Sheffield City Council has set out the progress that is being made to accelerate action on race equality in the city.
New Race Equality Partnership for Sheffield launched
A new partnership has been launched, which aims to help make Sheffield an anti-racist city.
The Race Equality Partnership for Sheffield (REPS), launched during Race Equality Week (5-11 February) will be an active, collaborative network of people and organisations with a shared aim to support race equality in Sheffield.
REPS has been established by partners including public sector institutions, local businesses and community groups, following the publication of the Race Equality Commission (REC), in July 2022, and will play a pivotal role in supporting the city to deliver against the Commission’s recommendations and secure a legacy from the work.
Councillor Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said:
“Racism has no place in Sheffield or anywhere and I will do all I can help to eradicate all forms of racism in our city, which is why I welcome this partnership and all it stands for.
“Working with residents, community groups, and partner organisations, our job is to support our diverse communities to come together and create an inclusive city for all, free from discrimination, where everyone can thrive.
“Through REPs, we have an opportunity to think strategically about how we work together to share learnings and best practice on race equality, and to hold each other to account, in our pursuit of long-term change.”
Local community groups, residents and Sheffield-based institutions were all invited to a launch event on Monday 5th February to ensure the partnership is shaped by them from the outset.
This included Sheffield City Council, South Yorkshire Police, NHS South Yorkshire, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, Voluntary Action Sheffield and Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, who have all provided support to establish the partnership, amongst others.
Richard Stubbs, Chair of the partner-led group which established REPS, said:
“The launch of Race Equality Partnership for Sheffield is an incredibly important milestone towards making Sheffield an anti-racist city.
“There is clear commitment from our communities and our institutions to collaborate and work together to support Sheffield’s journey. The launch event is just the start and there will be many more ways to get involved in REPS' work.”
Going forward, REPS will provide a space for residents, communities and organisations in the city share learnings, hold each other to account and monitor progress towards fulfilling the recommendations put forward by the Race Equality Commission.
It will be guided by a set of agreed principles – for and led by Sheffield people. These principles are real accountability and action, independence, openness and transparency, working together and challenging each other, communicate, celebrate and educate.
Recruitment for an independent Chair for REPS is already underway and there will also be dedicated capacity and resource to support the work of the partnership.
This will be led by people in the city and include discussions with and in communities about whether they can see meaningful progress in their everyday lives, regular events and workshops to challenge where needed and celebrations of shared successes.
There will also be a digital space for people to come together and contribute to driving the work forward.
If you’d like to hear more, you can find information on the Sheffield City Partnership website or get in touch via sheffieldcitypartnership@sheffield.gov.uk
