The Government today welcomed the publication of the National Employment Panel report on Increasing the Employment and Business Growth of Ethnic Minority and Faith groups. Welcoming the report on behalf of the Government, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown said: "The employment gap between ethnic minorities and the overall population is beginning to narrow but we must do more to address this challenge.

The overall ethnic minority employment rate has stayed below 60 percent and some groups are doing much worse: Pakistani and Bangladeshi employment rates are as low as 46 percent and 43 percent. The NEP's report and its recommendations will help to increase ethnic minority employment, ensuring that valuable talent is not wasted and that all communities benefit from our economic progress."

Enterprising people, enterprising places makes 10 main recommendations to improve ethnic minority employment rates, including:

* Better targeting of resources to five cities, where two thirds of ethnic minorities live - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester, and Leeds/Bradford;

* an integrated, employer-led employment and skills framework in each of the five cities;

* outreach support focused on those ethnic minority people currently excluded from the labour market.

The NEP also recommends that English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision should be better targeted through the Learning and Skills Council, and that Centres of Vocational Excellence for Entrepreneurship should be established to develop the talent and entrepreneurship of ethnic minority communities.

The Government will now work to develop proposals for implementing the report's main recommendations, building on existing progress of over 155,000 ethnic minority people helped into work through New Deals, Employment Zones and Action Teams as well as targeted interventions introduced by DWP.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Blunkett, said: "I am committed to giving everyone the opportunity to succeed in life and make their mark, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds or beliefs. It's time for us to take further action and create a truly inclusive society. This report and the ethnic minority taskforce will aid us in taking key steps towards making it become a reality."

Jeremy Anderson, the Chair of the National Employment Panel's Steering Group said: "Today there is a 15 percent gap between the employment rate of ethnic minorities and the overall population. Our report, 'Enterprising People, Enterprising Places' makes clear that closing this gap is not simply a matter of fairness or social justice; it is central to the future productivity and growth of our major economic centres. With political and business leadership, determination and creativity, we believe that this can - and should - be achieved within the next decade."