In May 2008 the Government Equalities Office established a cross-party taskforce chaired by Baroness Uddin to take practical action to make local councils more representative.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic women account for less than 1 per cent. of England’s 20,000 councillors. To be more representative of society as a whole, the number of Black, Asian and ethnic minority women councillors needs to be increased from around 149 of all councillors in England to nearer 1,000.

The taskforce has been leading a national outreach programme to raise awareness of the role of councillors, provide practical advice and encourage more women to engage in public life.

Today I am announcing a councillor mentoring-shadowing scheme as part of the taskforce’s work programme. It will be delivered by Operation Black Vote and will allow 50 women to shadow councillors from participating local authorities around Britain and receive training. The scheme will commence in the autumn and will provide women with support in taking their next steps to becoming a local councillor.