Ethnic groups and Our healthier nation:: Whither the information base?

The Government has made the health of minority ethnic groups a central part of its programme to reduce social exclusion and inequalities in health provision. It has also given a commitment in its' contract for health' to provide the information that is needed to address inequalities, stating that it will be able to draw on a range of data sources, including mortality statistics, cancer registrations, hospital episode data, and general practitioner data. In reality, only one of these is a potential source of comprehensive information on minority ethnic groups and the information base needed to support Government policies is essentially unavailable. Priorities for further action are identified.