About Us

Mission Statement

“Working for a just society, where everyone has an equal right to work, live and play free from discrimination and prejudice and from the fear of racial harassment and violence”.

Somerset Racial Equality Council (SREC) is an independent voluntary sector organisation.

Somerset Racial Equality Council works mainly in three activity areas: Casework in Racial Harassment and Discrimination, Policy Development and Training and Public Education and Community Development. SREC works in these activity areas to the General Duties of the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, as updated by the Equality Act 2010, by giving due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate racial discrimination.
• Promote equality of opportunity.
• Promote good race relations between people of different racial groups.

SREC was formed in 1994 as a Network and charity. It became a Council in 1999 and started trading as an incorporated charity and company limited by guarantee in 2008. SREC covers the counties of Somerset and North Somerset. (Bath and North East Somerset has its own REC).

Race in Somerset

A national risk assessment by the Guardian newspaper shows Somerset as having the 6th highest risk of race-hate crime in the UK. Our research, 2010, has shown that 77% of Black and ethnic minority residents in Somerset have been racially harassed.