Manchester's Services for Minority Communities Report 2016

MANCHESTER’S SERVICES FOR MINORITIES:
Understanding Needs and Improving Services for
Minority Communities in Manchester
Jonny Wineberg
May 2016

1 | M a n c h e s t e r ’ s S e r v i c e s f o r M i n o r i t i e s
CONTENTS
Introduction
Aims of Research 2
Methodology 2
Findings
Demographics 3
Worries and Needs 4
Demographic Change 10
Racism 13
Barriers to Accessing Services 14
Recommendations 18

Introduction
This report is based on the responses of 312 people in 2015 to a questionnaire
produced by a partnership of the Faith Network for Manchester (FN4M), Women’s
Solidarity Forum (WSF) and Saheli.
The Office of National Statistics 2011 figures showed that the number of non-white
British people in Manchester nearly doubled since the previous census of 2001 (ONS
2011). Manchester, known for being a diverse and cosmopolitan city, has undergone
massive changes in its demographics and environment, however it had yet to be
understood how these changes were impacting on society.
With this in mind, the Faith Network 4 Manchester and WSF with Saheli had included
research as part of their separate bids to Manchester City Council’s Equalities Fund.
Following funding being granted, the groups recognised the synergy in their proposals
and agreed to work together as a research partnership.
The research looked to build up a picture of needs of different communities in
Manchester; views on the City's changing demographic make-up; an understanding
of the issues that impact on different groups and why BME women do or do not access
specialist services. The latter issue is covered in more detail in a separate report being
developed by the Women’s Solidarity Forum (WSF) with Saheli.
Aims of Research
1. To research the perception and views of people on the changing demographics
and diversity in Manchester.
2. To identify people’s issues, concerns, needs and gaps.
3. To make recommendations on improving community relations as well as
influencing service design and delivery in Manchester City Council.
Methodology
An initial scoping exercise was undertaken between the partners and several draft
questions developed. These were then consulted on with two user groups, one of
women only, to inform the final design of the research questionnaire.
It was agreed to have both an online questionnaire utilising Survey Monkey as well as
hard copy surveys, which would be implemented with user groups to facilitate
participation in the research.
The partners then set to work promoting, distributing and assisting people to complete
the questionnaire. Whilst faith groups were mainly targeted, with visits to Churches,
Mosques and Synagogues as well as emails to all places of worship in the City, the
survey was also promoted to others via social media to get the views of as wide a cross
section of people as possible. This Report is the product of this work

Findings
Demographics
Just over two-thirds, 221 of the 312 respondents, indicated their faith. The majority of
respondents were Christians (33.9%) with Muslims (29.4%), Jews (5.9%), Hindus
(3.2%) and Sikhs (1.8%) the next most significant groups. 20.4% indicated that they
did not follow a faith, the majority of these being atheists, and 3.2% followed a minor
faith.
The size of the faith groups means that the only minority faith available for reliable
analysis is Muslim.
Whilst this does not perfectly match the make-up of religions reported in the 2011
census, it has enough similarity to give confidence in its validity. 63.3% of people
indicated that they were Christian or Muslim compared to 64.5% in the census. The
larger number of Muslims, and of other faiths, is mainly to do with the targeting of
minority ethnic groups for the research.
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35.00
percentage
Respondents by Faith
Christian Muslim Jewish Hindu Buddhist Sikh
None Atheist Agnostoc Humanist Wiccan/Pagan Other

