Segregation and social exclusion has reached "worrying levels" and is fuelling inequality in some areas of Britain, a report has found. Women in some communities are denied "even their basic rights as British residents", the Casey Review said. Dame Louise Casey accused public bodies of ignoring or condoning divisive or harmful religious practices for fear of being called racist. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said he would study the findings "closely". Dame Louise's review into the integration of minorities was commissioned by former prime minister David Cameron as part of the government's efforts to tackle extremism. Among her recommendations were that immigrants could take an "integration oath" and schoolchildren be taught British values. Her review said there was a sense that people from different backgrounds got on well together at a general level, but community cohesion "did not feel universally strong across the country". She found "high levels of social and economic isolation in some places, and cultural and religious practices in communities that are not only holding some of our citizens back but run contrary to British values and sometimes our laws". Her report highlighted the plight of women in some Muslim communities, who she said were less likely to speak English and more likely to be kept at home. Top five nationalities: Women with poor spoken English % by country of birth "Misogyny and patriarchy has to come to an end," Dame Louise said, adding that public institutions must not fear being racist or Islamophobic. But Faeeza Vaid, from the Muslim Women's Network, said migrant communities should not be blamed for failing to integrate. "We also see segregated white communities," she told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme. "Integration is everyone's responsibility." Muslim areas under the spotlight - BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins Afraid of being dubbed racist, afraid of losing support, afraid of challenging minority communities - that is Dame Louise Casey's view of Britain's decision-makers. Criticising politicians and officials is the easy bit. The significance of this report is that it targets individual communities and faiths. It contrasts with the language of people living "parallel lives"- a term used in an earlier report and designed to be neutral, placing no more blame on one community than another. Dame Louise makes clear her outrage at what she calls "regressive practices" targeting women and girls. She accepts she is putting Muslim areas under the spotlight. The question for Dame Louise - an official not immune to criticism herself - is how would she achieve change? What if an elected politician refused to take her oath? What if some people - of whatever community - simply prefer to live and educate their children separately? Iqbal Bhana, a government adviser on anti-Muslim hate crime, rejected the report's claim that Britain was becoming more segregated. "I don't think we are divided," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "If you go to places like Bradford or Leicester you see second and third-generation people moving out of some of these communities." During her research, Dame Louise spoke to women in areas of Birmingham and Manchester that she said could not leave their homes without their husband's permission. She blamed those in authority for "ducking the issue" of women's inequality out of a wish to respect different cultures. 70-85% of the populations in some wards in Blackburn, Birmingham, Burnley and Bradford are Muslim 2.8m people in Britain are Muslim - the biggest religious group after Christians 511 schools in 43 areas take more than 50% pupils from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds 27% of births in 2014 were to mothers born outside the UK "If [the women] were white and living in Surrey, we would all be up in arms about it," she said. She said not talking about these issues would only "give ammunition to the extreme far-right and Islamic extremists", who are the people "who set out to divide us". Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on social integration, agreed that division had bred extremism and was "sapping our communities of trust". Immigration was another theme in the report, in which she said some towns and cities were "struggling to adjust" to an influx of foreign nationals. On a visit to Sheffield, she said, she found some schools were coping with an increase in Eastern European children from 150 to nearly 2,500 over a five-year period. The report also highlighted a "persistent disadvantage" facing black men in the workplace, as well as white working class children on free meals who underperformed at school. The report made 12 recommendations, including: A programme of projects to boost cohesion, such as local IT courses and sport activities for children Councils should regularly collect statistics on hate crime or deficiencies in English Government and councils should share their approaches to tackling segregation Schools should promote British values to help build integration, tolerance and citizenship A review of the "rights and obligations" of immigrants likely to settle in the UK New immigrants could have to swear "an oath of integration with British values and society" Funding for school projects that encourage children of different backgrounds to mix On top of English language classes for adults, special classes to tackle any "cultural barriers" to a person's employment prospects More funding for local English language classes and a review of whether courses are reaching people who need them Councils should investigate whether their housing policies help or hinder integration Better checks when children are removed from mainstream education New oath for public office-holders pledging "tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs" Communities secretary Mr Javid said Britain had "long been home to lots of different cultures and communities", but added that "all of us have to be part of one society". While it was right to celebrate the "positive contribution" diverse groups make to British life, nobody should be excluded from it or left behind, he said. "We need to take a serious look at the facts and must not shy away from the challenges we face. "Dame Louise's report is a valuable contribution, and I will be studying her findings closely." He said he would be reporting back in the New Year.
