South Lanarkshire Council than BAME candidates. In October last year, the council’s equal opportunities forum was informed that approximately 3.5 per cent of the area’s population is from a minority ethnic community, compared with just 0.98 per cent of the council’s workforce.Since joining the council in 2015, Councillor Razzaq has been raising the issue of disparity between ethnicities but with little success.He said: “Time after time I’m left utterly despondent at this committee.“Everyone needs to be treated the same way, but the numbers clearly show that just isn’t happening.“I’ve been raising this ever since I became a councillor – but five years later the situation is actually getting worse, not better.“I was so angry at the last.