Theresa May Orders Audit To Tackle Racial Disparities In UK’s Public Services

The Prime Minister has announced that she has ordered an "unprecedented audit" to tackle racial disparities within the UK's public services. The audit's findings will be made public, the government said in a press release, to "give every person the ability to check how their race affects the way they are treated by public services" such as health, education and employment. The findings, which will also be broken down by gender, geographic location and income, will ultimately be used in new government policy to solve these problems, the press release said. Theresa May has ordered the audit shortly after a study published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission warned that government action is needed to tackle "deep-rooted racial inequality" in the UK which could "exacerbate divisions in our society." The study found that people in ethnic majority households are nearly twice as likely to be living in relative poverty than white people. The study also found, shockingly, that a black woman living in the UK is seven times more likely to be detained under mental health legislation than a white woman. "Today, I am launching an audit to look into racial disparities in our public services that stretches right across government," May said in the government's press release. "It will highlight the differences in outcomes for people of different backgrounds, in every area from health to education, childcare to welfare, employment, skills and criminal justice." "This audit will reveal difficult truths, but we should not be apologetic about shining a light on injustices as never before," May added. "It is only by doing so we can make this country work for everyone, not just a privileged few."