Recommendations & Conclusions
18 items
1
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Comorbidities pose a risk for BAME people to experience coronavirus more severely and, at times, with adverse health outcomes. To tackle comorbidities, primary prevention should be prioritised. We are concerned that the decision to disband Public Health England could result in a gap in the prevention work that is already …
Government response. The government notes the Committee’s concerns that disbanding Public Health England (PHE) could have on existing health improvement work. Preventing physical and mental ill-health and reducing health inequalities remain top priorities for the government. Alongside work to establish the National …
Government Equalities Office
2
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Many reviews and reports have put forward recommendations to tackle health inequalities. Now is the time for action and the Government should finally act on these recommendations. The Government should prioritise implementing the entirety of the recommendations in the ‘Marmot Review 10 years on’, so that health inequalities are not …
Government response. The government agrees that the COVID-19 recovery must be undertaken in a way that addresses health inequalities. The government is determined to address the long-standing inequalities that exist in many areas, be they in access, outcomes or people’s experience of …
Government Equalities Office
3
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
It is vital that Government guidance is accessible to everyone so that individuals can stay informed and prevent contraction or transmission of the disease. To ensure that Government guidance is accessible for BAME communities, the Government must ensure its guidance is culturally competent. We recommend that by the end of …
Government response. As part of the increased focus on the flu vaccination programme this winter, PHE conducted bespoke research with ethnic minority groups who are more at risk from COVID-19 to ensure the social marketing campaign is relevant and addresses any particular …
Government Equalities Office
4
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
We believe that current guidance is inadequately catering to the needs of BAME people and the publication of translated guidance has been slow and often less accessible than English-language versions. The Government should update the guidance on the virus itself, how it transmits, and prevention strategies, in a clear, accessible …
Government response. We share COVID-19 information through our press partnerships working specifically to reach ethnic minority audiences—with up to 50 print media outlets with a circulation of over 500,000. Separate radio and TV partnerships have also been established, delivering credible content in …
Government Equalities Office
5
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
We welcome the Government’s Community Champions scheme; it is a step in the right direction. In order to ensure the scheme’s success, we urge the Government to liaise with BAME women and representatives of BAME women to encourage them to become Community Champions so that the scheme can successfully reach …
Government response. We will ensure that all local areas engage minority ethnic women in their activity through this scheme. Community Champions reflect their local communities and will vary by socio- demographic factors including age, ethnicity, gender, health status and education. They will …
Government Equalities Office
6
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
We welcome this step by the Government to record ethnicity on death certificates. However, we are disappointed that this has taken the Government so long. We agree with the Minister that the data would have been helpful, and we do not understand why collecting this data was delayed. This data …
Government response. The Minister for Equalities’ first quarterly report recommended (Recommendation 9) that the recording of ethnicity as part of the death certification process should become mandatory. While work is underway to implement this recommendation, this is not a quick fix, given …
Government Equalities Office
7
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
We understand that data sharing is voluntary. However, we believe it is the Government’s responsibility to build trust among BAME communities so that they are comfortable in volunteering data. We strongly disagree with the Minister’s approach and the resistance to deploy resources for data collection; this does not show a …
Government response. Robust, reliable data is critical to understanding underlying racial disparities. As set out in both the SAGE ethnicity sub-group paper7 and the Minister for Equalities report of 22 October,8 a coordinated effort is required to improve data quality and insight …
Government Equalities Office
8
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
We recommend that the Race Disparity Unit extend the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website to include a section on the BAME impacts of coronavirus specifically reporting the disaggregated share of BAME people being tested; the disaggregated share of BAME people infected and the disaggregated share of BAME deaths from the …
Government response. The Ethnicity Facts and Figures website already has a dedicated page on Ethnicity and COVID-19.10 It includes links to key datasets, such as the ONS statistics on deaths by ethnic groups, intensive care admissions, and the OpenSAFELY analysis of ethnic …
Government Equalities Office
9
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
We welcome the Minister’s commitment to consider occupation as part of the work she is doing to take the PHE review forward; it is vital that the Government examines the interaction between ethnicity, occupation and outcomes of coronavirus. We recommend that the Minister for Equalities as part of this work …
Government response. The focus of the Minister for Equalities’ work, as set out in the Terms of Reference,11 is to understand why COVID-19 has had such a disproportionate impact on ethnic minority groups, in terms of infection and death rates, and to …
