The Chamberlain News

Equalities boss Mushuq Ally to leave Birmingham city council

Birmingham city council’s assistant director for equalities, community safety and cohesion, Dr Mushuq Ally, is to take retirement and will leave his post at the end of August.

Dr Ally’s departure was announced today by chief executive Mark Rogers.

Commenting on Dr Ally’s contribution while at the council, Mr Rogers said:

His leadership and contribution to tackle inequalities in the city leaves a positive and significant legacy in Birmingham.

I would like to thank Dr Ally for all his hard work in the field of equalities.

Dr Ally has led the council’s equalities unit for more than 11 years and played a prominent role in addressing racial tensions sparked off by events such as the Trojan Horse scandal.

He has been outspoken at times. In 2008 when addressing a scrutiny committee on the merits of the Government’s Pathfinder counter-terrorism programme, Dr Ally said that many young Muslims simply want to “go to pubs and clubs, take a spliff here and there and enjoy themselves”.

He added that young people were “behaving normally” but found themselves under pressure from radical groups who made them feel guilty about their western lifestyle.

They were in danger of being “seduced” into a life of terrorist activity, he claimed.

In 2013 he claimed some Birmingham city council officials lacked the “courage” to manage ethnic minority employees properly because they feared being branded racists.

There was sometimes a “fear factor” involved when managers were asked to deal with capability issues among non-white employees, he added.

Dr Ally’s retirement will prompt a review of the longer term organisational arrangements for equalities, cohesion and community safety in the city council.

In the meantime, leadership of the division will be covered by Alison Harwood, Acting Director of Regulation and Enforcement.

Dr Ally commented:

Birmingham is an exciting and vibrant city and it has been a pleasure to be part of it.

I have enjoyed my time at the city council, working alongside some very talented colleagues from whom I have learnt a lot. But also working with partner agencies and in particular our citizens and communities, many of whom have become friends, to promote cohesion and maintaining the safety and security of our city.

I would like to think I have made a small contribution to these developments and the future direction of the city council will build on and further these strong foundations established by all of us.