Diversity training at Home Office increases under Suella Braverman

18 June 2023 , 19:00

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Home Secretary Suella Braverman (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

A Tory minister who railed against diversity training has overseen a healthy jump in the number of civil servants in her department attending courses.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman complained last year such sessions were "riddled with left-wing views" as part of her vendetta against so-called “woke” culture.

But figures show the number of officials in the Home Office receiving public sector equality training has increased by more than 50 per cent since she took charge.

A few weeks before she was handed her post, the then-Attorney General said she was "horrified" at the number of hours spent on the training for laywers in her then department.

She described the practice as a "waste" of taxpayers' cash.

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Civil servants at the Home Office are undergoing diversity training (PA)

But Home Office figures show diversity training has increased with 126 civil servants taking part each month - compared to just over 80 per month in the two years beforehand.

Figures released to Labour's Emily Thornberry last month from the Home Office show 2,648 staff received their public sector equality duty between December 2019 and August 2022 - a rate of just over 80 a month.

Between September 2022 when Ms Braverman was first made Home Secretary to March 2023 the figure was 835 - a rate of just over 126 a month.

The training is viewed as vital by many with the review into the Windrush recommending the Home Office "embark on a structured programme of learning for all immigration and policy officials in relation to the Equalities Act 2010 and the department's public sector equality duty" in the wake of the scandal.

It also urged the department to publish details of the numbers who attended such sessions.

The wide-ranging review also urged the Home Office to review its "diversity and inclusion and unconscious bias awareness training" for all staff at the department.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Home Office staff are required to undertake regular learning and development across a range of topics.”

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Ashley Cowburn