Hopefully when Mrs May invokes article 50, we can see the points system in place that will require better than 'Where get money?' in their English vocabulary.
To say there isn't segregation in parts of the uk is a lie. Be it Muslim or indeed Eastern European. Assimilation is key to a harmonious multicultural society. You don't need to shun your own values and traditions but to blank our own just isn't on.
Its not only Muslims, but we are right to preserve and maintain our tolerant society, even tho at times its does take some doing. So far we are fairing OK., a bit like Moyes, heading in the right direction but still some way to go.
Agreed. It's looking likely sod all will change though. Except a tariff on me going on holiday ha. Good job I prefer other countries ha
The fear of being seen as racist is what holds his country back. You can voice an opinion without being racist. How can you be an accepting and welcoming society without being frank and bringing in measures likely to encourage cooperation.
I'm off to live in Canada! I like bacon and maple syrup. I'll also be in a horrid time zone where I can avoid the football results coming in!
I studied this problem when I done my social science degree a few years back..It is a massive problem in the UK and other western countries and is only going to get worse with some of the 'minority' communities expanding at an alarming rate.
The argument of women's inequality has nothing to do with us, in their societies the woman is a second class citizen, they bring it upon themselves. In my lifetime I have visited many Moslem countries, Indonesia Saudi Arabia, Iran, and a few in Africa, they are all the same, nothing we do will ever change them, the women are kept out of sight and the men are hypocritical beyond belief , the ones I worked with were drinking and visiting brothels at every opportunity. We have allowed them into our cities and towns and now we are reaping the harvest and we have to face the consequences . In my opinion it will end in tears.
I call bullsh1t. You've been to all these countries and yet can't even spell the word "muslim" properly? And reaping what harvest exactly? I work in an area with muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia. Also have Sikhs from India and people from Eastern European countries. The first generation Sikh women, the Polish and Romanians also know about as little English as the muslim women do. People need to try to have a deeper level of understanding to the problem instead of trying to peddle soundbites from the Daily Mail like this ar5ehole whose post I've quoted. There is no doubt that while there is a problem, the situation improves with every generation. The Pakistani community is the worst, but I've found the Bangladeshi and Somali communities have a real emphasis towards education and are taking an active role in the local community - particularly the women. I've found their poor English is through poor education not some male chauvanism - the husbands couldn't give a **** what their wives were involved in through our community action programmes. There is a problem there but the situation isn't dire as some try to make out. I also think that the 12 recommendations in the Opening Post are actually well considered and should be implemented together to help overcome the problem.
I would say the exact opposite is true..When numbers were relatively small, children especially mixed with the children from the wider community. Now that the numbers in almost every city in the UK are quite substantial, this is increasingly not the case now and even from a young age and within schools they are cutting themselves off.
Ooooh I don't know....I'm a Muslim....my woman is equal enough..granted I don't discuss how slutty she is with my mates down the pub...but my Muslim woman livin a life she's happy with. My white British Muslim wife thinks British men in general, since we are generalising, are insecure and feel inadequate about their own sexuality, that's why they need to over sex their spouses in order to look like Alpha males when in reality they are consistently In turmoil over which one of their mates she is shagging behind his back. That one always makes me giggle.
Did you really study it? At degree level too? Must mean you are right. I studied it at real life level...didn't get a certificate for it though.
Yes I did, and it was Muslim spokesmen who highlighted the fact that community segregation was a major factor in the Burnley/Bradford riots..Nothing has been addressed to combat this and the problem is getting worse..
