We have prepared two new briefings on these bills. These outline our concerns over the legislative proposals in their current form.

You can read or download our briefing on the Mental Health Bill, which received its second reading in the House of Commons on 16 April, here:

• Download our briefing on the Mental Health Bill (pdf, 66kb)
• Read the briefing online

The Offender Management Bill received its second reading in the House of Lords on 17 April:

• Download our briefing on the Offender Management Bill (pdf, 39kb)
• Read the briefing online

This pack, which was originally published by the CRE last year, includes a section on elections and good race relations. This section is intended to support local councils, schools, and community organisations in maintaining and promoting good relations during an election period.

The briefing explains the relevant law and suggests some practical steps that councils and community groups might take in three areas:

• challenging false or misleading information;
• use of council premises for meetings; and
• tackling racist harassment and abuse.

Defeating Organised Racial Hatred also offers guidance on tackling racist far right activity, using criminal and civil law to deal with organised racist activity, and includes briefings on Islamophobia, anti-semitism, asylum and immigration, and Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

• Download the Defeating Organised Racial Hatred information pack (pdf, 1.7Mb)

The Local Government Analysis and Research unit has published a report and summary of the findings of the 2006 survey.

Among its findings were that 95.9% of councillors were white and 4.1% came from an ethnic minority background. This is significantly lower than the proportion of ethnic minority people in Britain as a whole (9.5%, according to the 2001 census).

The report covers the personal background of councillors and their work as councillors. It describes councillors' views on a range of issues, and includes comparative data for the wider population.

• National Census of Local Authority Councillors 2006 (LGAR website)

This report of the JCHR's inquiry was published on 22 March. It considers human rights issues raised by the treatment of asylum seekers, from the time when they first claim asylum in the UK, through to either the granting of asylum, or, for asylum seekers whose claims are refused, their departure from the UK.

The report includes sections covering at the human rights and common law principles relevant to the inquiry, access to finanical support and accommodation, provision of healthcare, treatment of children, detention and removal, and the media's coverage of asylum issues.

The JCHR concludes that, by refusing permission for asylum seekers to work and operating a system of support which results in widespread destitution, the Government's treatment of asylum seekers, in a number of cases, reaches the Article 3 ECHR threshold of inhuman and degrading treatment.

• Download this report (UK Parliament website)

The University of Hull has published a report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on how parts of Britain's economy still rely on slave labour.

The report claims that 'tens of thousands' of people are victims of forced labour in Britain. As well as in the sex trade, which is believed to include as many as 5,000 under-16s coerced into prostitution, violence-ridden and illegal practices can also be found in industries ranging from crop picking and factory work to nursing and the catering trade.

The Home Office is due to publish an action plan on tackling people trafficking and helping its victims in spring 2008.

You can read The Guardian's article here:

• Slavery returns to Britain on large scale, study says

The full report, and a summary of its findings, is avaialble to download in PDF format from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website.

• Contemporary Slavery in the UK: Overview and key issues (Joseph Rowntree Foundation website)

The Bulletin is published regularly while Parliament is sitting. You can read the latest edition, issue number 14, here:

• Read the latest issue of the Parliamentary Bulletin online

A bicentennial exhibition at Westminster Hall, London

23 May to 23 September 2007

March 25 sees the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Bill from 1807, the legislation which marked the end of Britain's part in the international slave trade. To mark the occasion, Parliament is holding an exhibition running throughout the summer, which will be open to the public (admission is free of charge).

The exbibition will aim to:

• explore and understand the role of Parliament and the public in the abolition of the British slave trade;
• contribute to the national programme of bicentenary exhibitions and events promoting a better understanding of the Atlantic slave trade and its legacies;
• engage the public with the history and work of Parliament;
• encourage new audiences to gain access to and understand Parliament and its work, and
• allow public access to objects from the archive and collections of the House of Lords and House of Commons.

Paintings, manuscripts, books and other historical items will be on display throughout the exhibition, including petitions from the people of Manchester for and against the slave trade, leading anti-slavery campaigner Thomas Clarkson's chest and contents, and many other items from the Palace of Westminster's own archives.

For more details see, the UK Parliament website:

• The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament and the People (UK Parliament website)

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published new research entitled 'Electoral participation of South Asian communities in England and Wales'. The report was authored by Ed Fieldhouse and David Cummins.

The study measures electoral registration and turnout among South Asian communities in England and Wales, based on analysis of marked electoral registers and the 2001 Census.

• Electoral participation of South Asian communities in England and Wales (JRF website)

We have published a briefing on the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, which received its second reading in the Commons on 22 January.

• Download our briefing on this bill (word, 77kb)

Writing in the Daily Telegraph on 13 January, the chancellor set out his belief that 'a stronger sense of patriotic purpose... would help us better integrate our ethnic communities, respond to migration and show people the responsibilities as well as rights that must be at the heart of modern citizenship.'

You can read the full text of the article, 'We need a United Kingdom', here:

• Read the full text of this article (Daily Telegraph website)

This submission aims to highlight those issues within the policy review that are of particular relevance to ethnic minority children and young people.

• Download the full text of our submission (pdf, 189kb)
• Read the submission online