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COMMISSION ON RACE AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES' FINDINGS: BRIDGING CHANGE RESPONSE The report from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has been deeply disappointing. This report after reflecting on the impact of education, community, health (including COVID-19), employment, crime and policing on minoritised ethnic people concluded that institutional racism does not exist. Bridging Change strongly disagrees with the validity of the findings, its conclusions and the "changing the narrative" motivation which has sought to undermine the experience of racism of minoritised ethnic people in Britain. Whilst reading the report we have chosen not to make a detailed response at this time, as the problematic framing of issues in the report are too extensive to broach here. However, this response will draw on a few of the report's findings. In every area the Commission examined disparity, they constructed imaginative ways to excuse racial or ethnic disparity, suggesting instead that they were due to factors such as: . . . living in a densely populated inner-city area, socio-demographic characteristics (deprivation and occupation) living in larger and multi-generational households. The report also blames poorer outcomes for Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic people with: poor and/or lone parenting; co-morbidities; counting methods or simply not liking the numbers. The report, for example, describes stop and search figures from Devon (where there are lower numbers of Black and Asian minoritised ethnic people, specifically Black people) as 'skewed' - but the fact remains, not liking the odds does not diminish simple mathematics. Suggesting that the 'national relative rate is not always accurate' at measuring stop and search rates is problematic, it appears in this report 'not always accurate' refers to when facts do not suit the Government's narrative. Whilst the report acknowledges the disparity of maternal deaths for Black (5 times higher) and Asian (2 times higher), it calls for using absolute numbers, as not to do so was 'unfair to expectant mothers everywhere'. Previous commentary have contextualised the figures in terms of per 100,000, in absolute numbers and/or disparity is attempted to diminish the significance and importance of disparity. It does not change the fact the Black women are 5 times more likely to die in childbirth compared to white women; Asian and mixed heritage women are almost 2 times likely more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Further, disparity in maternal health is symptomatic of negative outcomes faced by men, women and children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic groups, particularly those minoritised ethnic people who are not white. Using the highly divisive stereotype of 'model minority' as if this was an antidote to racism is a privileged and uninformed construction of meritocracy. This 'model minority' construction was pitted against other minoritised ethnic people who were constructed as living with family breakdown, being unprepared and demotivated to succeed, as were 'attitudes to integrate'. Both stereotypes are equally damaging in suggesting that one group of minoritised ethnic people are hapless whilst the other minoritised ethnic group simply floats through British life without barriers or experiencing racism. Outrageous still is the polling by British Future for the Commission who heralded their poll as 'encouraging' around perceptions on anti-Black prejudice, which asked respondents if they 'saw a lot' of prejudice against Black people. They asked people who were not Black if there were increased level of prejudice for Black people. The only people who can credibly pass comment on the Black experience of racism is Black people , how can any other ethnic group assume to know how racism is experienced by another ethnic group? The report is constantly looking for creative adjustments, reframing, excusing and attempting to undermine disparity for Black and Asian minoritised ethnic people. The report is outrageous in its findings, in its bid to 'change the narrative' and to conclude that institutional racism does not exist is astonishingly inaccurate, premised on creative, misleading evidence and lack academic rigour. At Bridging Change we will focus on the reality of instititional and systemic racism and move away from the Commission's misleading conclusion in its attempt to 'change the narrative'. We want to reclaim the narrative which acknowledges the impact of the 'hostile environment' and the disproportionately negative impact and outcomes for Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic people in the the UK.

BRIDGING CHANGE Bridging Change aims to create a more equal and diverse society with positive outcomes for Black Asian and minoritised ethnic people. We do this through the building of strong alliances, connections and networks. About Bridging Change Bridging Change is an independent organisation with the intention of building strong, dynamic and successful Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic groups, communities, organisations, businesses and individuals that are empowered to flourish, free from inequality and discrimination. Bridging Change was established by Nora Mzaoui and Dr Anusree Biswas Sasidharan who met as fellow elected Community Works Reps, representing Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities in Brighton and Hove. They realised that there was a gap in support and representation of minoritised communities within the community, voluntary and public sector. Bridging Change want to fill that gap. They were driven by the belief that Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic organisations, groups, communities and individuals were strongest when they worked together to challenge systemic barriers. Bridging Change want to see a society where all individuals and communities have equal opportunities and feel valued and a sense of belonging in their locality. Meet The Team Nora Mzaoui Founder Dr Anusree Biswas Sasidharan Founder Beth Harrison Project Coordinator Beth has worked in the community and voluntary sector for over twenty years in community development, information and advice, public involvement and English language teaching. She is a trained community development worker with a Masters in Applied Anthropology and Community and Youth Work. She has worked for a number of organisations including Brighton and Hove Black History, Age UK East Sussex, the Hangleton and Knoll Project and the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey, Sussex. She is passionate about inclusion, diversity and equity with a particular focus on the Health and Education sectors. Rini Ghosh Finance Rini is a qualified ACMA (CGMA) accountant with several years of’ experience working for global charities and not-for- profit organisations concentrating in the International Development sector.. She works closely with external and internal business partners and stakeholders, and brings her 20+ years of financial management expertise to aide strategic decision making for senior management teams. She also helps organisations to implement their long-term financial plans and ensure that they align with the approved business strategies and objectives. She currently work as a finance business partner for an animal welfare charity concentrating on process transformation for effective financial reporting to help interpretation of financial information for project delivery. She also has experience of writing and submitting commercial funding proposals for all sizes of budgets and projects. Our Supporters

