A plan to celebrate diversity and ethnic minority communities and their contribution to Sandwell will still go ahead despite it being temporarily withdrawn after the proposed chairwoman stepped down.
Council plans to set a Diversity Commission were put on hold last week after deputy council leader, Cllr Syeda Khatun, resigned her cabinet post.
The Tipton Green ward member had been chosen to chair the group but she stepped down on the day councillors were expected to approve setting up the body – though her resignation is not related.
A council spokesman said: “Circumstances have arisen which mean that Councillor Syeda Khatun needs to take time out from her role as deputy leader due to unforeseen personal reasons.”
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Her resignation led to report to a meeting of the authority’s full council being withdrawn at the last minute.
In that report council officers’ said the commission would ‘capture the richness of Sandwell’s communities including the role of the Black , Asian and Ethnic Minorities (BAME) business sector and how they contribute to the local economy and wealth creation; consider areas for improvement; develop a campaign to celebrate diversity and BAME groups’ contribution to community life’.
But Cllr Yvonne Davies has said the commission will still go ahead.
She said: “I wanted this to celebrate the rich diversity that we have in Sandwell and the wealth creation and job creation that people bring when they come into our area.
“I want it to look at recruitment, are we inclusive, and the stuff we (already) do but I want to give it a higher focus in terms of the negativity that is sometimes talked about in terms of diversity, I want it to be a positive.”
Saying the commission would run alongside the council’s present equal opportunity policies , she added: “It gives us time to look at things in detail and say are we doing everything we can are we following best practice from other areas.”
A recommendation asking for councillors’ approval is now expected to be discussed at October’s full council.