Worries and Needs
Just under three-quarters of the respondents (231) made comment on the open
question: ‘What worries you’. The range of concerns was extremely wide, covering
health, career, finances, abuse, crime, drugs, racism, discrimination and much more.
Several people did respond that they had few, or no, worries but most did share specific
concerns.
The main type of response, probably due to the nature of the survey, was around
discrimination in many different forms. Several people commented on the need to have
better understanding between faiths. There were also several responses that
expressed concern about extremism, both from racists and also from Islamic
extremism. The following gives a flavour of the responses.
When I came here to the UK from Morocco I wanted to be a translator (French/Morocco
to English) but my age (19) made it difficult to study. People didn't understand me.
Language is a barrier.
I'm a university graduate who is not working and yet I have to tell my children to study
in order to get a better job and be productive members of the country. Institutionalised
racism especially when applying for professional jobs even during job interviews.
Guns & shootings. Need more youth clubs + people to talk to.
I am single, disabled female. I have been unable to work due to my many health
problems. There is a very worrying discrimination culture against people like me. I will
not be able to survive if my benefits are cut. I will die.
I can't speak English, also I don't know the English culture and I feel that some staff
and agencies will judge me.
Immigration and immigrants not mixing with the indigenous population. Immigrants
blatantly ignoring local bylaws & customs, not to mention the country's laws.
Increasing homophobia in public spaces that is going completely unchallenged by the
community.
A society that is driven by measuring everything in economic terms and has no vision
of humanity beyond this, resulting in inhuman policies and treatment of people.
Islamphobia and tension between different communities in Greater Manchester
Lack of communication between Islamic community and rest of community
Lack of Police presence on the streets (not just PCSO's)
Local and national governments pandering to Muslim communities who refuse point
blank to integrate into society. There is no excuse for someone being in this country
for 40 plus years not being able to understand English. I'm fed up of my taxes being
wasted.
Loneliness, stress, my health and my situation
Raging political correctness against Christianity when the faith of this land is Christian
The amount of crime happening against foreign people and those by foreign people in
retaliation

The increasing incidents of anti-Semitism and its connection with the far left and Islamic
fundamentalism.
The Treatment of LGBT Asylum seekers, hate crime and discrimination against
minorities
Communities living separately and not mixing or not wanting to mix; deeply held
prejudice about the 'other' amongst the different communities.
That many people in the community are only interested in themselves and their needs
and there is little tolerance
The strength of these responses indicates the need for a coherent response to a range
of issues around discrimination. Key to this would seem to be better awareness of
different groups, creating opportunities to engage for those who might not have
previously. This could be faith groups engaging with LGBT groups, English-born
people engaging with recent immigrants or Christians engaging with Muslims. Creative
ways should be found to enable this, both with young and adult groups.
The learning of English is also identified as an issue and is highlighted in other
responses.
The quantitative question on worries showed over two-thirds expressing high levels of
concern about Unemployment, Financial Security, Racism and Mental Health.
Marginally under two-thirds expressed high levels of concern about Physical Health
and Personal Safety. Such high levels of worry clearly reflect the high level of need for
diverse services in the City.
What is most concerning is the higher level of worry amongst Muslim respondents
across most of the issues raised. Similar analysis could not be done for other faith
groups due to the small numbers but the extremely higher levels of worry over financial
security and unemployment, with 61.9% and 56.7% respectively worrying a lot about
these issues, shows a need for better targeted provision, such as jobs clubs and
financial advice surgeries.
In a different vein, the significantly higher levels of concern on personal safety and
racism, with 48.4% and 54.0% respectively worrying a lot about these issues, shows a
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20
40
60
80
How much issues concern you (all respondents)
worry about this a lot worry about this sometimes

need for better targeted provision, such as more police engagement in areas where
Muslims live, more engagement with Muslim youth groups and increased recruitment
of Muslim police officers and PCSOs. One contrasting feature is the lower level of
concern over anti-social behaviour in the Muslim community. This reflects the
qualitative feedback with far more concern amongst Muslims over Islamophobia and
fear of being attacked than local nuisance.
Whilst targeted support for the growing Muslim community is clearly necessary, this
does not mean that it should be at the expense of wider support. Indeed, the high level
of concern expressed over the whole population regarding discrimination, and reflected
in the qualitative responses, shows that the more provision that can bring different
communities together, the better. This may mean some gender-specific services, but
open to all, rather than Muslim-only services. Indeed, all services should be designed
with both the intention of meeting the specific needs of different faith and ethnic
communities, as well as maximising opportunities for different communities to come
together and understand each other more. This is relevant for Jobs Clubs, in youth
groups, neighbourhood meetings or any other services and should be looked at by the
Council, Police, Housing Associations and others providing services in communities.
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20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
How much issues concern you (Muslim respondents)
worry about this a lot worry about this sometimes

