Recommendations & Conclusions
35 items
1
Recommendation
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
We were unable properly to scrutinise the effects of Care Act easements on disabled people because there are no published data, for example on the number and categories of people, or the types of social care services, affected. The Government must demonstrate that it is keeping local authorities’ use of …
Government response. 11. The Government has been very clear that Care Act easements should only be used when absolutely necessary. To date, only eight local authorities out of 151 with social service responsibility have used easements to ensure they are able to …
Government Equalities Office
2
Conclusion
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
Care Act easements are available as a last resort for local authorities, to help them prioritise care and support for people with higher levels of need, should resources become overstretched to a dangerous degree, potentially threatening life. We were concerned about evidence from the Local Government Association that some local …
Government response. 11. The Government has been very clear that Care Act easements should only be used when absolutely necessary. To date, only eight local authorities out of 151 with social service responsibility have used easements to ensure they are able to …
Government Equalities Office
3
Recommendation
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
We acknowledge that steps have been taken towards greater transparency in the Care Act easement process, notably the publication of an updated list of local authorities using the easements; however, we believe this falls short of a proportionate level of transparency and accountability. The current process is not stringent enough …
Government response. 17. On 1 September, DHSC published revised guidance and further explanatory guidance for councils, addressing frequently asked questions and building on lessons learned from the first wave. The guidance includes a notification form and asks local authorities to alert the …
Government Equalities Office
4
Conclusion
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated pre-existing systemic problems in the social care system, including urgent need for: a more sustainable funding solution; resolution of workforce issues, including low pay, poor progression and high staff turnover; and much closer integration with health services. The pandemic has demonstrated the need …
Government Equalities Office
5
Conclusion
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
There is broad agreement that the Coronavirus Act’s Care Act easement provisions should be curtailed as soon as possible. They represent a substantial raising of the threshold at which disabled people’s care and support needs must be met. This regression of disabled people’s rights must not be allowed to become …
Government response. 21. The changes to the Care Act 2014 duties on local authorities will be kept under regular review and the Secretary of State will take a decision to suspend them based on expert clinical and social care advice, including findings …
Government Equalities Office
6
Conclusion
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
Had the pandemic been more clearly under control, we would have recommended repeal of the Care Act easements at the first six-monthly review. However, the current precarious state of the pandemic, combined with the fragility of the social care system, makes repeal a finely balanced judgement call. Throughout the peak …
Government response. 21. The changes to the Care Act 2014 duties on local authorities will be kept under regular review and the Secretary of State will take a decision to suspend them based on expert clinical and social care advice, including findings …
Government Equalities Office
7
Recommendation
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
On balance, and subject to our other recommendations to tighten guidance and increase transparency being implemented, we accept that the Care Act easement provisions may need to remain in place over the winter period. The Government should keep the need for the Care Act easement provisions under constant review over …
Government response. 21. The changes to the Care Act 2014 duties on local authorities will be kept under regular review and the Secretary of State will take a decision to suspend them based on expert clinical and social care advice, including findings …
Government Equalities Office
8
Recommendation
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
The Coronavirus Act’s emergency changes to the Mental Health Act 1983 were intended for use as a last resort should mental health staff resources be depleted by the pandemic to the extent that people needing assessment or detention in hospital become a risk to themselves or others. These provisions have …
Government response. 24. On 30 September 2020, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that Mental Health Act provisions will be removed from the Coronavirus Act 2020. On 8 December 2020, they were officially repealed in legislation. 25. Throughout …
Government Equalities Office
9
Recommendation
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
Assessing needs and securing provision for children and young people meeting the threshold for EHC Plans was an extreme challenge for local authorities during the peak of the pandemic earlier this year. Local authorities could not have been expected to meet their EHC Plan duties fully in these circumstances; some …
Government response. 28. The temporary changes to the law were kept under close review during the period that they were in force, to ensure that they could be ceased as soon as they were no longer necessary. Following the expiry of the …
Government Equalities Office
10
Conclusion
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
The “reasonable endeavours” duty in relation to Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans is a nebulous concept, which has been inconsistently interpreted and poorly understood by some local authorities, whose support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities fell far short of an acceptable standard after …
Government response. : WESC recommendation: The Government must demonstrate that it is keeping local authorities’ use of Care Act easements under thorough review and allow for proper scrutiny of data on the effects on disabled people. We welcome the Government’s commitment to …
Government Equalities Office
11
Recommendation
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
If the Secretary of State for Education’s power to invoke the “reasonable endeavours” duty in relation to EHC Plans is to remain in place, we recommend the Department for Education update its guidance to local authorities to include the factors which must be considered in deciding how the relaxed duty …
Government response. 28. The temporary changes to the law were kept under close review during the period that they were in force, to ensure that they could be ceased as soon as they were no longer necessary. Following the expiry of the …
Government Equalities Office
12
Conclusion
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
At the time of writing, the Special Educational Needs and Disability (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, which temporarily modify the time limits in relation to EHC assessment and Plans, were due to expire on 25 September. This will add further pressure to local authorities already facing the huge challenge of dealing …
Government response. 32. We are continuing to work with individual local authorities to provide ongoing support with their continued response to the pandemic. The focus of the support provided to each local authority will be based on their specific issues, which may …
