Thanks to all of you for coming here today, it's great to see so many of you here for what is the last of our listening events. As most of you know, we've been travelling around England over the last five weeks to hear from people about what they think the next steps in tackling race inequality should be.

Hazel Blears spoke at our first event in Manchester - one of the most diverse cities in the country and we are ending in one of the most diverse cities in the World.
So why are we here?

We published our discussion document in February to kick-start a debate by asking some fundamental questions about the way we go about tackling, and eventually I hope, eliminating race inequalities.

The reason we have, to an extent, gone back to the fundamentals is this: For all the progress we have made - and I am in no doubt that we have seen a transformation in race equality and how the government and others address it - there are areas where we have not seen the changes we want to see.

Additionally, the new Equalities Bill and the formation of the Equality and Human Rights Commission are changing the landscape of equalities work and we must plan how we navigate that landscape carefully. We also face the challenge of difficult economic times and need to consider how the economic slowdown might impact on communities who are already disadvantaged and how we can mitigate against that.

We have been speaking to people around the country because we know that this is a subject that is hugely important to them and where we in Government don't have all the answers. We spoken to a huge range of people - from large central departments, NDPBs such as the Big Lottery Fund and also third sector organisations, community groups and larger charities. We have also been seeking views through an innovative social marketing site - www.be-utd.org.

Now there is and has been a huge amount of work to address race inequality in recent years. In 2000, we passed the groundbreaking Race Relations (Amendment) Act. In 2005 we launched the first ever cross-government race equality strategy - bringing together the work of all the different Departments across Government, setting a clear direction and making sure that everyone took their responsibilities seriously. We have also funded race equality work across the country through the Connecting Communities and Connecting Communities Plus funds.

The past decade seen a remarkable change:

• People from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups are more likely to have a job than they were ten years ago
• The proportion of Pakistani and Bangladeshi children living in low income households has fallen by a fifth
• In the past five years Black Caribbean pupils have made the biggest improvements in GCSE results
• And increasingly people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are achieving huge success and making a significant contribution to society - largely through their own talent and determination

For all the progress we have seen, there are still some stark inequalities, in employment, in education, in housing and in experience of the Criminal Justice System.

In too many areas, people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities are not doing as well as their should be - there are still too many talented men and women held back from achieving their potential. That's a human cost that society simply cannot afford.

So I believe it's clear today, if we want to take things to the next stage, that we can't simply rely on more of the same. As circumstances change, so must our response. We need to get smarter and more sophisticated.

Especially against the background of an economic downturn, which will make it harder to make further inroads and could even threaten to undo the progress of recent years.

The right of every individual to have equal rights and equal responsibilities, with a fair chance to rise as far as their talents will take them, is rooted in the heart of progressive politics. So this is a major concern for this Government.

And fairness is important for our economy - a successful economy is one that draws on the talents of everyone. We want and need an economy that sees no one pushed to the margins or excluded; enables everyone to realise their potential; promotes individual creativity and entrepreneurship; and which offers the widest pool of well qualified workers to employers. Greater diversity in our workplaces ultimately helps us to compete in the global economy.

There has been an argument put around recently that disadvantage is driven by class not ethnicity and that we have tipped the balance too far, focussing on minority groups at the expense of disadvantaged white people.

Without doubt, being born into a disadvantaged family makes it much less likely that you will succeed in education and work and makes you more likely to suffer ill health in later life - the investment we have made to address child poverty, to regenerate neighbourhoods and to improve education and skills for all has made a huge difference to the lives of millions but a huge job remains.

That is why we have published a discussion document which invites views from a wide range of stakeholders - the public, local government, businesses and unions - about where next. So today is all about you. We want to hear your views.

• With more progress made in some areas than others, what should the priorities for government be now?
• What action can we take to ensure that the progress we have made in narrowing gaps is not reversed by the current economic problems?
• And how can we encourage and support more people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds become involved in public life?

This tour has been arranged to engage with people on the questions we have asked.

The events have been hugely constructive and useful. Some key themes that have emerged are that:

• People feel strongly that there needs to be a strategy on tackling racial inequalities and people with a detailed understanding of the issues as well as a wider equality strategy - one delegate made an analogy between a GP and a heart specialist
• The role of the media, culture and heritage and representation of ethnic minorities within it has also been brought up on numerous occasions
• We have found that by engaging properly with people and listening, we can overcome the understandable cynicism about government consultation - although I know that the proof will be in the final product

We are publishing the feedback on our micro site and we will be taking stock of the feedback from these events, the written responses we receive and our conversations with stakeholders over the next few months. I expect us to publish a new government strategy in the Autumn.

Finally, there is one point about this whole debate that I want to reinforce.

Equality is sometimes seen as a minority concern. But no-one should feel left out of the debate, because everyone has a role to play in making this country, fairer and stronger.

We still have a long way to go if we are to become the society of equal choices, justice and opportunity that we have it in us to be.

But I'm proud today to recommit myself, my department and this Government to redoubling our work with local communities.

Together, we can take the next steps forward.