The follow-up, open question on how these issues affected people elicited responses
from 217 people, over two-thirds of respondents. A key theme, which backs up the
high level of worry about mental health, was how much different issues affect people’s
mental health. Anxiety, stress and depression were all mentioned in different answers
and, even for those who are not worried for themselves, there was concern over what
is happening in the wider community.
This link between jobs, crime, getting older and other issues with mental health should
be taken on board by all services. Reducing anxiety and stress when people engage
with statutory services should be a key principle and staff should be trained in how to
ensure they minimise people’s concerns and certainly do not exacerbate them. The
development of such a training programme should be a priority to reduce the high level
of worry about mental health and improve outcomes across many issues.
What is also clear is the need for the development of more robust mental health
services across the community. Faith groups have historically played a leading role in
this area and there are opportunities resulting from the Greater Manchester devolution
agenda that could help address this.
Those who worry a lot or sometimes about issues
ISSUE OF CONCERN
All respondents
%
Muslim
respondents
%
Unemployment 70.95 78.33
Financial security 67.81 80.95
Racism 67.34 74.60
Mental health 67.80 72.13
Physical health 65.98 72.88
Domestic Abuse 57.29 66.67
Housing 55.52 60.32
Crime 59.52 68.25
Anti-social behaviour 54.92 50.79
Personal safety 66.32 82.26
Your career 52.41 70.97
Bullying 58.76 65.57
Possible benefit changes 44.40 49.18
Disability discrimination 55.56 53.45
Environmental issues 56.40 50.00
Looking after elderly parents 48.13 63.49
Homophobia 46.37 36.07
Loneliness 44.83 65.00
Looking after children 47.93 58.06
Gangs 48.29 50.82
Sexual/relationship issues 39.59 49.18
Drug related Problems 43.54 53.23
Gaining qualifications 41.52 59.68
Sexual health 39.65 50.00
Alcohol 42.71 45.90
Appearance/body image 39.21 55.17
Teenage Pregnancies 32.42 33.87
Gambling 28.62 18.03

As a family person I have a teenager and I worry about him a lot i.e. crime, drugs etc., as there
is lack of activities for children.
As I'm getting older I am more worried about my physical health and career opportunities
Being a survivor of sexual violence means this affects me every day. I have problems with
mental health. I give up a lot of my time to help other women fight for justice and I fight for
children having the education they need to protect themselves and stand up to perpetrators.
Don't go out late at night and even avoid evenings now it is darker earlier.
I am disabled and worry about all the cuts to disability benefits. I think young single parents
get too much and pensioners get too little money and services.
I am generally happy with my life and blessed with good health, a fabulous family, a job I love
etc. My worries tend to be for future generations ie my children and groups within society who
are discriminated against.
I get very worried and slip into depression. Sometimes I get tired of fighting back and fed up
Constant worry making me unable to feel safe walking home on my own without being judged,
drugged or attacked.
Constantly thinking of new ways and approaches to tackle the issues that my community faces.
This can cause a build-up of stress, frustration and fear.
I think a lot about these issues and it makes me stressed, shoulder pains, loss of appetite.
It is heartbreaking to hear people’s stories and then be delighted by the improvement of those
overtime with the support from services.
Immigration is increasing unemployment and causing crime.
Living in Manchester is not always a nice experience. I don't feel appreciated or seen as a
member of the community as a person of colour.
Mentally play on my mind. They affect my mental state and sometimes I feel very low.
Not a lot of support available. Too many cuts in services. Not being able to speak up without
being judged.
I am finding it increasingly difficult to access health and support services for me and husband
in our 50s with chronic/long term health issues, and for my ailing 90 year old father in law. I am
active in my community as a volunteer in many fields, and am concerned that people of all
ages experience bullying (at work, school, home).
Personally, very little but sometimes it bothers me how it affects others.
Stress. Mentally draining. Makes me want to cry. I felt suicidal at one point and had to
physically slap myself to stop my thoughts. Exhausting. I feel overwhelmed with these issues
so I eat but I need to lose weight because I'm really overweight which is depressing too.
The serious ones keep me awake at night and worrying about them prevents me from getting
everything else done too.
There’s too much discrimination in work places about people with body modifications and also
a lot of abuse towards them in anti-social ways.
These issues affect me as I have 2 sons one with drug induced psychosis which leads to many
other issues. One who was a victim in a gang issue and now suffers with having to look over
his shoulders and becoming a victim of society.
They make me afraid and scared to go out, especially during the night.

