The Consortium recognises that the concept of a “black ” is a political shorthand used to cover the complex needs and issues of very diverse communities.  Nottinghamshire has 3 large and distinct “black communities” and a number of growing and equally diverse smaller communities.   The specialist infrastructure supporting these groups and communities has itself to work through very complex issues in meeting the needs of the groups serving these these communities.  The IIP will need to incorporate the very different roles and perspectives of BME specialist infrastructure and that of “mainstream” infrastructure in addressing the needs of black groups.

There is a strong feeling within city groups that the black voluntary sector and its communities have been over consulted with little action taken in response to the issues they have raised.  This has resulted in a lack of confidence in consultation processes and a reluctance to engage.  This will present significant challenges in terms of establishing people willing to give time to serve on the working group and to engage with its work. 

It will therefore be critical that the working group addresses the issues that black groups & communities themselves have defined as important as well as those set out in the guidance from GOEM.

Some work has begun to explore BME infrastructure needs in the north of the county where populations are even more isolated and fragmentary than elsewhere.  The review will need to take account of the different stages of development of the black and voluntary sector in the city and county areas, and the possible differences in the kind of support needed in areas where there are clusters of similar interests and those in which individuals and families have to make links across greater distances to be part of groups or networks.