The article "Corporation funds £95,000 database of BME specialists" (5 September, page 17) implies that the formation of a database of black and minority-ethnic contractors is a new idea, but this is not the case.
Safebuild.com, a website owned by the London Equal Opportunities Federation, is a nationally rolled out online database of BME contractors and consultants.

It has its roots in a BME database, which has been in operation since 1989. A code of practice governing the use of Safebuild.com was launched in 1999 with government and Housing Corporation support.

London Equal Opportunities Federation, which owns Safebuild.com, was itself launched with funding from the Housing Corporation and Housing Associations' Charitable Trust in 1992 and since with annual funding support from the G15 housing organisations, Anchor Housing Trust, Places for People Group, Moat Housing Group and others.

London Equal Opportunities Federation, unlike similar initiatives, has been sustainable. It would seem more prudent for the Housing Corporation to channel funds through an organisation like Safebuild.com which already has in place effective working structures, delivery mechanisms and most importantly, an appropriate contractor vetting system.

Source

Housing Today

Postscript

John McKeown, London Equal Opportunities Federation