The open question on needs, “What are the main needs you have, which if addressed
would improve your quality of life?” elicited 175 responses that covered a litany of
issues. Improving job or job prospects was mentioned 38 times (21.7%), often linked
to financial security, reflecting the results from the quantitative analysis. Health was
mentioned 31 times (17.7%), which also reflects the quantitative analysis. These
findings should direct faith groups towards considering more activities around work and
health in their community work.
The possibility for faith groups pursuing social enterprise around housing projects
could certainly be considered. This reflects concerns from both qualitative and
quantitative responses, with over a third of respondents, and 47% of Muslim
respondents, worrying a lot about it. Provision of housing to asylum seekers or others
in need could be self-financing or undertaken in conjunction with Housing Associations.
Some examples of responses on this question include:
Able to practice my faith freely, comfortably and peacefully
More affordable childcare before and after school and in holidays. Flexible working.
Better finance management and a realistic healthy eating plan that is affordable
BME carers fail to access support because they are often unaware that such support exists. I
often feel very isolated and cut off as I am caught up in caring. If I had some support my
quality of life would improve greatly.
Feeling safe, when I left home being in the refuge has saved my life. My quality of life is so
much better. I feel that I am able to live without fear.
Better access to GP's for non emergency matters. Getting a sick note is not an emergency,
but I cannot wait 4 weeks for an appointment for this.
Finding work, finding personal / tailored coach or mentor
Have a better change to change jobs and have access to employment and training for older
people.
Housing for me and my children
Housing, support with my drinking problem
I am an ayslum seeker. If they give my papers and work I can have a normal life which would
make me feel safe.
I need to earn more money but it has been very hard to find a well paid job. I get lot of jobs in
care work, cooking, etc but it is hard to find office job. I have to work very long hours to make
ends meet. BME people find it very hard to get decent jobs
I want to find better paid job and more part time hours. Because I can’t speak the language
English very well it has been very hard. More help should be given to people to find good
jobs and good rate of pay.
Learning more skills. Education, so I can get a better job.
Less racism and sexism on a personal, cultural and structural level.
Local ladies only gym would be nice and affordable in price.
More day centres for older people with physical or mental disability
More services around sexual health, mental health and healthy eating, either free or low cost.
Using more creative and innovative ways to reach out and raise awareness.
Support as a carer for someone with severe Mental Health needs and elderly parents.

Demographic Change
The open question, “How do think the demography and diversity has changed over the
last decade in Manchester?” elicited responses from over 80% of respondents with
nearly all recognising the increased diversity. There were different views given here on
how positive or negative these changes are, which are reflected in the quantitative
responses. What was interesting from both positive and negative responses was that
there needed to be far more done to enable understanding between communities. This
included those who saw minority communities as being too insular and those who saw
more need for the majority community to embrace diversity.
It is great to see people of different cultures and faiths living together.
It seems that everyone is a Moslem and wears Moslem dress. I don't feel Manchester
is a place for me anymore and want to live somewhere else
It’s changed a lot in a good way. Manchester mixes nicely between races and religions
- one of the best in the world I’d say.
It is now harder to express and live out your faith than it was 10-30 years ago - the
world has gone pc mad.
It has changed over the years but people don’t mix with each other. They live in their
own communities and they won’t want outside people going in to their communities.
There is a lack of trust in some communities.
It's getting even more vibrant and exciting as it diversifies
Not a lot in fact. We are pitted against each other by government and media. Poverty
exacerbates this.
Over the last decade the balance has shifted a little, with the arrival of quite a few
eastern Europeans and particularly Roma. We've also seen the Muslim community
grow in confidence and engagement, which is great, but not always straightforward.
Quite a lot. It was so quiet and everyone was happy. But now everyone’s scared of
gangs and violence and shootings.
The increase in Muslim places of worship and culture is disturbing, as is the
promotion of Manchester as a centre of sexual "anything goes" as being acceptable.
The rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer. More males are committing
serious crimes but are getting away with it as the rape conviction rates are terrible.
We have been enriched by so many cultures coming together in our city and
neighbourhood. However some of the extreme opinions expressed regarding
newcomers are very worrying
There have been positives and negatives within both. My own community is rich
because of its diverse nature. However I know that this is not the case everywhere.
The vast majority of respondents were not indifferent to the changes occurring in the
community.
Whilst 50% saw them as good for the community in general, 21% saw them as bad.
This becomes more starkly into focus when 35% say that these changes cause social