Government Equalities Office
13
Recommendation
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronaviru…
We consider the section 98 arrangements for six-monthly parliamentary review of temporary Coronavirus Act provisions unsatisfactory. The Act prescribes a binary “take all or leave all” vote, which will present MPs with no real choice over provisions which have clear and obvious equality impacts on their disabled constituents and which, …
Government response. 34. The Government recognises the vital importance of Parliamentary scrutiny, which is why Part 2 of the Coronavirus Act sets out various mechanisms for managing, and reporting on, the use of the Act. The six-monthly review and renew vote in …
Government Equalities Office
1
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
We welcome the Government’s decision to discontinue the Coronavirus Act’s Mental Health Act provisions, which potentially relaxed requirements for sectioning, against the grain of overdue and much-needed reforms, and which thankfully proved to be unnecessary in England. We will continue to push for progress towards implementation of our recommendations on …
Government response. We have clear rules for shops about making sure getting food is the same for everyone. We agree that shops should follow the rules. We are working with shops to make sure getting food is fair. We are working with …
Government Equalities Office
2
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
The Government’s focus on people defined as “clinically extremely vulnerable” (CEV) to the virus, while rational from a medical perspective, was an inappropriate proxy for the need for support with access to food and had unintended consequences. It was rapidly established and broadly effective for those on the CEV list, …
Government response. We will ask them how they have been affected by the Coronavirus emergency. If disabled people tell us they want a plan about making getting food fair in emergencies like Coronavirus, it will be in the National Strategy.
Government Equalities Office
3
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
We welcome the steps the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has taken to emphasise that food retailers’ legal obligations to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people have remained in place throughout the pandemic. We fully endorse its new guidance to food retailers on the steps required to continue to …
Government response. We have checked if the things we have done to help disabled people to get food are fair. But we usually don’t share this information. When we checked we found out some changes were needed. We: ● asked charities and …
Government Equalities Office
4
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
We further recommend the Government consider, with disabled people, as part of its consultation on the proposed National Strategy for Disabled People, the steps needed to more effectively adopt a social model of disability in relation to maintaining disabled people’s access to food for the remainder of this pandemic and …
Government response. We don’t agree with this. We think the law is clear enough as it is. So we don’t think a Code of Practice would make things better.
Government Equalities Office
5
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
Ministers paused the national shielding programme in August and in September asserted that “we need to get away from the food parcel model”, without offering any evidence of the Government’s assessment of the level of disabled people’s needs for help accessing food, including free food deliveries. Since then, there have …
Government response. We agree that NHS health checks are very important for people with learning disabilities. We have given more money to the NHS to help more people have health checks. The NHS have asked people with learning disabilities to come in …
Government Equalities Office
6
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
We will continue to push for greater accountability and transparency while Care Act easements remain available to local authorities and for their swift repeal should the pandemic become more clearly under control before or at the next six-monthly parliamentary review, due in spring 2021.
Government response. We agree that clear face masks help disabled people. We are finding out which clear face masks work best for people and keep people safe. When we find out which clear face masks work best we will buy them for …
Government Equalities Office
7
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
Early in the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) critical care guidelines and doctors’ inappropriate or blanket use of “Do not attempt resuscitation” (DNAR) notices were potentially discriminatory. While we welcome actions taken swiftly to address disabled people’s concerns, and steps subsequently taken by NICE and …
Government response. Recommendation 7 and 8 The Committee says it is very important that the Government gives much more money to all social care areas to make sure services are much more person- centred and meeting people’s needs. The Government says: We …
Government Equalities Office
8
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
The Equality Act 2010’s Public Sector Equality Duty is intended to ensure public authorities have due regard, including in their decision making, policies and service delivery, to achieving the Act’s objectives, which include the elimination of discrimination against groups of people who share a protected characteristic. The Equality and Human …
Government response. Recommendation 7 and 8 The Committee says it is very important that the Government gives much more money to all social care areas to make sure services are much more person- centred and meeting people’s needs. The Government says: We …
Government Equalities Office
9
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
Prior to the pandemic, people with learning disabilities experienced health inequalities and faced difficulties accessing healthcare and receiving accurate diagnoses and effective treatments. They had increased risks of dying from a range of illnesses, including respiratory infections. These problems have been exacerbated by coronavirus, to which, emerging data suggest, people …
Government response. We agree a new plan for education for children and young people with special educational needs or a disability is very important. We want to get changes right. We are planning to ask people what they think is working and …
Government Equalities Office
10
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
The widespread adoption of continuous facemask wearing in health and social care settings has made effective communication impossible for patients and healthcare professionals who lip-read, and much more difficult for Deaf people who use British Sign Language and people with disabilities which mean they are more reliant on facial expressions …
Government response. We agree that extra money is needed to support children and young people who have special educational needs and a disability to catch up on learning. We have given extra money to provide education. But we don’t think that disabled …
Government Equalities Office
11
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
We were disappointed with the 2020 Spending Review’s financial settlement of £300 million in additional grant funding for local authorities’ social care in 2021/22. We believe it falls considerably short of what is required. We agree with the Health and Social Care Committee that an increase in funding for social …
Government response. We will think about what we have heard when we make the UK National Strategy for Disabled People.
