Q1
West & North Yorkshire Business
6
BRADFORD NEWS
Warm words Many businesses that I speak to are performing well and are hoping that the corner has been turned on the pandemic. The cost of living worries are already causing economic troubles, but there is also good news to spread, and you’ll see that throughout this magazine. The challenges relating to Brexit have not gone away, despite news headlines and business conversations being dominated by other topics; and we are working closely with the British Chambers of Commerce to remind and warn Government of the damage being done to the regional and national economy; but as the weather warms and people return to the workplace with increasing confidence, I believe that there are reasons to be cheerful. Business conditions are challenging for many but we have become used to that over the years and learnt to ‘roll with the punches’, you might say. On another note, a successful outcome in May of the Bradford application for UK City of Culture 2025 would help provide further positivity for our city, so fingers crossed! I must mention that this is the last magazine column that I write before outgoing Chief Executive Sandy Needham retires. A huge thank you to Sandy for all that she has done for our Chamber and for business. It goes with saying that she will be sadly missed by all of us, but also that we wish her a very long and happy retirement. Victoria Wainwright President Bradford Chamber
BAME communities must be at the heart of levelling up The needs of neighbourhoods with high proportions of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) residents must be central to the Government’s levelling-up agenda, the Chair and Chief Executive of Manningham Housing Association (MHA) have said. Barrington Billings and Lee Bloomfield warned that the Covid-19 pandemic continued to highlight the inequalities BAME communities have endured for decades. They said: “2020 has been a desperately difficult year for everyone, but particularly for those who have the least. “If Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are serious in their quest to level up society, they should look no further than the most deprived neighbourhoods across the country which often have large numbers of BAME people living there. “MHA is enormously proud of the work we do in these communities in Bradford and Keighley but, whilst we have high aspirations, our resources are limited. Founded in 1986, MHA manages more than 1,400 homes for over 6,000 residents in Bradford and Keighley. It is the first housing association in the country to be officially accredited for its work in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. In 2020, MHA won the Northern Housing Outstanding Approaches to Communications Award for its work in supporting tenants during the pandemic and was shortlisted for two UK Housing Awards including Landlord of the Year. “We go beyond the delivery of good quality, affordable housing. We are advocates for our communities, delivering culturally sensitive services and giving individuals and families from BAME backgrounds real opportunities to improve their lives. “But we now need the Government to step up and deliver on its promise to truly level up our country, with the needs of BAME people high on that agenda.”