tension, even though 42% say they improve social cohesion. This dichotomy of views
reflects those demonstrated in the qualitative responses.
This polarisation of perspectives should be of concern to all involved in public life as it
clearly threatens community cohesion. More honest, open debate on the changing
nature of our communities should be encouraged. This could include schools devoting
as much time as can be allowed within PSCHE as well as finding other opportunities,
perhaps using Heritage Lottery Fund or other sources, to fund projects investigating
different cultures of young people or, indeed, adults.
Over 40% of respondents also say that these changes are draining resources available
to deliver services against 23% saying that it is adding resources.
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35.00
very bad quite bad makes no
difference
quite good very good
percentage
What do you think of the demographic change
for the community in general?
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35.00
greatly
improve
social
cohesion
improve
social
cohesion
makes no
difference
cause social
tension
cause great
social
tension
percentage
Do you think the demographic changes...?

46% say that this is worsening the quality of services delivered to the community in
Manchester with only 17% saying it is improving them.
There is a responsibility here for public services – Police, Local Authorities, Health and
Fire Services – to produce some clear responses addressing these findings. Whilst it
is clear that some people, from their other responses, are conflating cuts with
demographic change, there is enough evidence of fear of change for some redesign
of services and, in particular, improved community engagement. Public services
should consider positive messages they wish to promote. Again, the Greater
Manchester devolution agenda may help here with opportunities for collaboration
across the County to produce strong messaging. However, this should be backed up
by improved engagement with, and between, communities as previously highlighted.
All of this also points to the need to take into account the increasing diversity of the
community, their cultural, faith and other differences, in the planning of services. To
enable this, those responsible for delivering and planning services need increased
awareness of the issues involved, with FN4M and other needing to plan provision to
meet this need. The engagement agenda therefore needs to be followed up by one
that gives different communities real input and involvement in planning with maximum
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5.00
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25.00
30.00
35.00
40.00
large drain slight drain no
difference
slight
addition
large
addition
percentage
How do you think this is affecting resources
available to deliver services?
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5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
35.00
40.00
largely
worsening
worsening no
difference
improving largely
improving
percentage
How do you think this is affecting the quality of
services delivered to the community in Manchester?

opportunity, as appropriate, to deliver services instead of, or in partnership with,
statutory agencies.
Racism
5% of respondents reported that other ethnic groups were less intelligent compared to
theirs with 16.7%, 1 in 6, saying they were less friendly. This starkly shows the need
to increase work bringing people from different faiths and backgrounds together. It also
speaks to the need for more education to reduce fear and disavow myths.
Such work must take place in schools but faith and other groups should look for other
opportunities to engage adults. The We Stand Together initiative and the Greater
Manchester BME Network could look to be part of this, along with interfaith groups,
and should design and pilot with new ideas for inter-community engagement.
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
Less intelligent Just as intelligent More intelligent
percentage
View of other ethnic groups intelligence
compared to own ethnic group
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
They are less friendly Just as friendly More friendly
percentage
View of other ethnic groups friendliness
compared to own ethnic group