Government Equalities Office
12
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
The Government must bring forward a social care reform package, which includes the whole sector, in this financial year. There has been a tendency by successive governments to focus on the problem of rising costs of caring for elderly people, particularly in care homes, and the unfairness of being forced …
Government response. Government has talked to disabled people during the Coronavirus emergency has been confusing for disabled people. Sometimes it has made disabled people more worried about Coronavirus. The Committee says that Ministers and people working for the Government must be made …
Government Equalities Office
13
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
Our interim Report made several recommendations about how the Secretary of State should use his powers in relation to duties towards children and young people’s educational, health and care needs, if they are required again during the pandemic. We also made recommendations about the Government’s guidance to local authorities on …
Government response. We have provided important information about the Coronavirus in an accessible way. It has been good to work with disability organisations to help get important information to everyone. We have been trying to make information accessible, following what disability organisations …
Government Equalities Office
14
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
Delivering effective support for children and young people with SEND during a public health crisis was inevitably a massive challenge, to which some local authorities were unable to rise. The pandemic demonstrated and exacerbated a widely acknowledged pre-existing crisis in SEND provision. As set out in our interim Report, many …
Government response. We agree with this. We hope the House of Commons comes up with a plan to have more British Sign Language.
Government Equalities Office
15
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
We welcome the Government’s educational catch up fund made up of £650 million to be allocated across all schools and £350 million for pupils in more disadvantaged schools to access subsidised small group tutoring and mentoring.
Government response. We will think about looking at what happened during the Coronavirus emergency afterwards.
Government Equalities Office
16
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
We agree that catch up funding should be weighted towards children who have been “hardest hit” by disruption to their education. We know that many children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will be in the hardest hit group; many received little or no support earlier this year. We …
Government response. Government has a group called the Equality Hub which tries to make things more equal and fairer. They told all Government Departments last year about what the law says and how they need to make sure coronavirus information is accessible. …
Government Equalities Office
17
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
There was a clear divergence of opinion between some disabled people and their organisations, who felt excluded and ignored by the Government, and Ministers, who described their engagement with disabled stakeholders during the pandemic as very positive, open and effective. Addressing perceived weaknesses in the Government’s consultation and engagement with …
Government response. We think it this is important too. We do try to find out what disabled people think about government decisions in lots of different ways: ● online workshops ● advisory committees ● listening to research from disabled people ● surveys …
Government Equalities Office
18
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
The way the Government has communicated with disabled people has, on occasions, caused confusion and compounded already keenly felt anxiety. The chosen method and timing of communications with people categorised as clinically extremely vulnerable, and therefore likely to be living under very considerable stress, has sometimes been poorly thought out, …
Government response. Ministers and people working for the Government can choose to have training if they want it.
Government Equalities Office
19
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
The accessibility of the Government’s communications to disabled people during the pandemic has been poor from the outset of lockdown in March. The Government has been far too slow to address concerns, notably about the lack of British Sign Language interpretation of government television briefings. Accessibility should have been baked …
Government response. We want information about Coronavirus to be accessible. We have provided important information about the Coronavirus in an accessible way. It has been good to work with disability organizations to help get important information to everyone. We have been trying …
Government Equalities Office
20
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
NHS health and publicly funded social care services are legally required, by the Accessible Information Standard, published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, to provide health and care information to patients and service users in a way they can understand. The aim is to ensure …
Government response. It is really important that information that is meant to be for everyone is made accessible for everyone. This includes patients, people who use services, parents and carers with a disability. The NHS and some social care organizations have to …
Government Equalities Office
21
Recommendation
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
We agree with organisations representing Deaf British Sign Language users that we should set a good example in the accessibility of our public oral evidence sessions. It is regrettable that we did not provide live BSL interpretation and subtitles via www.parliamentlive.tv, particularly as we were scrutinising the accessibility of the …
Government response. We agree with this. We hope the House of Commons comes up with a plan to have more British Sign Language.
Government Equalities Office
22
Conclusion
Fourth report: Unequal impact? Coronavi…
In the light of starkly disproportionate and tragic data on death rates from coronavirus of disabled people, including shocking figures for deaths of people, including young people, with learning disabilities, there must be a discrete independent inquiry into the causes. It must be a wide-ranging inquiry, including consideration of the …
Government response. The important job at the moment is keeping people safe from Coronavirus. We will think about looking at what happened during the Coronavirus emergency afterwards.
Government Equalities Office