Govt to see number of Blacks, Asians in firms bidding for contract

London, Aug 7 (UNI) Companies that bid for multimillion-pound official contracts will be rejected if they do not employ enough black and Asian workers, under a new proposal, approved by the British government.

A committee of seven ministers has drawn up plans to question competing companies about their attitudes to race before choosing which to employ. Firms will be asked to provide figures showing the numbers of their black and Asian employees, and these compared with the proportion of people from ethnic minorities living near the company's offices, will be a factor when deciding the winning bid.

Three pilot schemes have been authorised with the support of Downing Street and is the first time that ''positive vetting'' in procurement has been approved by a British Government. It follows the release of figures showing that people from ethnic minorities are twice as likely to be unemployed as the white majority.

The plans were reportedly approved last month by the Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force, which brings together seven government departments. If the pilot schemes are successful, positive vetting across other all government departments could be introduced in 2007, according to the report in The Times.

However, criticising the move, a spokesman for the British Chambers of Commerce said the plans would hinder the competitive tendering process and make it more difficult and expensive. ''Public tenders are already complicated enough,'' he said. ''Lengthening the applications will only further dissuade businesses from applying for public work. This will do nothing to ensure that Government contracts go to the firms with the most competitive bids.'' A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that the pilot schemes had been approved after consultation with business leaders, unions and the Commission for Racial Equality. The three schemes involve contracts with Job Centre Plus, the Identity and Passport Agency and the Department for Education and Skills.

UNI XC SI BD1636