Residents across Greater Manchester are being encouraged to give their views to help shape a new regional Race Equality Panel.

Work was well under way in setting up the panel before the coronavirus with community leaders across Greater Manchester saying the panel should strengthen the voice of people from different races and ethnic backgrounds, and provide challenge to GM's public bodies on their policies and actions.

Issues community leaders said should be addressed included education, employment, and health inequalities.

More is now being done due to events over recent months, including the coronavirus pandemicand the Black Lives Matter movement, to make sure residents voices are taken fully into account.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: "The pandemic has had a devastating and disproportionate impact on different communities in Greater Manchester and has exposed the deep-seated inequalities that still exist, particularly in relation to health, employment and housing.

"So this is the right time to bring forward the proposals for a Race Equality Panel to ensure we are taking action to address these issues in Greater Manchester.

"However, we want to make sure that this panel has the confidence of all of our communities so that is why we are launching this listening exercise.

"We want to get this right and that’s why we want to hear a range of views on how it should be done."

For more information visit gmconsult.org, this closes on August 16.