Leaked MoJ plan pushes race-based hiring panels after concluding too many white candidates are hired
The leaked Race Action Plan proposes ethnically diverse hiring panels, talent schemes and interview coaching for ethnic minority staff after concluding white employees are overrepresented in senior ro
Editor’s note: If you would like to review the full Race Action Plan, please get in touch and I can provide a copy. If you report on this document or any stories arising from it, please credit this Substack as the source.
The Ministry of Justice will use race-based hiring panels after concluding that too many white candidates are being hired and promoted, a leaked Race Action Plan reveals.
The plan, published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), says the department will test “ethnically diverse recruitment panels” as part of a series of diversity initiatives aimed at increasing the recruitment and promotion of ethnic minority staff.
Senior MoJ staff are told to “proactively seek to encourage ethnic minority colleagues to apply for senior roles” and to “encourage ethnic minority candidates who are unsuccessful at interview to seek feedback”.
The plan also includes “talent programmes for ethnic minority staff” and “the use of mock interviews for ethnic minority candidates” among a series of diversity initiatives for non-white staff.
The leaked document proposes race-conscious recruitment measures after concluding that, although ethnic minorities are overrepresented in the courts system overall, they are underrepresented in senior management.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said the diversity hiring panels are “not only immoral but almost certainly unlawful”.
He continued: “Labour’s choice for Judicial Appointments Committee Chair told Parliament she doesn’t believe in appointing solely on merit. We need a return to real equality before the law, not another government Race Action Plan that is, itself, racist.”
“Insisting on ethnic quotas on recruitment panels goes beyond what the Equality Act allows and amounts to discrimination,” Timothy added.
The document acknowledges that ethnic minorities already make up 20.5% of HM Courts & Tribunals Service staff, above their 16.9% share of the UK’s economically active population, but claims that senior officials “are not similarly representative of this data”.
The plan was sent to MoJ staff on 5 June this year, just weeks after the conviction of Henry Nowak’s killer.
An MoJ source told me that some staff were shocked that the department was pushing DEI initiatives after the release of police bodycam footage showing Nowak’s death.
The government’s handling of Nowak’s murder has led to accusations of two-tier policing after Nowak’s Sikh killer was believed when he accused his victim of racism, while Nowak was arrested as he lay dying.
The Race Action Plan states that all senior officials “must visibly champion” the values of diversity and tells all MoJ staff that they must support the delivery of the plan.
The document also claims that “the lived experience of ethnic minority staff is... more negative than that of white colleagues”.
As evidence, it cites “listening sessions with ethnic minority colleagues”, during which participants claimed that “grievances raised by ethnic minority colleagues are not always handled fairly or effectively”.
The plan also points to relatively small differences between white and ethnic minority staff in responses to internal staff surveys.
For example, 3.4% of ethnic minority staff, compared with 2.2% of white staff, reported dissatisfaction with the appraisal and reporting system.
The plan also highlighted a slight gap in perceived access to learning and development opportunities, with 6.1% of ethnic minority staff reporting a lack of opportunities, compared with 5.6% of white staff.
Officials were also told to “address non-inclusive behaviours”.
Meanwhile, staff networks for ethnic minority civil servants would hold “safe listening spaces”, while senior civil servants acting as ‘Diversity Champions’ were instructed to create “an internal agreed communication that responds quickly following incidents of racial tension or disorder”.
The leaked plan comes as the Ministry of Justice faces scrutiny over its handling of the Henry Nowak case, which prompted accusations of two-tier policing.
It also follows growing political debate over diversity, equity and inclusion policies across the Civil Service.
An HMCTS spokesperson said: “Our rules are clear - no candidate must ever be given an unfair advantage in the workplace. Selection processes are conducted entirely on merit through fair and open competition and in accordance with established eligibility criteria.”
What do you think about the MoJ’s race-based hiring panels? Let me know in the comments below.