Barriers to Accessing Services
The key barriers to accessing services were Time, Location, Work life, Transport and
Family Life. However, over a quarter of respondents also reported significant barriers
because of Staff within services, Service Culture and lack of Understanding of
Services. This requires a specific response as, with Manchester being so diverse,
staff should have a good knowledge of how to respond to minorities and services
should be designed to maximise accessibility.
More than one in five had significant barriers because of Mental Health, Physical
Health, their own Culture, lack of English or Education. This has a wide range of
implications for services, echoing the need for increased awareness of cultural issues
as well as finding other ways to increase accessibility.
Prevents my access
completely or sometimes
%
Time 41.51
Location 38.36
Work life 36.48
Transport 30.57
Service Culture 22.73
Understanding of Services 20.00
Mental Health 20.25
Family life 25.95
My Culture 18.35
Spoken Language 15.72
Physical Health 19.62
Spouse/Family 16.03
My level of Education 16.35
Staff within services 25.64
Personal Safety 15.48
Childcare 15.82
General (not specialist) service 12.84
0
20
40
60
80
percentage
How much are these factors a barrier to accessing services?
Prevents my access completely Prevents my access sometimes Prevents my access occasionally

Caring for relatives/others 18.35
Physical Disability 10.83
Learning Disability 7.01
Sensory Disability 8.39
Just over a third of those who answered the qualitative question “What barriers do you
face to accessing services?” wrote in that they faced none, or words to that effect.
However, several respondents cited funding and service cuts, which has been a reality
for the last several years.
Other themes emerging from the qualitative answers included discrimination on the
grounds of race religion, gender and disability; distance of services; time – including
opening hours and lack of time to travel to and engage; lack of childcare; language and
lack of expertise/knowledge of workers.
Specific quotes include:
A lack of language-based information for BME carers. Services are no longer
publicized as they used to be, due to lack of funding. I was attending Asian Carer
project, but their funding has been cut and people like me are losing out.
Accessing them outside of my working hours
Assumptions are made about my disabilities when I am the expert on me. Tolerance
and empathy can be in short supply and sometimes because the service provider is
over worked and not appreciated.
Cost of Transport, times opening. Will it be over crowded? Will I get seen on time? Is
the service going to close down due to funding cuts?
Distance from home, opening hours, not knowing of their existence or not finding
services that I need.
Due to my immigration status I had to go to so many services seeking help. As soon
as they found out that I had no recourse to public funds they said they could not help
me. They did not even try to find out about the DV concession.
I find not many services are willing to support Asian women who has drinking
problems and mental health issues.
There are very few support services available to me and the stigma of attending them
is much higher. When I attempted to find parenting support some years ago there
was nothing available to me because I am white, financially secure and have a
degree. I feel my family suffered as a result of this. We all need support.
Sometimes some service providers have pre conceived ideas about people from
different cultures. Secondly, I feel there are no specific services for African people-
the so called black African and Caribbean services are not specific for me. I'm black
but my culture is completely different from the black Caribbean and therefore I do not
accesses such services. I went once but did not feel I was understood. Thirdly, there
are some organisations which paint a good image that they provide a service for
BME and yet they are there to have and protect their jobs rather than creating
activities and services that support their clients. Such services are more interested in
the numbers that attend the service rather than what services they provide.

Sometimes my disability can impact on accessing services because of my location.
By this I mean not having to travel across Manchester to speak to someone about my
health issues.
Sometimes services are non-existent or not easily accessible, i.e. need to travel out
of area. Other times I would prefer to use a service not in the area due confidential
reasons
The group work that I used to attend is no longer running as they had lost the
funding. Even the advice centre is closed near my house. I have to change two
buses and come to this group that someone told me about at Hosla Project. In other
services I find it difficult to make them understand my language, and other groups
don’t provide childcare.
Waiting time for NHS service.
When I access services, specialist or other stereotyping takes place, which I believe
is a lack of quality training to service providers/ employees. Stereotyping causes the
need for me to explain myself to reverse their beliefs in order for me to gain access to
the right services.
Without the knowledge of the availability of those services.
Work commitment, childcare, looking after family especially elderly parents.
There is a clear need to improve equality and cultural diversity training for workers in
the public sector and those in voluntary organisations delivering both public, and other,
services. There should be no excuse with the very diverse Manchester community for
any worker not trying to overcome such barriers.
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
percentage
What services do you access?

