UK to make it easier to spot racism in banking

Bloomberg

The UK will examine why access to business finance appears to be a “major barrier” for ethnic minorities, making it easier to spot racism or unconscious bias in bank lending.
Boris Johnson’s government will work with lenders to understand the underlying problems after earlier
research showed that the design of programs can influence demand from the ethnic minorities.
The measures are part of a new blueprint for tackling racial and ethnic inequality in Britain, including a new history curriculum for schools, action on disparities in pay, and policing reforms. More than a third of ethnic minority entrepreneurs cited access to finance as the reason they stopped working on their business idea, according to a 2020 report by the British Business Bank.
The “Inclusive Britain” strategy was drawn up in response to a government-commissioned review, which controversially found last March that the U.K. was not structurally racist — and that geography, family influence and socio-economic background had a bigger impact on life chances than race.
Still, the report warned that historic racism was causing “deep mistrust” in some communities and made several recommendations. The government has outlined more than 70 actions it would take to tackle disparities and ensure
fairness.
These would help “foster inclusion and enable everyone to reach their full potential,” equalities minister Kemi Badenoch said in an emailed statement.
The plans to tackle inequality are a “major step” in delivering Johnson’s promise to “level up” prosperity around the country, the government’s equalities office said. The measures include: Establishing a panel of historians to develop a new “model history curriculum” by 2024 to support teaching of “our complex past.”
The plans also in include developing a new framework for how the use of police powers — such as stop and search — are scrutinised at a local level in order to increase public trust.
Last year’s government-commissioned review was set up following anti-racism protests across the UK in 2020, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in the US. It was criticised by opposition politicians, think-tanks and charities, which questioned its independence and findings.