Government Equalities Office
10
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
There is a link between the occupation of a person and their exposure, vulnerability and risk of contracting the virus. We fear that work on formally establishing this link has been significantly delayed. No clear assessments have been made on whether BAME workers in shutdown sectors have experienced a loss …
Government response. The focus of the Minister for Equalities’ work, as set out in the Terms of Reference,11 is to understand why COVID-19 has had such a disproportionate impact on ethnic minority groups, in terms of infection and death rates, and to …
Government Equalities Office
11
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Previous Governments have done much work to improve the zero-hours contract policy, however, this work has not gone far enough. The coronavirus pandemic has sharpened the focus on the systemic issues with the zero-hours contracts policy, including the disproportionate number of BAME people on zero-hours contracts. The pandemic has highlighted …
Government response. The government is committed to helping the lowest paid through the pandemic. The welfare system is best placed to provide this support and lower earners who already claim 12 UKRI: Researching Factors Affecting Ethnic Minority Groups During COVID-19 Universal Credit …
Government Equalities Office
12
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
We are deeply concerned by the impact of the zero-hours contracts on BAME people, particularly throughout the course of the pandemic. While in some cases and for some people, the zero-hours contract policy can be a suitable employment option, the pandemic has clearly demonstrated the need to review the way …
Government response. The independent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was established by the Prime Minister 16 July 2020, the terms of reference for which are published on gov.uk. It is due to report back to the Prime Minister at the end …
Government Equalities Office
13
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
There are known barriers to applying to Universal Credit. These have been thrown into sharp focus by the pandemic. Given that the country has now exited two national lockdowns and continues to be subject to covid-19 restrictions, it is critical that the Government ensures that those who need Universal Credit …
Government response. The Universal Credit On-line service has been developed to work equally well on a laptop or handheld device. All user testing has been conducted with users who access the service through all devices. The service does work effectively from a …
Government Equalities Office
14
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
The Government does not know enough about how Universal Credit is operating for different groups. The Government does not know, for example, how many BAME claimants there are and if they are negatively affected by the Universal Credit application system. We recommend that the Government should make the equality survey …
Government response. The Department for Work and Pensions does not have the legal power to mandate that claimants provide ethnicity data as part of their benefit claim. Primary legislation would be required for this. Other, more general, data processing requirements under UK …
Government Equalities Office
15
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
We further recommend that the Department for Work and Pensions reviews and publishes a report on the barriers to accessing the Universal Credit application system by January 2023. The Department should use the diversity data to assess how BAME Unequal impact? Coronavirus and BAME people 51 people are accessing the …
Government response. Existing and future research with Universal Credit customers would look at all of the barriers to a successful claim and would be representative of the Universal Credit population as a whole, boosting samples for sub-groups of particular interest.
Government Equalities Office
16
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
The guidance that the Government has produced for those in overcrowded housing is substandard. There was no clear guidance in one place from the Government on how to overcome the practical challenges of living in overcrowded, and in some cases multigenerational, accommodation. This continues to be the case nine months …
Government response. The Minister for Equalities’ report of 22 October recommended that more emphasis be placed on the promotion of existing NHS guidance on minimising transmission within households, sharing these messages widely and in the range of languages and formats needed. Since …
Government Equalities Office
17
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Poor housing conditions have adverse impacts on health; living in poor quality housing is an aggravating factor in experiencing coronavirus severely. Pre-existing housing inequalities may have exacerbated the impact of coronavirus on BAME people. We welcome the Social Housing White Paper 2020 that the Government published in November 2020. We …
Government response. The government recognises that there is a need to improve the standards for rented homes, which is why we brought in the Homes Fitness for Human Habitation Act 2018, and why we are reviewing both the Housing Health and Safety …
Government Equalities Office
18
Recommendation
Third Report: Unequal impact? Coronavir…
Since the coronavirus pandemic is recent and emerging there is very limited in-depth evidence that provides an account of the impact of the no recourse to public funds policy. Much of the evidence that stakeholders have provided to us is anecdotal and substantive evidence is required. However, early evidence provides …
Government response. As set out in the Home Office’s Comprehensive Improvement Plan in response to Recommendation 7 of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review by Wendy Williams, the Home Office is undertaking a full evaluation of the compliant environment policies and measures, individually …
Government Equalities Office