Its dozen members, to be announced shortly, will include officers from councils and housing associations, tenant groups, voluntary organisations and the government.
The practitioner group is being organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing and is the first of several groups to be set up by the Community Cohesion Panel, formed after last year's riots.
The group will study housing management, lettings and private sector renewal programmes. It will begin issuing guidance in a year's time and could commission research. Among the early issues to be addressed will be the role of specialist housing associations.
At this week's Chartered Institute of Housing conference, Community Cohesion Panel chair Ted Cantle said some black and minority ethnic associations could be reinforcing segregation of communities.
He said: "If a black and minority ethnic association is dealing with a specific need of a community that is valid. But some are catering for BME communities without such a need. This is a statement of hope that they will be a better provider."
Cantle said if such provision was not legitimate, society was marginalising people through housing provision.
But he stressed he was not arguing for complete housing integration if BME communities did not want it. Instead, he said, integration could be achieved through jobs, schools and other means of contact.
Shahid Malik, former commissioner for racial equality, said he agreed in principle. But BME housing associations would continue for the foreseeable future, he said: "I would like to see a situation in which BME housing associations are not needed but we are not in that situation."
Source
Housing Today
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