? Our fear is yes it will and we will be no longer. The big organisations will be able to offer value for money, but who will use their services? Asian elders; African-Caribbean men with mental health problems, Asian women suffering domestic violence; families with children with disabilities; all of us suffering from racial harassment? We think not. Experience over the last 30 years demonstrates that local authorities and other white organisations have failed to meet our needs - not because our needs are so different, but because the will has not been there. So how can we believe that life will be any different now?
It is with this experience and understanding that The Asian Health Agency believes the way forward is for us to be united. Our strength will be in our collective numbers.
Individually, or even each borough's groups alone, will not be able to make much of a difference. Our energies will get drained.
However, if we organise ourselves, say in regions and then meet collectively and speak the same words surely we have a better chance of making a difference.

Community Plans

But first, we need to gain our own power; we need to understand what Best Value is and how it will be conducted, we need to gather how each local authority is taking it forward. Are any local authorities addressing equity and equality? With this evidence, we state our case and our agenda for change. We will need to have our own strategies and plans, both to those with power, but also to mobilise our communities behind us.
We will need to arrange seminars and workshops for ourselves and maybe ask officers and councillors to attend to take our challenge. We believe that it is our entitlement, and Best Value through its requirement to challenge and consult offers us a way to access our rights, but only if we are able to challenge the local authority ourselves - otherwise Best Value will indeed be yet another missed opportunity.