Community Voices Group What is CVG? What is CVG? What is CVG? What is CVG? Community Voices Group Do you identify as Black, brown, Asian or from another language, ethnic or migrant community? Do you want to improve how public services are delivered locally? Do you want the chance to speak directly to representatives from the Council and NHS and get your voice heard? Members of the group attend meetings as individuals or as representatives of a community group they belong to. We meet monthly, either online or in-person, to discuss issues that matter to us and to talk to representatives from Brighton and Hove Council and NHS Sussex about how they can be delivered. Past meetings Past meetings Past meetings Past meetings Reports Reports Reports Reports Community Voices (October, 2024) Read the October 2024 report on CVG, which outlines our achievements, feedback from our members and the next steps. Read the report here. Bridging Change NHS Workshop (November, 2023) Bridging Change was awarded a grant by NHS Sussex to deliver a face-to-face, 2.5-hour workshop in November 2023 with racialised minority communities based in Brighton and Hove. The event's aims were two-fold: to close the community engagement loop by feeding back to communities and to engage with the local communities. Read the report here. Become a CVG member Become a CVG member Become a CVG member Become a CVG member Interested in joining us? Contact Beth Harrison at Bridging Change, email: hello@bridgingchange.co.uk If you do not speak English and would like to be involved, email: laura@sussexinterpreting.org.uk or call 01273 234016 and leave a message in your language

Infrastructure Past newsletters More can be found about March's newsletter here. More can be found about December's newsletter here. More can be found about May's newsletter here. More can be found about July's newsletter here . Please see more about the BRM Network Newsletter for October 2025 here .

Membership CONNECT WITH US If you are interested in becoming a networking member or would like to support us as an ally, please fill in the membership form .

Infrastructure Past training

Contact Us Thanks for submitting! Submit Contact details: For Ageing Well: community@bridgingchange.co.uk For Climate for Communities: projects@bridgingchange.co.uk For CVG: hello@bridgingchange.co.uk For Infrastructure: development@bridgingchange.co.uk For Phoenix Way: directors@bridgingchange.co.uk For UK; Rooted in Wellbeing: riw@bridgingchange.co.uk 01273 234808/ 07395314944 For Phoenix Way: directors@bridgingchange.co.uk For any other queries : directors@bridgingchange.co.uk

Infrastructure Introduction This Infrastructure Project is a 'by and for' project that is run by and for BRM/BME community groups and organisations . The aim is to build robust support for existing vibrant BRM/BME community organisations to grow and thrive in the city. Several BRM/BME community group and voluntary sector organisations (with the support of Brighton and Hove City Council) have been working for two years to develop infrastructure support, leading to its launch in January 2025. Free training and network events The next Infrastructure training date is the 29th of April 2026 Find the future dates below. For more information contact: development@bridgingchange.co.uk Please also find past training here : The upcoming dates are: Wednesday 29th April Tuesday 26th May Thursday 18th June Thursday 24th September Newsletter Please see more about the BRM Network Newsletter for December 2025 here . Please also find past newsletters here : Reports and Useful Resources Background and history In this section, please find all the reports and presentations to give more background to this work. Out of these findings, some of the key support needs defined so far have been: Governance support (constitutional and trustee support and training); Funding, Monitoring and evaluation; Networking and partnership brokering. Communications; Finding venues and resources. Please let us know if you want this support or any other type of support in the getting involved form here . Reports and findings Brighton Hove BME CVS Infrastructure 05 12 24 BME CVS Infrastructure Network Findings Final CAG BRM CVS Infrastructure Support Presentation Final BRM CVS Infrastructure Options Appraisal External Resources Please find links to free additional external resources: Governance (click for more info) Fundraising (click for more info) Get involved Please take the time to fill in this form as you can tell us what you need and be part of this journey. Interested in Infrastructure? For more information about Ageing Well contact: development@bridgingchange.co.uk

Climate for Communities Introduction Bridging Change are excited to be part of the Climate for Communities project. Funded by the National Lottery, the Trusting for Developing Communities have been awarded £1.3 million over a 3-year period to empower unrepresented groups in Brighton and Hove. Us along with the 17 other organisations, will understand our community’s challenges such as the increase cost of living and the health and wellbeing issues that people face. With our focus being on Black and racialised monitories (BRM), we’llassess how BRM groups are more likely to live in areas of high pollution, limited accesses to green spaces and poorer housing factors that amplify vulnerability to extreme weather, heatwaves and flooding. Furthermore, BRM are underrepresented in climate-decision making, meaning their specific needs are knowledge are often overlooked in policy responses and language barriers, economic marginalisation and experiences of racism can further limit access to information, funding or support in adapting to climate impacts. The results is a layered and systemic challenge that demands an intersectional approach to climate justice- one that centres equity, lived experience and meaningfulinclusion. The long-term vision of the project is for the city to become a thriving ecosystem of accessible, inclusive and impactful climate activity, with a green economy that brings communities together with public, private, education and voluntary sectors to ensure a just and equitable transition to a sustainable future. Linked projects: Sussex Bay (May, 2025) In this report, Bridging Change aimed to understand the priorities and issues that respondents faced around the coast. We gather views on a personal and collective level and also consider the wider concerns raised around accessibility, exclusion and overcrowding. Read the report here: Interested in Climate for Communities? For more information about Ageing Well contact: projects@bridgingchange.co.uk