COUNCIL bosses are striving to stamp out racism where it exists within Town Hall corridors.

A special working group is to be created in an all-out drive to tackle any "institutional racism" present among Bolton Council employees.

The action follows the publication of the McPherson Report, in the wake of an inquiry into the murder of black youth, Stephen Lawrence, in a savage, unprovoked street attack in April, 1993.

The report has wide-ranging effects for local authorities and large organisations, including the police force.

And the council's moves come months after David Wilmot, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, admitted that "institutionalised racism" existed within his ranks.

Now Bolton Council is to put its services and procedures under the microscope to look for any similar evidence.

Cllr Bob Howarth, leader of the council, said: "Although as an authority we have made great strides and have an active policy of valuing diversity we must accept prejudice and discrimination exists in the authority as it is defined by McPherson.

"We must as a matter of urgency put our house in order. We also accept that in a workforce of 13,000 it is probably not possible to eradicate prejudice and discrimination completely.

"We must continue to strive to meet this challenge and ensure that the council conducts its affairs and provides services pertinent to the needs of residents of all cultures."

The anti-racism action plan, to be overseen by a members working party, comes after council services were compared to standards set down by the Council of Racial Equality.

Departments received a score out of five on how they dealt with racial issues, with Social Services and Leisure Service gaining the highest score of three.

The Leisure Service score follows on recent campaigns aimed at kicking racism out of football in Bolton.

Other council department heads have now been told to draw up immediate action plans to address racial issues. Recommendations include more effective consultation with minority communities about the services on offer and training of staff in minority issues.

All departments will also have access to multi-lingual staff for both Urdu and Gujerati by April next year.

Cllr Howarth added: "We are looking to tackle the initial problems quickly and then we will continue to strive to do better each year.

"I will personally do everything in my power to make sure that the needs of all citizens in Bolton are met by this council."

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