Recommendations
1. Statutory Services
1.1. All statutory services should look to increase and improve engagement with
minority communities, including disabled, LGBT and faith communities, and
create opportunities for these groups to meet, possibly working with the We
Stand Together initiative.
1.2. Police should look to increase and improve engagement in areas where
Muslims live, including with Muslim youth groups, and increase recruitment of
Muslim police officers and PCSOs.
1.3. Statutory services should explore redesign to maximise access for minority
communities including how they promote and market themselves. Greater
Manchester collaboration for marketing and promotion should be considered.
1.4. Reducing anxiety and stress when people engage with statutory services should
be a key principle.
2. Training and Development
2.1. A new staff mental health training programme should be developed as a priority
to address issues ranging from understanding anxiety and stress to depressions
and dementia. This should include clear referral routes and procedures.
2.2. Improved equality and cultural diversity training should be developed for
workers in the public sector and those in voluntary organisations delivering both
public, and other, services.
3. Faith and other Voluntary Sector Innovation
3.1. Faith groups should look to undertake more work to support people with both
their physical and mental health, possibly eliciting the support of local NHS
Clinical Commissioning Groups.
3.2. Faith groups should be encouraged to develop befriending, mentoring and
counselling projects to address mental health and the new Greater Manchester
Mayoralty should look to allocate funds to such work as part of health budget
devolution.
3.3. Faith groups should look to develop community work that includes specific
provision to support people in skills development, accessing work and
supporting people into employment. Opportunities such as running Jobs Clubs,
possibly eliciting the support of local Housing Associations.
3.4. Better targeted provision of jobs clubs and financial advice surgeries for
Muslims, possibly using the example of JCom from the Jewish community.
This could be followed up by Manchester Council of Mosques.
3.5. Creative responses to childcare needs should be investigated with the
possibility of running social enterprises within establishments that have both
whole day care and short term care to cover one or two hours where needed.
3.6. Faith groups should explore social enterprise opportunities in housing projects
for asylum seekers or others in need, possibly in conjunction with Housing
Associations.

3.7. English courses and groups for non-speakers or writers should be a priority for
colleges and community groups and funding should be made available to
enable this.
3.8. Key to this would seem to be better awareness of different groups, creating
opportunities to engage for those who might not have previously. This could be
faith groups engaging with LGBT groups, English-born people engaging with
recent immigrants or Christians engaging with Muslims. Creative ways should
be found to enable this, both with young and adult groups.
3.9. Local Jobs Clubs, youth groups and other services should explore running
single gender services both for the benefit of faith groups but also for others who
may find them more accessible and safe.
3.10. Schools, youth and community groups should be encouraged and supported,
including by FN4M, to develop heritage projects investigating different cultures
within their local communities.
3.11. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) publication How Well Do You Know
Your Neighbours? (Dec 2015) that celebrates the multitude of faiths and
cultures, should be promoted to groups across Manchester as a methodology
of improving engagement. It is part of the JRF’s programme on ‘Risk, Trust and
Relationships’ – see www.jrf.org.uk.
4. Faith Network 4 Manchester
4.1. Faith Network 4 Manchester should look to develop infrastructure support for
faith groups to develop their community work.
4.2. Faith Network 4 Manchester should seek to work in partnership with Near
Neighbours on their funding initiative as well as fundraise for micro-grants that
can be made to local communities to deliver their own interfaith and intercultural
projects.
4.3. FN4M and other equality groups should work alongside statutory services to
maximise the input and involvement of minority communities in planning and
delivery of services. This may include developing partnerships or using
collaborative, rather than competitive, commissioning.
4.4. FN4M should continue and, if possible, expand its In Your Faith work in schools
and youth groups. Schools should devote as much time as possible within
PSCHE and take other opportunities to increase awareness of cultural and faith
diversity.
4.5. FN4M should look to design and pilot new ideas for adult inter-community
engagement in partnership with interfaith groups, the We Stand Together
initiative and the BME Network.
5. Further Research
5.1. A feasibility study of creating a city-wide (or Greater Manchester wide)
interpreter service, with a partnership of providers, should be undertaken.
5.2. A piece of work looking at travel to key services, especially with the closure of
police stations, hospitals and health centres, should be undertaken to ensure
that public transport is available, improved or supplemented by community
transport if necessary.
May 2016

Manchester's Services for Minority Communities Report 2016

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Manchester's Services for Minority Communities Report 2016