Fifteen government departments and agencies, including Whitehall's biggest spenders, face the threat of legal action for failing to carry out their duties under race equality legislation, according to a final report from the Commission for Racial Equality to be published later this week.

The CRE, which is to be wound up in two weeks' time after 30 years of race equality work in Britain, has "named and shamed" the departments involved and urgently written to the Cabinet Office detailing its "deep concerns about the widespread non-compliance" around Whitehall, despite the fact that they have had more than five years to meet standards.

The CRE has asked its lawyers to start legal action against 15 government departments and agencies, including the Cabinet Office, health, education, agriculture, local government, trade and industry, defence, the Home Office and the Foreign Office........

15 Whitehall departments named and shamed for race equality failures | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

Hopefully the government will now close this layer of beauracracy. Either they are punching above their weight or they have too much power.