A flagship Labour council offered staff the option to take a “privilege test” in a move to combat unconscious bias against ethnic minorities.
Westminster Council workers are asked to take an online quiz which gives a privilege score based on answers to statements like “I am a white male” or “I have an illness or disability”, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The council said the questions appeared on a Powerpoint presentation from 2021 and do not form “any part of formal policy, training or recruitment process.”
Answering yes to “I am a white male” would score +15 points, while answering yes to “I am a carer” would score -5 points on a scale of least privileged to most privileged, according to the newspaper.
The quiz also asks staff to answer yes or no to statements like “My parents or guardians read to me when I was a child” (+5 points) and “I have never been stopped and searched by the police” (+10 points), it was reported.
Other statements read: “I do most of my food shopping at Waitrose or Marks and Spencer”(+5 points), “I think twice about calling the police when trouble occurs” (-5 points) and “I live in rented accommodation” (-5).
Answering yes to “I drive a new car” would score a staff member +5 points, while answering yes to “I have to take annual leave for my religious holidays” would result in a score of -5 points.
Last month, Westminster Council proposed alcohol-free “quiet nights” in Soho as part of a plan to transform the famous district.
It encouraged Soho bars and pubs to cater for neurodiverse people through “sensory-friendly” nights with reduced noise, dimmed lighting and calm zones.
Cllr Geoff Barraclough said the plan was intended to “balance the needs of a thriving evening and night-time offer with the wellbeing of the residents who call Westminster their home.”
A Westminster Council spokesperson said:"Westminster City Council's recruitment policies are industry standard, entirely consistent with UK employment law and have been in place for a number of years.
“In keeping with many public sector and private companies, we are committed to ensuring all candidates can compete for a range of roles and we actively promote ourselves as an inclusive employer.
“This PowerPoint presentation, which we believe was available on the council’s staff intranet from 2021, does not form any part of our formal policy, training or recruitment process.”
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