Improved services for Nepali people in Swindon are in the offing after local organisations joined forces with Census chiefs.
Following long-term engagement and discussion, data from the Census 2021 will be used to plan for new and enhanced services to provide help and support for all sections of Swindon's Nepali (and other ethnic minorities) community.
The Himalayan and Nepal Arts and Culture Society's (HANACS) UK Nepali Friendship Society chapter (UKNFS) say that this has been achieved after collaborating and working with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) since 2018.
The Census 2021 data provides information about:
- Which ethnic groups people identified with
- The main language people use
- How well people who do not have English as their main language, could speak it
- How people describe their national identity
- Which religious groups people identified with
An event was held last month at the Swindon Civic Offices to outline the plans for these new improved services. HANACS/UKNFS CEO executive director Alan Mercel-Sanca, and HANACS/UKNFS director, and President of the Nepalese Association of Wiltshire, Gyan Prasad Gurung arranged a joint UKNFS and NAW Census information event.
Also at this meeting were the ONS Census Data Use National Leads team. It was hosted at the Swindon Borough Council Civic Offices, on the afternoon of 19 November.
The borough of Swindon was represented by Mayor of Swindon Cllr Abdul Amin, Cllr Junab Ali, Cllr Bazil Solomon, Cllr Suresh Gattapur, Cllr Gary Sumner, and Cllr Curtis Flux.
Other Swindon Council officials were also in attendance, alongside representatives from Wiltshire Police and other public service organisations, including but not limited to the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.
In addition, the Embassy of Nepal was represented by Ram Babu Nepal. Also attending were Major Sanita Pun (MBE), Mr Riyad Mustafa, Mr Hari Limbu Haribkhata, Mr JB Gurung, and Mr Bigyan Sharma, and other dignitaries.
Gyan Prasad Gurung said: "HANAC’s UKNFS Chapter is delighted to share that since the 2018 engagement with the Office of National Statistics (ONS), it has provided crucial support to the ONS for its engagement with our UK Nepali and Gurkha community, in regard to participation in Census 2021."
Gyan added that the key interest of the UKNFS has always been how it can use the Census 2021 data for the benefit of all sections of the UK Nepali community - including sub-groups, and especially community members who have settled in the UK in the past five to ten years, whom can face especially high support needs.
The UKNFS is said to also have an interest in using the data to benefit public services providers that use ONS Census data to plan services for minority communities of all kinds - such as the UK Nepali community.
Talks and presentations have been held at the Civic Offices since November, and there are still some topic summary discussions yet to take place. They are:
- Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) - 6 January 2023
- Education - 10 January 2023
- Health, Disability, and Unpaid Care - 19 January 2023
More information about HANACS can be found on its website at https://hanacs.org/
More information about the Nepalese Association of Wiltshire can be found on its website at https://www.nepaleseassociationofwiltshire.com/
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