Millions are spent - but Scotland 'gets more racist'

THE number of Scots exposed to racist behaviour is increasing, a government survey has found - despite a four-year, multi-million-pound campaign by the Scottish Executive to combat intolerance.

An Executive report examining the efficacy of its 3.3 million anti-racism marketing campaign found 42 per cent of Scots claim to have been "exposed" to racism, either as victim, witness or perpetrator - 7 per cent higher than in 2001, the year before the campaign's launch.

Yesterday's report also found

that 11 per cent of Scots think attacking people from a different ethnic background is not racist, a 2 per cent increase on last September's figures.

The survey asked over 1,000 Scots various questions relating to "racist behaviour", although it did not define the term.

In further questions, where respondents could choose more than one category, 16 per cent of people claimed to have been a victim of racist behaviour and 38 per cent claimed to have witnessed it, also the highest numbers since 2001. Five per cent claimed to be responsible for racist abuse.

Despite these increases, racism is now perceived as less of a problem in Scotland, with only 7 per cent of those questioned "strongly agreeing" it is problematic, the lowest-ever level.

The survey is part of an evaluation of the Executive's multi-media advertising campaign, One Scotland Many Cultures.

The findings come after a summer in which Scottish attitudes to other nationalities were put under scrutiny amid allegations of anti-Englishness during the FIFA World Cup.

Scotland is also witnessing demographic change due to European enlargement. Government figures suggest 20,000 Polish people have moved to Scotland since joining the EU in 2004.

In yesterday's report, the Executive suggested the rise in reports of racism could be an indication of the campaign's success, as more people may be willing to record it.

"It is difficult to ascertain whether [these trends] are positive or negative," the report concluded. "Is the public more aware of racism as an issue and therefore more likely to identify specific behaviour as racist or has there been a real increase?"

Mohammed Sarwar, the prominent Muslim Labour MP for Glasgow, said the rise in racist incidents was probably related to changes in attitudes since the 11 September attacks on the US and last year's London bombings. He said: "The situation after 9/11 and 7/7 was very difficult everywhere in the world.

"The actions of the tiny minority means that a vast majority is suffering. If the Scottish Executive did not have this initiative the numbers might be higher than they are."

However, Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Tory leader, said: "These figures make for deeply uncomfortable reading. Unless the Executive is prepared to learn the lessons from this report, this is public money poorly spent."

Condemning those behind racist attacks, she said: "Clearly there are some in this country who are beyond the reach of education and advertising. Their attitudes and actions are abhorrent. For them, only the full force of the law can be employed."

The Commission for Racial Equality criticised the Executive's campaign for focusing on "visible" incidents of racism while ignoring issues such as discrimination in the workplace.

An Executive spokeswoman said: "One Scotland Many Cultures is an on-going campaign, just one part of our efforts to continue to tackle racism and reflect the changing, diverse communities of a modern Scotland."