Employment Minister Caroline Flint has urged business owners in Bradford not to let stereotypes stop them giving jobs to people from different backgrounds.

She was speaking as she visited Bradford to look at Government-funded initiatives designed to tackle higher-than-average unemployment in ethnic minority communities and deprived wards in the city.

The Minister met staff at Westfield House Jobcentre Plus, in Manningham Lane, and took the chance to ask how they thought the startling' discrepancies between employment in the white and ethnic minority communities could be tackled.

The Minister said: "My message to employers in Bradford would be not to allow stereotypes to get in the way of giving people a chance, regardless of disabilities or minority ethnic groups.

"In a place like Bradford, which has huge strengths in its diversity, having people who are representative of the population working in local shops, hotels and other workplaces is good for business. It appeals to a wider cross-section of the community."

During yesterday's meeting with staff from JobCentre Plus and QED, the Bradford-based ethnic minority-led training provider, the Minister pointed out that 49 per cent of the working age ethnic minority population in the city was "economically inactive" when compared to 25 per cent of the white working age population.

Staff at the job centre told the Minister that ESOL, a programme to assist job-seekers with English language needs, was working well in helping to get more ethnic minority workers into the labour market.

But they added that demand for the ESOL programme in Bradford was outstripping supply and urged the Minister to throw more money at the scheme so it could be extended to more people.

Karen Dawson, Bradford district manager for Jobcentre Plus, said: "Should people from Eastern Europe be made to learn the language before they come here so that more of the money can be focused on the settled community?"

The Minister replied: "We are having discussions about people coming into the UK on the skilled workforce scheme as to whether they should be equipping themselves with English before they come here. There are choices to make as to whether we spend all our money on people from Eastern Europe who are coming in to work or whether we spend it on the settled community."

Adeeba Malik, deputy chief executive of QED, said: "The fact the Minister has shown an interest in the issues facing ethnic minority employment in Bradford is very positive."

She said the provision had to be more focused on the needs of different minorities, adding that the needs of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi community could be very different from the needs of the Eastern European population.