'Believing in Local Action', a report commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government, shows through seven case studies what can be achieved through faith organisations and local infrastructure organisations - LIO's - (such as councils for voluntary service) working together. It also gives seven actions to help develop more successful partnership working. Published by Church Urban Fund and NAVCA – see news item at http://www.navca.org.uk/news/believing.htm or download full report or summary from http://www.navca.org.uk/publications/believing/.
It features CRC partner SEARCH, and their work with churches and others in Hull and East Riding.

The Regional Forum and the Third Sector Leadership centre are co-hosting a Leadership Conference.

This key conference will explore:
- Leadership today and why it matters to the VCS
- What leadership means to key national, regional and local figures
- Approaches to leadership development - including Peer Review, competences for strategic representatives on Local Strategic Partnerships, community leadership, sectoral leadership
- Illustrative experiences of leadership development and interactive workshops.

The organisations showcasing perspectives will be: the Regional forum, the Third Sector Leadership centre, the Work Foundation, ACEVO Association of Chief Executive Officers) and key VCS leaders from Yorkshire and the Humber. To access the publicity flyer and booking form go to: publicity & booking form

If you have any queries regarding this event, please contact Gemma Sisson a

Figures from the 2001 census for Yorkshire and The Humber are available on the CRE website in a fairly straight-forward format. For example:

Yorkshire and The Humber ranks fifth of the nine English regions in terms of its proportion of ethnic minority residents. About one in 12 people living in the region are from ethnic groups other than White British. In 2001, 4.7% of people living in the Yorkshire and The Humber were born abroad, up from 3.7% in 1991.

Out of every 1,000 people, on average:
* 916 are White British
* 45 are Asian
* 18 are White non-British
* 9 people are of mixed race
* 7 people are Black
* 2 people are Chinese

It's also possible to get figures for Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, York, Harrogate and Hull.

I'm not sure how long they have been available there but it seems as if it is only fairly recently.

The Independant newspaper recently had a front page article "Lies, Damned Lies and Immigration" about the way immigration stories are reported in eight other national papers, all of which were curtly rubbished with chapter and verse.

It also has an article which claims regional papers can show nationals how to handle immigration issues, picking out the Hull Daily News:

"The regional press seems to have woken up earlier than the nationals to the fact that racial attitudes have changed, that immigrants have brought many undoubted benefits to the country, and that the ethnic composition of the readership needs to be taken into serious account, if only for business reasons (in Leicester more than 40 per cent of the population is from ethnic minority backgrounds). Papers like the Hull Daily Mail and the Bolton Evening News now report the positive aspects of immigration."

For more information go to: http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article1222203.ece