RACE equality workers are looking to develop a package of measures to try and improve the lives of members of the black community.

Ranjit Dheer, director of Wycombe Race Equality Council (REC), said black children were more likely to face exclusion from school than their white counterparts, which could later lead to employment problems, anti-social behaviour and petty crime.

He said national statistics showed that Caribbean children did as well in the early stages of education as their white counterparts, it is only when they reach the end of junior school or begin secondary education that problems arise.

Mr Dheer said: "The feeling on the whole is that the Afro Caribbean community suffers from a great deal of deprivation, beginning with exclusion from school.

"There is also the issue of sexual health within the Caribbean community because the health authority is concerned because there is a high incidence of sexual health problems within the Afro Caribbean community.

"There is an urgent need to work within the Caribbean community to raise awareness of those issues."

The REC said that black people are four times more likely to be unemployed compared with their white counterparts and are four times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police.

At a meeting of the race equality council's executive committee on Monday members discussed the need for an Afro-Caribbean development officer to help the black community deal with their problems.

There are around 15,000 to 20,000 members of ethnic minority groups in the High Wycombe area, at least 4,000 of who are from the Caribbean island of St Vincent.

The REC feels the area would benefit from having an officer employed specifically to deal with the black minority and have applied to Wycombe District Council for an extra £30,000 to fund a development officer.

Before the REC can receive funds from Wycombe District Council for the project, a needs assessment has to be carried out to find out how many people would need help and whether the help is mainly concentrated in the health, education or social areas.

Mr Dheer added: "The district council, the Race Equality Council and the Afro Caribbean Community will be working together to develop a needs assessment for the community in Wycombe."